[AitrusSkyy]

I think a strong possibility here, is that your bios is having an issue seeing the maximum size of your HD, some computers bios's cannot detect Hard Drivers over a certian size....

To easily rule out this possibility, Has your HD always been missing this amount of space? Or did you think it wasnt missing that amount of space, or is it a possiblity you were not aware of the missing space untill you needed it.

Often times people buy new hard drives that wont show the real size they are... for instance, I bought a 160 gig a year ago, however my dell said it was like 37gb untill I updated my bios to see bigger drives...

Some bios on some computers cant even see over a 4gb drive...

Can you find the make and model of your Motherboard? if you can I can provide you with a proper link to possibly updated drivers for your bios.

It should not be an issue with windows however. Windows is not that particular about controlling your hardware, usually the bios takes control rather than windows.

[Advertisements]

I've been missing a lot of memory since as far back as I can remember. I'll get that motherboard model for you ASAP

Just realized you weren't a trained guy here. You don't mind if I wait on one of the GeekU grads to comment on this?

Edited by Aushin, 27 July 2006 - 01:09 PM.

[Aushin]

I've been missing a lot of memory since as far back as I can remember. I'll get that motherboard model for you ASAP

Just realized you weren't a trained guy here. You don't mind if I wait on one of the GeekU grads to comment on this?

Edited by Aushin, 27 July 2006 - 01:09 PM.

[AitrusSkyy]

Haha, no thats perfectly fine... I wouldnt tell you to do something that would hurt your machine. Im here asking for help in another area, so I figure return the favor and help... went to college for cisco networking and been messing with pcs since I was 9, im 22 now ... But I dont mind if you wait on an admin of these forums...

In the mean time, if you do get your motherboard model and make, I can find the site with the drivers and you can read up on how to do what they call ( FLASH YOUR BIOS ), which is an upgrade for your bios. Not all bioses have an update. But if it is like you say, the HD has been missing space since the beginning of your knowledge, most likely your bios never knew how big your HD really was .

Let me know.

[Aushin]

having tons of trouble figuring out the motherboard model. any ideas?

[AitrusSkyy]

Normally you can open the side of your case and sometimes look inside and see the model/brand name on the motherboard itself...

Try doing this...

download http://www.cpuid.com...d/cpu-z-135.zip
which is called CPUZ it will tell you your CPU, RAM, and Motherboard make...

if you dont trust it, search google.com for cpuz and it will lead you to that site...
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

All you do is download that file extract it (cause its in a zip file) and run it, it should tell you your motherboard make...

CPU-Z is a freeware that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system.

CPU
Name and number.
Core stepping and process.
Package.
Core voltage.
Internal and external clocks, clock multiplier.
Supported instructions sets.
All cache levels (location, size, speed, technology).

>>>>>>>Mainboard
Vendor, model and revision.
BIOS model and date.
Chipset (northbridge and southbridge) and sensor.
Graphic interface. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Memory
Frequency and timings.
Module(s) specification using SPD (Serial Presence Detect) : vendor, serial number, timings table.

System
Windows and DirectX version.

[Aushin]

Motherboard:


Manufacturer - IBM

Model - 1860A13 (next to this it says "Not Available" in another box)

Chipset - Intel (Next to this, "i915GMS/i910GML") Rev. - 03

Southbridge - Intel (Next to this, "82801FBM (ICH6-M)")

Sensor - FFFFFFFF (Next to this, "FFFFFFFF")


BIOS


Brand - IBM

Version - 70ET37WW (1.01)

Date - 1/31/2005

[AitrusSkyy]

Do you have an IBM thinkpad laptop? if so which one do you have?

[AitrusSkyy]

Nevermind, I think this is it

First you need to update your embedded controller... which is here

http://www-307.ibm.c...ocid=MIGR-59440

Then update your BIOS which is here...

http://www-307.ibm.c...ocid=MIGR-59380

that is the download for your bios update...

Typically it installs to a FLOPPY DISKETTE then you install it when you restart your computer... READ THE INSTALATION INSTRUCTIONS...

and when you install it, DONT CUT OFF THE POWER...

If your computer is one of the following, that update is for you...

BIOS Update (Diskette) - ThinkPad R52 (1858, 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1958), T43 (1871, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876)

Edited by AitrusSkyy, 27 July 2006 - 07:28 PM.

[Aushin]

tried to run the embedded and got the following error after a cmd window popped up

"C:\DOCUME~1\IBM\Desktop\70hj05ud.exe"
"C:\PROGRA~1\Symantec\S32EVNT1.DLL. An installable Virtual Device Driver failed Dll initialization. Choose 'Close' to terminate the application."

[Vaillant]

You 2 should seriously slow down before you go any further... Incorrectly flashing a Bios can scrap a computer very quickly. I'm gonna go PM keith to have him take another look at this, don't do anything else untill he talks to you again. I wouldn't want you to go and scrap ur computer... The advice is good, but lets keep going with less dramatic steps before making the leap. Eliminate all possible issues before risking it, isnt that a good idea?

[db_addix]

hey bro i might be wrong here but i never had to upgrade the bios on a system to see a bigger hdd but i had to upgrade my partition from fat to ntfs
which os are you running and what format is your partition fat32 or ntfs ???

[Aushin]

I'm pretty sure that my HD isn't partitioned.

And yes Vaillant I'll wait on Keith.

Edited by Aushin, 28 July 2006 - 02:38 PM.

[Retired Tech]

Can you put this drive in another PC as a slave then see what is on it

[Aushin]

Unfortunately, my experience with manually removing and replacing hardware is very limited. The most I've ever really done is put in a graphics card or a few sticks of RAM.

[Retired Tech]

Have a look through this

http://compreviews.a...ss/DIYSecHD.htm

Don't go for it unless you are sure