Updating ASUS BIOS to fix HD Barrier

Hi, I have a P4B266-C ASUS Motherboard with a 160GB Western Digital Hard Drive running on Windows XP. Problem is, my computer only recognizes 127GB of it, i.e. it says that the total size of the drive is 127GB.

I emailed ASUS tech support and they recommended updating the BIOS. I've been sitting here for a couple of hours now and can't figure out how to do it. I too am having trouble understanding how to create boot disks in DOS mode and the concept of flashing. I've been staring at the instructions but nothing's working.

Will updating the BIOS solve the problem so that my computer will recognize all 160GB? Also, will I lose all of the information stored on my computer right now if I update the BIOS?

I've tried installing and using the promise controller card but that doesn't fix the problem. In fact, I only did that because a friend recommended it but obviously it didn't work.

I'm getting ripped off 33GB here and would like to have it as I use my computer for video editing, etc. Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Reading that you are not familiar with DOS and Boot disks etc. says to me " leave it alone ". As it is you have 127gig. If you attempt to flash the BIOS and something goes wrong you can wind up with NOTHING. :

Yes, It could solve the problem. But if something goes wrong ?????

I suggest to take the HD back and get one that is within the limits of the BIOS and maybe even get a 2nd HD.

BillyBob

 

I think service pack 1 for XP corrects this problem. You can install it and see, and it's free from Microsoft.

 

I think BillyBob is right, you could end up with with a unworkable system...but...we all have to start somewhere. For my first BIOS flash I enlisted the help of someone that has done it a few times before and watched and listened to them carefully. Ask around your family and friends to try to find someone with the experience.

You could find out the cost of getting it done by a local computer repairer and see if they will let you watch and explain what they are doing (it should take less than 15 minutes if you can supply them with the correct flash program etc).

You must be certain that it is the correct BIOS flash for your motherboard, so you may need to find out things like the Revision number. If you are not certain, then don't attempt it.

I would expect the controller card to see the full size. You could look up the specifications for that card at the Promise website. Maybe sparrow is right that it is a problem with Windows and not with the hardware.(Edit: Now I wonder if it has been partitioned to the maximum size that the BIOS could "see ", in which case you would need a partitioning program like Partition Magic or Partition Manager to repartition to the full size without losing your data...maybe lots of factors involved).

Matt

 

Just this week I ran accross a pc that had xp pro installed and a 160 hdd that it couldn't see more that around 130, and it didn't have sp1. I installed sp1 just for general reasons and lo and behold now there was a new unused partition!

 

Thanks for the responses everyone. But some excellent news...

I tried partition magic and it seems the other 27 some odd GB were unallocated. I forgot exactly what I did but it was something along the lines of reallocating the "unallocated" space. And it worked! I've got all 160GB now. As for having service pack 1, well I actually had that already but it still didn't allow my computer to recognize the total size of my 160GB HD. I still had to use partition magic. Anyway, thanks again for the informative responses to my question!..

 

Glad to see you have the problem solved.

Thank you for the good news.

BillyBob