[Linux-Anyway] Re: Windblows total screw up
- From: John Richard Smith <bagsofchoice@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Linux-Anyway@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 01:22:43 +0100
Meph Istopheles wrote:
> John,
>
>>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>120gig Maxtor DiamondMax+9 133/7200
>>
>
>>Somehow or other I have to clear out the drives partition table and start
>>completely again or I'm stuffed. This should not happen. The drive should not
>>allow two hard drive descriptors
>>to be written to one hard drive.
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>
> I've a similar issue with a Maxtor 80GB drive, which, right now, is only
> working as a 40GB drive. I'd intended using it in my Windows box & first
> installed XP Pro on it. It came up as a 40GB drive in spite of the bios
> reporting just over 80GB.
>
What mobo and bios do you have, because the first problem is always to
check with the mobo website and find out what size drive your bios
version supports. In my case 160G. I had a now defunct mobo that
originally only supported 80G, but with a bios update (not as difficult
a thing as it is made out to be) it would recognise and support 120G. So
that is the first thing to make sure of.
I'm not sure what size HD W98 supports. But W2000 supports 137G or so
I'm told.
>
>
> I struggled with both Windows & Linux fdisks, & had even used Maxtor's
> powermax (which was another fiasco). The drive's now in my Linux box & only
> working, as mentioned above, as a 40GB drive.
>
> I'm planning on getting to that & trying again to get it recognised as an
> 80GB drive, but I've not had time for it just yet.
>
>
>
>>Maxtor do a programme called powermax which is essentially a low level
>>formatting tool, but I cannot get the dam thing to run from a dos A: prompt.
>>
>
> I think this is supposed to be a boot disk. Are you attempting to run it
> from the prompt, or from boot?
>
Oh it dead easy when you know how, take a W98 bootup disk and run it to
an A: prompt with the shift+F5 keys pressed on boot and that skips all
the unnecessary stuff, then type,
A:\> dir /w
which list all the executables on the powemax floppy ( made from
downloading the .exe file from maxtor and running from a windblows
desktop , it asks you to insert a floppy and makes it up for you)
then type,
powermax.exe <enter>and up comes the programme.
It's quipe straight forward to use
There are test programmes and low level format programmes.
If you do run a low level format, one thing they never tell you
is that you will not have an MBR after it's done, but it's just
a case of running fdisk /mbr from the same A: promt and
that reinstalls the MBR again.
Took me ages to figure that one out.
>Also, what is your bios
>reporting on the size?
>
My current K7N2 Delta-L bios reports 122 MB
>If your bios is reporting somethiing odd,I would take the drive out, boot up,
>shut down, put it back in & boot again. Then, with any Linux (even a live cd
>would work nicely), repartition & format the drive. Maybe then try the
>powermax again, just to be sure & try your W2k again.
>
I'm pretty sure now it's not the size W2000 is balking at, It's
something else,
probably the NVIDIA nothbridge or southbridge chips , but at the moment
that's a guess.
I've got to figure out a way to install the supplied drivers on the
system CD they give you
but I am currently at a loss how to do that. The only means available to
me seems the F8
initial boot option on the W2000 install CD, but that only runs you to
an A drive, and these drivers are certainly more than 1.44MB, so that
won't do.
>
>
>>Before anyone takes me to task about installing W2000, let me
>>tell you it is not from choice.
>>
>
> Well, as M$ OS' go, W2k isn't the worst. It all depends on what you're
> planning to do with it. So, other than a few snide remarks, I doubt anyone
> here would make any big deal of it.
>
> And why are you installing W2k? Is this the only OS cd you have available &
> the only 'puter?
>
Lord no, I've W98 and XP available but I hate XP , cannot be doing with
that registration nonesense. I shall also be triple linux booting as
well, so Lilo will go in on the MBR.
I only need the one winblows OS for certain apps not available on linux
and needed by me for my work.
> When Linux does just about everything Windows does (& in my opinion) better,
> as well as more than Windows does, why not download & burn a Linux iso? You
> might have to ask a friend with a burning to do it for you, but then (unless
> you really have no choice) you'd have Linux.
>
> Meph
>
>--
>
Oh, I'm a 3 years user of mandrake , came in with MD7.0 and have experienced at
least one update per year ever since.I intend using linux as my main OS, but I
need to polish up my text based methods of install before I'm into slackware
and the like.
John
--
John Richard Smith
BAGSOFCHOICE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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