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Subject:
From:
Tom Turak <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
PCBUILD - PC Hardware discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 18 May 1998 14:11:31 -0400
Content-Type:
text/plain
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At 05:39 PM 5/17/1998 Edna Sloan wrote:
>
>A friend has a Compaq 48625SX all-in-one model(Presario Net/25S) that came
>with a 100MB IDE hard drive.
>She wants to replace the drive with a 540MB, but cannot get the system to
>take it.  When she tries to boot up, after installing and manually changing
>the bios for the 540, she gets a "controller failure" error message.  She
>tried another 540 drive with the same result.  Both drives are good.


Edna:

This sounds like the BIOS is not supporting the drive parameters.
Have you upgraded the BIOS?  Do you access the BIOS via a diskette or
DOS prompt command?  If yes, then it sounds just like my Compaq.
My Pressario 633 does not support a user configured drive, but
provides a table of 80 odd drives to choose from.  Unfortunately my
Maxtor is not one of them.  Fortunately Compaq has a file at their support web
page to help this.  As a work around, a pc BIOS typically will accept a selection
for a hard disk that does not exceed the drive's actual capacity.  You do this by finding
an entry for cylinders x heads x tracks that when multiplied together, comes close but
does not exceed the number given when the recommended cylinders x heads x tracks
are multiplied.

Tom Turak
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