Award BIOS missing references to Primary/Slave

[kcnew]

Award Software
ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (2A5IMG09)

I’m reformatting an 8GB IDE on a Compaq 5441 and ran fdisk, breaking C:\ into 3 partitions. First, E:\ partition was showing up as volume label “remote” indicating that the system saw it but couldn’t tell what it was (poetic license taken with that description).

I deleted the primary/logical partitions and started over, reformatting, re-fdisking. The 3 partitions were created successfully, but when I tried to install Win98, I got the msg that it was unable to read a potion of C:\ (50%) and the LBA settings were wrong.

WEIRD: In the BIOS / CMOS, there is NO reference to any hard-drive or cd-roms, etc. No entries for Primary 1, Slave1, etc … just references to:
Drive A:
Drive B:
Floppy 3 : [set to Floppy A, and then Disabled]

If you look at a screenshot of an Award BIOS page, mine looks the same … with the EXCEPTION of those 4 lines of very important info. [Ex: http://www.tcs3.com/pdf/manuals/motherboards/acer/ap57/ap57-awd.pdf]

All I can seem to find is info on how to change the LBA setting in BIOS … I find nothing that says what to do if you don’t have that option. The only other weird thing that might make a difference (I’m clueless) is that the previous owner said he couldn’t fdisk it (because he didn’t have the floppy w/ him) so instead said he ‘corrupted’ the C: drive to protect his highly-secretive game files :) I don’t know how one corrupts a C:\drive, but I attest that whatever it is, it works.

Thanks in advance
Tampa, FL

[Murf]

Welcome to CTH

I assume your partitioned first then formatted?

When you ran FDISK did it ask for Large Disk Support?

[kcnew]

Welcome to CTH

I assume your partitioned first then formatted?

When you ran FDISK did it ask for Large Disk Support?
====================================
Hi, Murf - Thanks for the reply.

Yes, it did ask for large disk support, to which I answered YES.
And yes, I partitioned first (C:=50%, D:=25%, E:=25%)and then formatted all three partitions (although I see that my post didn't say I did it in that order).

What I did:
(1) I actually formatted the HDD first (the guy who sold it to me said he'd 'corrupted' it to protect his info) and THEN began ...
(2) I fdisked 3 partitions, and formatted each one. The Volume Label of the 1st logical partition (D:) appeared as *remote.* I was unable to delete that partition - every Volume Label I tried (from *Remote* to leaving it blank) wouldn't 'match'.
(3) I started over - format, fdisk 3 partitions, format each partition. No more "Remote" problem, but when I tried to install Windows (on primary C:\), installation failed - received a screen saying that it couldn't read a portion of C: most likely due to incorrect LBA settings.
(4) Immediately scan said C: had errors, but D: and E: were fine.
(5) It's written on the HDD case (Seagate Model ST38421A): "If LBA mode is available in BIOS, enable it." So I looked in the BIOS, and not only was there no LBA option, but there was no reference to ANY HDD or CD-ROM!
(6) From DOS, I initiated a FULl scan disk (as opposed to that done during Win98 installation), and all 3 partitions were error free. Still, installation of Win98 found the LBA problem.
(7) I reformatted the HDD and did NOT partition - leaving C:\ at 100%.
(8) I installed Windows 98, and it runs perfectly.

HOWEVER ... there is STILL no reference in the BIOS to the HDD or the CD-ROM! I have absolutely no idea why/how that could happen - Everything I read about this (or any other) system (Compaq 5441 - BIOS is ROM PCI/ISA BIOS (2A5IMG09) by Award ) gives no indication that Primary/Slave might not appear in CMOS ... but they don't!

It's running perfectly now, with no partitions ... but there's STILL no reference to the HDD or CD-ROM in the BIOS. Just the floppy drive.

Isn't that a little weird?

Again, apologies for the late response. If you have any info on why this happened, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks -

K.C. NEWMAN
Tampa, FL

[Murf]

Compaq's are strange animals, I've never worked on one. Did you look under "STANDARD CMOS SETUP"


Maybe look something like this?


Drive C : Auto ( 0B) 0 0 0 0 0 AUTO
Drive D : Auto ( 0B) 0 0 0 0 0 AUTO

[semperdoodle]

Hey KC,

This is an old issue and proabably water under the bridge, but seeing as I had to deal with the exact same issue, and because Gloria at HP Total Care is either completely clueles or sadly lacking in the integrity department, I've decided to pass on what I have learned from a man named Wim, who imparts knowledge and wisdom for any who ask.

The motherboard inside your Presario 5440 is of course "OEM". Contrary to what Compaq/HP will tell you about the availability of Bios and Driver updates; you can download a "fully" functional bios (128GB drive limitation), in addition to an "unammended" user manual, and all the latest system drivers at the following link.



http://www.gigabyte.com.hr/MotherBoard/Support/BIOS/BIOS_GA-5SMM.htm



You see, the board (Model# GA-6SMM) was manufactured by Gigabyte Technology Co. who in turn sold it to Compaq/HP. As is so often the case with OEM's, Compaq/HP then Raped, Pillaged, and Plundered this poor little board, stripping it of it's identity as well as it's name and covered up any discernable trace of who or where it came from and in the process cutting off the unsuspecting owner from the ONLY source of currently updated bios and driver support files.



This is all done because OEM's aren't willing to accept just the purchase price in exchange for the product they sell you. By concealing from you the identity of the product they sell you, they assure themselves of being your only source of support for the product you have allready paid for. It's actually FAR cheaper to simply dispose of your computer and just buy a new one than it is to pay an OEM for even a single instance of out of warranty support. Truth be told, I have yet to find even a single instance of an actual hardware manufacturer failing to provide COMPLETE support for any of their products, regardless of how old the product is.



For Compaq/HP I have only this to say. A lie of ommision is still a lie. PS. Do you know what another name for an "Extended Warranty" is....? Try "Pure Profit!"

[ayrlander]

This is an old issue and proabably water under the bridge, but seeing as I had to deal with the exact same issue, and because Gloria at HP Total Care is either completely clueles or sadly lacking in the integrity department, I've decided to pass on what I have learned from a man named Wim, who imparts knowledge and wisdom for any who ask.

Thank you *SO* *MUCH* for posting this. I just ran into this problem earlier in the week. I was trying to add a hard drive to a Compaq system, and ran into the same issue of not having the hard drive selection options in the BIOS. I followed your link, grabbed the most recent version of the BIOS, flashed mine, and when I rebooted not only was the Compaq splash screen on powerup gone, but the BIOS had all of the normally expected features (that is, it wasn't crippled anymore). Thanks for taking the time to come back to post your success in this old thread, it's greatly appreciated and came in handy when nothing else would have given the answer.

[erthdwela]

Originally Posted by semperdoodle
This is an old issue and proabably water under the bridge, but seeing as I had to deal with the exact same issue, and because Gloria at HP Total Care is either completely clueles or sadly lacking in the integrity department, I've decided to pass on what I have learned from a man named Wim, who imparts knowledge and wisdom for any who ask.


Many thanks for your enlightening posting semperdoodle. :happy:

I was able to download the GA-5SMM F5 BIOS and upgrade from the original Award BIOS 2A5IMG09 which came with the Compaq Presario 5423 but wouldn’t recognize hard drives bigger than 32 GB. As a result the machine now has an additional 40 GB hard disk installed. I don’t know how many Presarios came with Gigabyte Technology motherboards (I used the MvPCinfo tool to identify the motherboard), but for people who have them and need more HDD capacity or just want access to normal BIOS settings, this seems to be the way to go.

[Zapso]

Hi, a new link, faster... http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_Model.aspx?ProductID=1579