The motherboard is an AOpen AX5T (Socket 7, Intel 430TX)

On the drive detection screen--that's all it returns, or your BIOS has locked up there?
If your BIOS doesn't have the 8.4GB limit (which you can tolerate if 8.4 is OK), it would have the 32GB bug in this era (which will lock up on every boot).
You could temporarily hook a drive up to a modern machine and set a host protected area to reduce the capacity. I use Linux hdparm; some use seatools.

I get no lockups. If I continue the boot sequence (with Primary master set to AUTO), it just fails to detect anything (empty string) and then says DISK BOOT FAILURE.

I have also tried connecting an older 3,5 IDE drive directly (i.e no adapter) and then it works perfectly. That drive is 4gb.

I have found SATA-IDE adapters to be flaky (including the StarTech one) but not this flaky so no great ideas. I've found them to be most compatible with a Toshiba 1TB SATA HDD; if anything, those older/smaller drives should be even more compatible.

d00mo wrote on 2025-03-19, 20:26:

I am struggling getting my 2,5 drives to work in my current retro build, when using an SATA to PATA adapter. I believe the adap […]
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I am struggling getting my 2,5 drives to work in my current retro build, when using an SATA to PATA adapter.
I believe the adapter is pretty common, and I think it is supposed to be compatible with many drives.

I have tried with 2 different hard drives (Fujitsu and Seagate) and one SSD (Micron), and none of them are being auto-detected in the BIOS.

Am I missing something?

This board is from 1997. It will not support 48-bit LBA, so >127GB drives will not work, adapter or not.
LBA is supported, but this board is old enough for its BIOS to likely be affected by bugs that will preclude larger drives (still <127GB) from working without a patched BIOS such as this one [1].
That being said, IDE to SATA adapter or drive compatibility issues are also possible, but drive capacity support limits must always be taken into account. See also Are there any utilities available to test BIOS disk access routines for reliable LBA28 functionality ?
EDIT: This https://xtideuniversalbios.org/ can allow even 2TB drives to work on older machines. I have used it successfully on a 440BX based board Adding XT-IDE option ROM to Asus P3B-F BIOS [Thanks to DenizOezmen, it actually works!!!] .

[1]
I have not tested this. Please be careful.
https://www.bios-mods.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=755

Seconded darry, given the age of the board there's a high chance that your drives are too big to work

Fortunately the Seagate drive can be artificially restricted down via Seatools, even if just for testing.

I've used a pair of this style of adaptor with no problems except for the instance when the CPU was being well overdriven (although not thermally). IDE drive was fine, SATA to IDE was not. Easy enough to down clock your setup and eliminate another possible cause.

gdjacobs wrote on 2025-03-20, 03:29:

Fortunately the Seagate drive can be artificially restricted down via Seatools, even if just for testing.

Something similar should be possible on other drives using hdparm . Here is an example .

Re: Here's an idea: using high endurance (micro)SD cards meant for continuous video recording as storage for retro gear

Thanks for you tips, I’ll look into them 👍

Hi D00mo,

I fully agree with @darry’s reply about the capacity limits of this AX5T Award BIOS.
I’ve checked your 10/20/1997 R1.60, and the latest 05/28/1999 R1.92 BIOS, and they both have the infamous 32GB IDE HDD limit bug.

You can read about these Award BIOS HDD limit bugs and the possible fixes on my Unofficial K6-2+/K6-III+ webpage. The link is in my signature below.
On this same page you can download a patched and tested AX5T R1.92 patch J.2 BIOS that allows drives up to 128GiB to be used. So your 80GB Fujitsu drive should work with this patched BIOS, provided there is no issue with the SATA-PATA adapter. 😉

I did this AX5T patch J.2 BIOS back in 2003, so the improved “new community fix” for the 32GB limit bug is not yet incorporated. This means that attaching drives > 128GiB will hang the BIOS.
I can fix this now and make a new patch J.3 BIOS version that allows drives up to 640GiB to be attached, although the BIOS will still ‘see’ only 128GiB due to the 28-bit LBA limit of all BIOSes from that time. BIOSes with 48-bit LBA for proper > 128GiB drive support did not appear until 2004.

Let me know if you want to have this improved AX5T BIOS.

Cheers, Jan

Chkcpu wrote on 2025-03-20, 14:21:

Hi D00mo, […]
Show full quote

Hi D00mo,

I fully agree with @darry’s reply about the capacity limits of this AX5T Award BIOS.
I’ve checked your 10/20/1997 R1.60, and the latest 05/28/1999 R1.92 BIOS, and they both have the infamous 32GB IDE HDD limit bug.

You can read about these Award BIOS HDD limit bugs and the possible fixes on my Unofficial K6-2+/K6-III+ webpage. The link is in my signature below.
On this same page you can download a patched and tested AX5T R1.92 patch J.2 BIOS that allows drives up to 128GiB to be used. So your 80GB Fujitsu drive should work with this patched BIOS, provided there is no issue with the SATA-PATA adapter. 😉

I did this AX5T patch J.2 BIOS back in 2003, so the improved “new community fix” for the 32GB limit bug is not yet incorporated. This means that attaching drives > 128GiB will hang the BIOS.
I can fix this now and make a new patch J.3 BIOS version that allows drives up to 640GiB to be attached, although the BIOS will still ‘see’ only 128GiB due to the 28-bit LBA limit of all BIOSes from that time. BIOSes with 48-bit LBA for proper > 128GiB drive support did not appear until 2004.

Let me know if you want to have this improved AX5T BIOS.

Cheers, Jan

Wow, thank you kindly for your effort! The helpfulness found on this site is really amazing.
If it is not to much trouble for you, I would happily try out an updated version. I read in another thread that Seagate drives much faster than Fujitsu 😀
Thanks again! 🙏

Chkcpu wrote on 2025-03-20, 14:21:

Hi D00mo, […]
Show full quote

Hi D00mo,

I fully agree with @darry’s reply about the capacity limits of this AX5T Award BIOS.
I’ve checked your 10/20/1997 R1.60, and the latest 05/28/1999 R1.92 BIOS, and they both have the infamous 32GB IDE HDD limit bug.

You can read about these Award BIOS HDD limit bugs and the possible fixes on my Unofficial K6-2+/K6-III+ webpage. The link is in my signature below.
On this same page you can download a patched and tested AX5T R1.92 patch J.2 BIOS that allows drives up to 128GiB to be used. So your 80GB Fujitsu drive should work with this patched BIOS, provided there is no issue with the SATA-PATA adapter. 😉

I did this AX5T patch J.2 BIOS back in 2003, so the improved “new community fix” for the 32GB limit bug is not yet incorporated. This means that attaching drives > 128GiB will hang the BIOS.
I can fix this now and make a new patch J.3 BIOS version that allows drives up to 640GiB to be attached, although the BIOS will still ‘see’ only 128GiB due to the 28-bit LBA limit of all BIOSes from that time. BIOSes with 48-bit LBA for proper > 128GiB drive support did not appear until 2004.

Let me know if you want to have this improved AX5T BIOS.

Cheers, Jan

I successfully updated the bios to the suggested J.2 patch.
Surprisingly, the error still remains with the 80gb Fujitsu drive.
Since all replies in this thread points towards the 32gb limit bug being the issue here, which I believe now should be solved with bios update, I am starting to think that there is also something wrong with the adapter…

I just noticed that there is constant red light on the adapter. I am not sure if this is intended, or something that indicates an error?
Does anyone know this?

Hi D00mo,

I just sent you the new AX5T patch J.3 BIOS via PM.
This J.3 BIOS has the improved 32GB limit bugfix, that doesn’t hang on >128GB drives anymore, so you can now try your 250GB drives as well.

This new patch is smart enough to limit the drive geometry to the 28-bit LBA limit on these large drives, and will indicate these drives as 136GB.
I hope this works better than with the Fujitsu drive. 😉
If not, then most probably the SATA to PATA adapter is faulty or incompatible with this board.

On my end, I’ve pulled a SATA-PATA adapter from my SS7 box and will try it with a 240GB SSD on an i430TX board I have presently on the testbench. This Abit PX5 board has an Award BIOS from 1998 and I’ve applied exactly the same fixes as in your J.3 BIOS. If there is an incompatibility with the BIOS from that era, or with the i430TX chipset, I should find it.

I’m curious about your findings with this new BIOS.
Cheers, Jan

darry wrote on 2025-03-20, 03:38:

gdjacobs wrote on 2025-03-20, 03:29:

Fortunately the Seagate drive can be artificially restricted down via Seatools, even if just for testing.

Something similar should be possible on other drives using hdparm . Here is an example .

Re: Here's an idea: using high endurance (micro)SD cards meant for continuous video recording as storage for retro gear

Indeed, using HPA is certainly viable (although easier to mess up).

gdjacobs wrote on 2025-03-22, 02:38:

darry wrote on 2025-03-20, 03:38:

gdjacobs wrote on 2025-03-20, 03:29:

Fortunately the Seagate drive can be artificially restricted down via Seatools, even if just for testing.

Something similar should be possible on other drives using hdparm . Here is an example .

Re: Here's an idea: using high endurance (micro)SD cards meant for continuous video recording as storage for retro gear

Indeed, using HPA is certainly viable (although easier to mess up).

Indeed, and also not always fully compatible. I wonder if one can irreversibly bork a drive by playing with with the HPA.

d00mo wrote on 2025-03-21, 10:38:

I successfully updated the bios to the suggested J.2 patch. Surprisingly, the error still remains with the 80gb Fujitsu drive. […]
Show full quote

Chkcpu wrote on 2025-03-20, 14:21:

Hi D00mo, […]
Show full quote

Hi D00mo,

I fully agree with @darry’s reply about the capacity limits of this AX5T Award BIOS.
I’ve checked your 10/20/1997 R1.60, and the latest 05/28/1999 R1.92 BIOS, and they both have the infamous 32GB IDE HDD limit bug.

You can read about these Award BIOS HDD limit bugs and the possible fixes on my Unofficial K6-2+/K6-III+ webpage. The link is in my signature below.
On this same page you can download a patched and tested AX5T R1.92 patch J.2 BIOS that allows drives up to 128GiB to be used. So your 80GB Fujitsu drive should work with this patched BIOS, provided there is no issue with the SATA-PATA adapter. 😉

I did this AX5T patch J.2 BIOS back in 2003, so the improved “new community fix” for the 32GB limit bug is not yet incorporated. This means that attaching drives > 128GiB will hang the BIOS.
I can fix this now and make a new patch J.3 BIOS version that allows drives up to 640GiB to be attached, although the BIOS will still ‘see’ only 128GiB due to the 28-bit LBA limit of all BIOSes from that time. BIOSes with 48-bit LBA for proper > 128GiB drive support did not appear until 2004.

Let me know if you want to have this improved AX5T BIOS.

Cheers, Jan

I successfully updated the bios to the suggested J.2 patch.
Surprisingly, the error still remains with the 80gb Fujitsu drive.
Since all replies in this thread points towards the 32gb limit bug being the issue here, which I believe now should be solved with bios update, I am starting to think that there is also something wrong with the adapter…

I just noticed that there is constant red light on the adapter. I am not sure if this is intended, or something that indicates an error?
Does anyone know this?

What markings are on the chip on the adapters ? The unbranded ones can be anything from one batch to the next varying from good to garbage.

The branded ones (assuming no fraudulent remarking) typically have a chip from either Marvell, JMicron or Sunplus.

The Marvell ones are generaly the most compatible (though there have been reports of newer revsions having issues).
The JMicron ones usually work well on many controllers, expect VIA 686B and ICH4 ones at least, where they might work OK ONLY if (U)DMA is disabled.
The Sunplus ones are those I know the least about. Startech uses them on their converters, which suggests they might be decent.

Of these, the Marvell and JMicron based ones usually support TRIM passthrough (for SSDs), FWIW.

darry wrote on 2025-03-22, 04:49:

What markings are on the chip on the adapters ? The unbranded ones can be anything from one batch to the next varying from good […]
Show full quote

d00mo wrote on 2025-03-21, 10:38:

I successfully updated the bios to the suggested J.2 patch. Surprisingly, the error still remains with the 80gb Fujitsu drive. […]
Show full quote

Chkcpu wrote on 2025-03-20, 14:21:

Hi D00mo, […]
Show full quote

Hi D00mo,

I fully agree with @darry’s reply about the capacity limits of this AX5T Award BIOS.
I’ve checked your 10/20/1997 R1.60, and the latest 05/28/1999 R1.92 BIOS, and they both have the infamous 32GB IDE HDD limit bug.

You can read about these Award BIOS HDD limit bugs and the possible fixes on my Unofficial K6-2+/K6-III+ webpage. The link is in my signature below.
On this same page you can download a patched and tested AX5T R1.92 patch J.2 BIOS that allows drives up to 128GiB to be used. So your 80GB Fujitsu drive should work with this patched BIOS, provided there is no issue with the SATA-PATA adapter. 😉

I did this AX5T patch J.2 BIOS back in 2003, so the improved “new community fix” for the 32GB limit bug is not yet incorporated. This means that attaching drives > 128GiB will hang the BIOS.
I can fix this now and make a new patch J.3 BIOS version that allows drives up to 640GiB to be attached, although the BIOS will still ‘see’ only 128GiB due to the 28-bit LBA limit of all BIOSes from that time. BIOSes with 48-bit LBA for proper > 128GiB drive support did not appear until 2004.

Let me know if you want to have this improved AX5T BIOS.

Cheers, Jan

I successfully updated the bios to the suggested J.2 patch.
Surprisingly, the error still remains with the 80gb Fujitsu drive.
Since all replies in this thread points towards the 32gb limit bug being the issue here, which I believe now should be solved with bios update, I am starting to think that there is also something wrong with the adapter…

I just noticed that there is constant red light on the adapter. I am not sure if this is intended, or something that indicates an error?
Does anyone know this?

What markings are on the chip on the adapters ? The unbranded ones can be anything from one batch to the next varying from good to garbage.

The branded ones (assuming no fraudulent remarking) typically have a chip from either Marvell, JMicron or Sunplus.

The Marvell ones are generaly the most compatible (though there have been reports of newer revsions having issues).
The JMicron ones usually work well on many controllers, expect VIA 686B and ICH4 ones at least, where they might work OK ONLY if (U)DMA is disabled.
The Sunplus ones are those I know the least about. Startech uses them on their converters, which suggests they might be decent.

Of these, the Marvell and JMicron based ones usually support TRIM passthrough (for SSDs), FWIW.

It’s unbranded. The only identifier on it is ”JP103-5”

darry wrote on 2025-03-22, 04:49:

What markings are on the chip on the adapters ? The unbranded ones can be anything from one batch to the next varying from good […]
Show full quote

What markings are on the chip on the adapters ? The unbranded ones can be anything from one batch to the next varying from good to garbage.

The branded ones (assuming no fraudulent remarking) typically have a chip from either Marvell, JMicron or Sunplus.

The Marvell ones are generaly the most compatible (though there have been reports of newer revsions having issues).
The JMicron ones usually work well on many controllers, expect VIA 686B and ICH4 ones at least, where they might work OK ONLY if (U)DMA is disabled.
The Sunplus ones are those I know the least about. Startech uses them on their converters, which suggests they might be decent.

Of these, the Marvell and JMicron based ones usually support TRIM passthrough (for SSDs), FWIW.

@darry, thanks for the details about these SATA adaptors and the chips they use!

I have only one IDE to SATA adapter, so my experience with these is limited.
It is a StarTech with a Marvell chip and works great in my Ali Aladdin V SS7 box.

I have now tested this adapter on my i430TX system and it works perfectly here as well. For this test I used Hitachi 80GB and 120GB SATA laptop drives, and a 250GB Samsung SATA Harddisk.

@d00mo reported via PM that the AX5T patch J.3 BIOS I send him works perfectly with a Maxtor 120GB PATA HDD, but the 3 SATA drives are still not recognized by his PATA to SATA adapter.
I don’t believe that all 3 his SATA drives are faulty, so this no-brand SATA adapter must faulty or incompatible with his AOpen AX5T i430TX board.

Jan