This is topic Laptop Hard Drives in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 02-03-2001, 05:51 PM:
I recently bought a 20 gig drive for my Toshiba 435 laptop. The bios, even with updates, will only recognize 8.4 gig of the new drive. I have heard that there are disk management programs by IBM and others that will allow use of the full drive even though the bios does not recognize it. Do any of you have any experience with any of these disk management programs? If so which would you reccommend? Since my 435 has been so reliable for me I decided to install a larger drive rather than get a new laptop. I use the 435 mainly for my R-2 and other sound and lighting programs. At any rate, I got the drive cheaply so even if I'm stuck with the 8.4g it sure beats the 1.3g that it used to be.
Mark @ GTS
Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 02-03-2001, 06:16 PM:
Did the drive come with a 'installation disk' on a floppy? If so, it should have the required disk management software that will partition and format the drive and allow your system to access its full capacity.Software such as MaxBlast(Maxtor) or EZ-Drive (MicroHouse, also licensed to other drive manufacturers) should work fine.
Aaron
Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 02-03-2001, 07:32 PM:
You should be able to download the software from the drive manufacturer. I know Maxi-blast does not work with some drives, but I don't know anout the others. DO NOT ALLOW THE COMPUTER TO LOW-LEVEL FORMAT THE DRIVE!
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 02-03-2001, 07:37 PM:
Come to think of it I didn't ask the vendor if he had the software, but I'll give them a call Monday. The drive is a Toshiba 20gig. I only paid 200.00 for it which is way under the price that most re-sellersd get for the smaller drives. The other thing I can do is run the new drive in my home computer via a 2.5 to 3.5" adapter to format it but I don't think that will cure the bios problem in the laptop. It will probably only see 8.4 no matter what without the software you memntioned.
I will look for the software you mentioned and give it a try.
Thanks!
Mark @ GTS
P.S. If you are looking for a good deal on laptop drives go to www.ebccomputers.com
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 02-03-2001, 07:55 PM:
Mark--sounds like you got a good deal.
Does anyone know where I can get a good deal on SCSI drives with 80-pin SCA connectors? I need these for my desktop workstation. Unfortunately, they are commonly used only with servers and thus are almost never discounted. I managed to kill three of the Quantum 4gig drives in one month recently and I'm currently using a 1gig Seagate in the place of one of them, and which I would really like to upgrade.
Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 02-03-2001, 08:35 PM:
Mark: What OS are you running, and which version?Also, have Toshiba's tech support department given you any advice on this?
Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 02-03-2001, 08:38 PM:
Part of the problem maybe the IDE drivecontroller can't see the newer drives
Almost all Toshiba laptops can have the bios flashed via a download from the toshiba site
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 02-03-2001, 08:56 PM:
Yea, I did flash the bios with the latest version and that didn't help it. Apparently they have not or can't do anything for it. It is an older laptop but as I said its been a very good one. It was bought on the advice from the THX people.
Because the Bios flash didn't help out thats why I was wondering about the disk manager software. I think I will have to go that route. If for some reason that does not work I am still way ahead of the game as the 8.4gig is still way more than I had. I also download allot of digital photos while I travel so this extra space will help out allot!
Scott, Did you check the EBC site for the SCSI's? They are about the cheapest around that I know of. Since I can go there and don't have to mail order I feel safer and can return a part if it is bad. I've bought stuff to build around 50 computers so far from them, and only had a few problems with parts. They were all exchanged without question. I highly reccommend them.
Thanks all!!
Mark
Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 02-03-2001, 11:41 PM:
Did you try to partition the drive so that each partition has it's own drive letter. 20 gigs divided into 3 drives. Around 6.6 gigs for each drive letter. c,d,e, This is how you should be able to get around the barrier.
Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 02-04-2001, 01:45 PM:
Mark, there is one other thing to be careful about. Some of the very large drives want a "clean install" (not an upgrade) of the OS. There are ways to get around that, but it can be tricky. If you run into this, maybe Scott or Gordon might be able to step you through. When I install a new king-sized drive, I usually set it up as drive D or whatever. Most of my computers will recognize a drive up to 60 gigs, and will not partition if I use the drive manufacturer's software. Then if I want to use it is a boot drive, I'll just simply use the software (Maxi-Blast in my applications since I use Maxtor drives in all my junk) and copy the entire drive onto the other. This also copies the boot sector. You can't do that via Xcopy 32, because your computer is basically up and running. Any file that is used will not copy over, and it'll just "dump" you..... You have to use the drive software to do it.If anyone knows of a better way, please tell me.
Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 02-04-2001, 02:27 PM:
Mark, here is a website about Toshiba drives.
http://www.toshiba.com/taecdpd/support/hdd_faqs.shtml It cites EZ Drive by Storage Soft and Disk Manager DiskGo by Ontrack.
It sounds as though they want money for the software, so you'll probably ask the vender, "hey-where's my software?"
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 02-05-2001, 08:07 AM:
I couldn't fit Max Blast on one floppy disk when I tried to download it so here's what I ended up doing. I downloaded the IBM disk manager software from IBM's site. I loaded this onto the drive and its now formatting for 19.06 gig while I'm sitting here typing this. This seems like a very easy to use program. It loads a small dos program on its own boot sector on the drive and then by re-starting the computer with the OS setup disk you then format the entire drive. Seems to be working so far!
Thanks Paul, Gord, and Scott!!
Mark @ GTS
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 02-05-2001, 10:54 AM:
Ok, Here is the actual scoop on this whole thing. The IBM software would not allow me to load Win98. Then I downloaded Max-Blast to my main computer and created a boot disk from that, which it does automatically. With Max-Blast it all worked fine. I was able to reload Win 98 with no trouble. Now If I ever fill this drive up I have real problems!!
Thanks again to all that answered my questions!!
Mark @ GTS
Posted by Matthew Bailey (Member # 601) on 02-05-2001, 12:32 PM:
My dad has a Toshiba Sattellite Pro 440 CDT.
Unfortunately,it belongs to the place
he works for. It only has Windows 95,
and I dont know how old it is. Hopefully,
someone who owns it will replace the hard
drive before it fails.
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 02-05-2001, 06:13 PM:
Replacing the HD in these is a piece of cake. Its located right under the battery. Just pull out the battery and there it is. Remove two screws and it comes right out.
Mark
Posted by Jason Burroughs (Member # 68) on 02-06-2001, 04:28 PM:
Information as obtained from Western Digital's website, this should apply to the issue in hand.How do I know if my system supports 8.4 GB and larger drives?
In order to properly support an 8.4 GB or larger IDE drive, your system's BIOS must be capable of supporting INT13 Extensions. At this writing, only a few BIOS's on some (but not all) new systems support these functions.
Although you may contact your system manufacturer to determine if your system supports INT13 extensions, we recommend simply using Data Lifeguard Tools, which will make this determination for you, as well as a number of other safety checks to ensure that your system can support the drive. If your system cannot support the drive, then Data Lifeguard Tools will install EZ-BIOS on the drive, a special utility that will provide support to the drive in place of the BIOS. To download Data Lifeguard Tools, please visit our Software Library.
Link to the Data Lifeguard Tools software:
http://www.westerndigital.com/service/ftp/drives.html
download this on a computer that's already working it will make a bootable diskette with the tools on it. I'm not sure if this tool works on drives other than Western Digital's but its worth a shot. If it dosen't, check the website of the manufacturer, they will more than likely have a similar tool available. But this is worth a shot.
Posted by Jason Burroughs (Member # 68) on 02-22-2001, 10:16 AM:
Mark,Did you ever get that hard drive to work properly?
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 02-23-2001, 05:04 PM:
Hi Jason,
Yes I did. I downloaded the small program from one of the other drive manufacturers. Can't remember which one it was but probably from the WD site. All has been working great. I don't have to worry about running out of room now. The drive is larger than most new laptops come with. BTW: If anyone is looking for a larger laptop HD the price has dropped even lower on this particuluar Toshiba 20 gig model. They are now 172.00. I paid 209 just a few weeks ago!
Thanks to all that offered suggestions on getting it to recognize the whole drive.......
Mark @ GTS
Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 02-23-2001, 06:56 PM:
Check the price of DRAM! it is now 89 bucks for a stick of 256 meg PC-133. And, it might even get lower.
Posted by Jason Burroughs (Member # 68) on 02-24-2001, 01:55 PM:
Mark,Glad things worked out.
As for SDRAM prices. They are indeed very low right now. Which is GREAT! Right now there is an overstock of memory, plus other forms of RAM are comming into demand, such as RDRAM (Rambus) and DDR RAM (Double Data Rate). Annother factor is the poor performing tech sector scrabling for cash. Thier plants don't make money (in fact they greatly depreciate) if they are not producing. Processor prices will also continue to drop. AMD has been dropping prices, and Intel is scheduled to as well as they eliminate the Celeron line of processors, and increase production of the P-4.
Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 02-25-2001, 09:32 AM:
DRAM is 69 bucks for 256mb here in Salt Lake City. Check out www.ebccomputers.com
Mark @ GTS