Win98 and earlier versions of Fdisk don't recognise drives larger then 64GB
It could be the version of fdisk your using, quick search found a link right on this forum, you'll have to thank Horun 😀
Re: FDISK issue with hard drive size

I find Fdisk can sometimes struggle with deleting non FAT partitions, in this case I use boot from a Win2k or XP CD and use its setup to delete any existing partitions. then reboot into dos and let fdisk on a blank disk.

chinny22 wrote on 2024-12-11, 22:33:

Win98 and earlier versions of Fdisk don't recognise drives larger then 64GB It could be the version of fdisk your using, quick […]
Show full quote

Win98 and earlier versions of Fdisk don't recognise drives larger then 64GB
It could be the version of fdisk your using, quick search found a link right on this forum, you'll have to thank Horun 😀
Re: FDISK issue with hard drive size

I find Fdisk can sometimes struggle with deleting non FAT partitions, in this case I use boot from a Win2k or XP CD and use its setup to delete any existing partitions. then reboot into dos and let fdisk on a blank disk.

Ahh, I see. I did recall reading something along those lines, but when I did another search, results were saying 127GB+, so I figured I was fine. I did also notice on the label, that putting the jumper into the third column along caps it to 32GB. That would explain the strange low amount I saw, but I didn't put the jumper in the third column along. It was the second.

But thank you for the link. 😀 I take it that version is what caps the limit to 127GB+?

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-12-11, 22:47:

But thank you for the link. 😀 I take it that version is what caps the limit to 127GB+?

Correct!

chinny22 wrote on 2024-12-11, 23:30:

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-12-11, 22:47:

But thank you for the link. 😀 I take it that version is what caps the limit to 127GB+?

Correct!

Perfect. Thanks for clarifying. 😁 Hopefully I can get that all sorted and updated tomorrow and get it set up. 😀

chinny22 wrote on 2024-12-11, 22:33:

Win98 and earlier versions of Fdisk don't recognise drives larger then 64GB It could be the version of fdisk your using, quick […]
Show full quote

Win98 and earlier versions of Fdisk don't recognise drives larger then 64GB
It could be the version of fdisk your using, quick search found a link right on this forum, you'll have to thank Horun 😀
Re: FDISK issue with hard drive size

I find Fdisk can sometimes struggle with deleting non FAT partitions, in this case I use boot from a Win2k or XP CD and use its setup to delete any existing partitions. then reboot into dos and let fdisk on a blank disk.

Okay, I've installed that update (tried it twice), and fdisk seems to be recognising the drive, however it's still only recognising it as a 32GB HDD. I swear at one point it did list it as 80. The BIOS keeps listing it as 32GB as well. Not quite sure why. I believe the jumper is set correctly, too. It recognises it as a Primary Slave, so it's not set to be capped or anything.

I took a look at Phil's video on the subject but I'm a bit confused how I'd go about doing that. For one, I don't have the same software/utility program to manually set the HDD sectors, or if that would even work for me, and second - I can't find anything about what my motherboard supports at max. I checked through the PDF manual but couldn't see anything there. So I don't know how I'd be able to work it out via a calculator.

I also tried Super Fdisk and created a bootable CD, and whilst that tool looks to be a lot better to use, it still only recognises the drive as 32GB. 🙁

Okay, I’ve managed to get that SeaTools for DOS that Phil used and burnt it to a disc. I was able to get it to automatically set it to the maximum amount of 80GB and did tests for the C and D drive. Both passed. 😀 However, the BIOS is still unable to detect it. So I’m not sure if I need to update something else…? Possibly the BIOS…? I did try updating that once but didn’t get very far with it.

Anyone?

I’m totally stuck with this. I can’t even flash my BIOS to a particular version, which I presume would allow me to make use of the full amount. 🙁 And now the BIOS has recognised it again as being only 32GB.

What motherboard are you using? Then we'll know if your hitting a limit of the motherboard and even then work arounds exist

chinny22 wrote on 2024-12-12, 23:48:

What motherboard are you using? Then we'll know if your hitting a limit of the motherboard and even then work arounds exist

It's this one - https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/msi-ms-6156-bx11

I haven't found anything about it's max capacity; only for the RAM.

This sounds like a bios int13 restriction issue.

Xtide xub would sort it, as would a patched/updated bios, and failing either of those, a disk overlay.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-12-12, 20:11:

Anyone?

I’m totally stuck with this. I can’t even flash my BIOS to a particular version, which I presume would allow me to make use of the full amount. 🙁 And now the BIOS has recognised it again as being only 32GB.

I agree that this is a BIOS issue.
BIOSes from this 1998 era were plagued by 32GB and 64GB IDE HDD limit bugs.

So you just need a BIOS update that fixes this, and such a BIOS is available at https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/msi-ms-6156-bx11#bios
Download and flash the Award 10/06/2000 W6156MS V1.6 BIOS. This BIOS has full 128GiB/137GB HDD support.

Note that if you are running an AMI BIOS now, the AWDFLASH program may not work and you need Uniflash to flash the BIOS.

Cheers, Jan

Chkcpu wrote on 2024-12-13, 13:04:

I agree that this is a BIOS issue. BIOSes from this 1998 era were plagued by 32GB and 64GB IDE HDD limit bugs. […]
Show full quote

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-12-12, 20:11:

Anyone?

I’m totally stuck with this. I can’t even flash my BIOS to a particular version, which I presume would allow me to make use of the full amount. 🙁 And now the BIOS has recognised it again as being only 32GB.

I agree that this is a BIOS issue.
BIOSes from this 1998 era were plagued by 32GB and 64GB IDE HDD limit bugs.

So you just need a BIOS update that fixes this, and such a BIOS is available at https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/msi-ms-6156-bx11#bios
Download and flash the Award 10/06/2000 W6156MS V1.6 BIOS. This BIOS has full 128GiB/137GB HDD support.

Note that if you are running an AMI BIOS now, the AWDFLASH program may not work and you need Uniflash to flash the BIOS.

Cheers, Jan

Thanks for confirming. But yeah, that's the site I grabbed the BIOS update from. And I plan on using Uniflash, too. Seems like the safest option. The old one has been backed up, too. All I need to figure out is how to get the image file as it doesn't appear to be there. So I'm not sure if I need to change the file type from .160 to .bin, or if I need to get a workable boot disk sorted. I had issues getting that to work yesterday.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-12-13, 13:33:

Chkcpu wrote on 2024-12-13, 13:04:

I agree that this is a BIOS issue. BIOSes from this 1998 era were plagued by 32GB and 64GB IDE HDD limit bugs. […]
Show full quote

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-12-12, 20:11:

Anyone?

I’m totally stuck with this. I can’t even flash my BIOS to a particular version, which I presume would allow me to make use of the full amount. 🙁 And now the BIOS has recognised it again as being only 32GB.

I agree that this is a BIOS issue.
BIOSes from this 1998 era were plagued by 32GB and 64GB IDE HDD limit bugs.

So you just need a BIOS update that fixes this, and such a BIOS is available at https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/msi-ms-6156-bx11#bios
Download and flash the Award 10/06/2000 W6156MS V1.6 BIOS. This BIOS has full 128GiB/137GB HDD support.

Note that if you are running an AMI BIOS now, the AWDFLASH program may not work and you need Uniflash to flash the BIOS.

Cheers, Jan

Thanks for confirming. But yeah, that's the site I grabbed the BIOS update from. And I plan on using Uniflash, too. Seems like the safest option. The old one has been backed up, too. All I need to figure out is how to get the image file as it doesn't appear to be there. So I'm not sure if I need to change the file type from .160 to .bin, or if I need to get a workable boot disk sorted. I had issues getting that to work yesterday.

The W6156IMS.160 file you got when running the self-extracting archive you downloaded from TheRetroWeb, is the BIOS image file. They call it an image-file because it is an 1:1 copy of the contents of the BIOS flashchip.
The filename of this image file doesn’t matter. You can rename it to MYBIOS.BIN if you like, but it makes no difference. 😉

Your MS-6156 board uses a 256KB flashchip so both the BIOS backup file, as the new v1.6 BIOS image file must be exactly 256KB ( = 262.144 bytes).

Finally, a friendly warning: When changing from AMI to Award, or vice versa, be sure to always flash the BIOS INCLUDING Bootblock, otherwise you may brick your system. The Bootblock is an integral part of the BIOS, but the AMI Bootblock is quite different from Award’s.

Cheers. Jan

Chkcpu wrote on 2024-12-13, 17:11:

The W6156IMS.160 file you got when running the self-extracting archive you downloaded from TheRetroWeb, is the BIOS image file. […]
Show full quote

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-12-13, 13:33:

Chkcpu wrote on 2024-12-13, 13:04:

I agree that this is a BIOS issue. BIOSes from this 1998 era were plagued by 32GB and 64GB IDE HDD limit bugs. […]
Show full quote

I agree that this is a BIOS issue.
BIOSes from this 1998 era were plagued by 32GB and 64GB IDE HDD limit bugs.

So you just need a BIOS update that fixes this, and such a BIOS is available at https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/msi-ms-6156-bx11#bios
Download and flash the Award 10/06/2000 W6156MS V1.6 BIOS. This BIOS has full 128GiB/137GB HDD support.

Note that if you are running an AMI BIOS now, the AWDFLASH program may not work and you need Uniflash to flash the BIOS.

Cheers, Jan

Thanks for confirming. But yeah, that's the site I grabbed the BIOS update from. And I plan on using Uniflash, too. Seems like the safest option. The old one has been backed up, too. All I need to figure out is how to get the image file as it doesn't appear to be there. So I'm not sure if I need to change the file type from .160 to .bin, or if I need to get a workable boot disk sorted. I had issues getting that to work yesterday.

The W6156IMS.160 file you got when running the self-extracting archive you downloaded from TheRetroWeb, is the BIOS image file. They call it an image-file because it is an 1:1 copy of the contents of the BIOS flashchip.
The filename of this image file doesn’t matter. You can rename it to MYBIOS.BIN if you like, but it makes no difference. 😉

Your MS-6156 board uses a 256KB flashchip so both the BIOS backup file, as the new v1.6 BIOS image file must be exactly 256KB ( = 262.144 bytes).

Finally, a friendly warning: When changing from AMI to Award, or vice versa, be sure to always flash the BIOS INCLUDING Bootblock, otherwise you may brick your system. The Bootblock is an integral part of the BIOS, but the AMI Bootblock is quite different from Award’s.

Cheers. Jan

Okay. I’m not quite sure how to get it working with UNIFLASH. It doesn’t appear to recognise the image file, so would I need to type it in manually? Place the image file in the root directory of UNIFLASH?
I’ve currently been trying to use the Award utility instead, and I’ve got as far as using a boot disk and it recognising the image, but it didn’t do anything. So I decided to replace the utility with an older one - 7.70 - based on someone else’s post/experience. But on the safe side, I think I would prefer to use UNIFLASH

EDIT: Just tried typing in the name and it worked! Flashed without issues and I’ve accessed the new BIOS. 😁 Now to see if I can use the full capacity of my HDD. 😀

The mystery continues. The BIOS is still detecting it as 32GB. 😑😕 Even after setting it with Sea Tools for DOS, it won’t have it.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-12-13, 18:24:

The mystery continues. The BIOS is still detecting it as 32GB. 😑😕 Even after setting it with Sea Tools for DOS, it won’t have it.

Remove the 32GB capacity limit jumper. I see it is set on your picture, it is the jumper on the second column along. 😉

Jan

Chkcpu wrote on 2024-12-13, 18:41:

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-12-13, 18:24:

The mystery continues. The BIOS is still detecting it as 32GB. 😑😕 Even after setting it with Sea Tools for DOS, it won’t have it.

Remove the 32GB capacity limit jumper. I see it is set on your picture, it is the jumper on the second column along. 😉

Jan

Um. I was led to believe the second column is for slave, isn’t it? The diagram shows column 3 as the limit cap.

I managed to get it sorted in the end. Sea Tools for DOS was complaining about errors with the C drive, so I changed it to LBA. Both HDDs are at LBA now and it’s now detected the second HDD as 80G, or 76GB in fdisk. 😀

But thank you everyone for your help. 😁

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-12-13, 18:57:

Um. I was led to believe the second column is for slave, isn’t it? The diagram shows column 3 as the limit cap. […]
Show full quote

Chkcpu wrote on 2024-12-13, 18:41:

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-12-13, 18:24:

The mystery continues. The BIOS is still detecting it as 32GB. 😑😕 Even after setting it with Sea Tools for DOS, it won’t have it.

Remove the 32GB capacity limit jumper. I see it is set on your picture, it is the jumper on the second column along. 😉

Jan

Um. I was led to believe the second column is for slave, isn’t it? The diagram shows column 3 as the limit cap.

I managed to get it sorted in the end. Sea Tools for DOS was complaining about errors with the C drive, so I changed it to LBA. Both HDDs are at LBA now and it’s now detected the second HDD as 80G, or 76GB in fdisk. 😀

But thank you everyone for your help. 😁

Haha, sorry for the confusion but I was counting the jumper positions from left to right. 😉

Anyway, great that the 80GB drive works correctly now.
Cheers, Jan