issues with replacement 40 GB hard drive in Win Me

I just replaced an ailing 4 GB HD in my old laptop running Win Me with a
new 40 GB drive. I'm having two issues: 1) Only 7.8 GB is being used of
the 40 GB available (I did select to allow large hard disk support
during Me installation) and 2) Even though I seem to shut down correctly
(selecting shutdown from the Me menu), when it reboots, I keep getting
improper shutdown detected and it wants to scan the drive. How can I
resolve these issues? Thank you!

William Bell wrote:

1) Only 7.8 GB is being used of the 40 GB available

That is a BIOS issue. Your computer is so old that the bios is only
aware of drive configurations up to 1024 tracks, 255 sides, 63 sectors
per track. That adds up to 7.84 gb as the maximum hard drive size the
BIOS can access.

Your only hope to overcome that is if there is a BIOS update for your
computer.


2) Even though I seem to shut down correctly (selecting shutdown from
the Me menu), when it reboots, I keep getting improper shutdown
detected

ME apparently had a shut-down bug that may not have been ever fixed, but
this seems to have caused a black screen and possibly the system hangs
at shutdown instead of actually shutting down.

See if the info in these 2 links are useful for your problem:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...down-correctly

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...ard-disk-error

When your system restarts and asks you to scan the drive, and for those
times you say YES and let it scan, does it ever find a problem?

On 02/01/2017 08:27 AM, 98 Guy wrote:



Your only hope to overcome that is if there is a BIOS update for your
computer.


Unfortunately, no BIOS update available beyond the one I have. I was
thinking of trying something like gParted and therefore handling the
issue outside of Win in DOS, or some type of drive overlay software I
was reading about.



2) Even though I seem to shut down correctly (selecting shutdown from
the Me menu), when it reboots, I keep getting improper shutdown
detected

ME apparently had a shut-down bug that may not have been ever fixed, but
this seems to have caused a black screen and possibly the system hangs
at shutdown instead of actually shutting down.

See if the info in these 2 links are useful for your problem:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...down-correctly

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/...ard-disk-error

When your system restarts and asks you to scan the drive, and for those
times you say YES and let it scan, does it ever find a problem?


I actually solved this on my own, but thanks for the suggestions. It
seems that if I do a restart as opposed to an actual shutdown, then I
get the scandisk screen. Not sure why, but that's what's happening. As
long as I shutdown completely and then restart, I don't get the
scandisk. And when I did let the scandisk complete, it did not find
anything wrong.

On Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 9:01:52 AM UTC-7, William Bell wrote:
On 02/01/2017 08:27 AM, 98 Guy wrote:



Your only hope to overcome that is if there is a BIOS update for your
computer.


Unfortunately, no BIOS update available beyond the one I have. I was
thinking of trying something like gParted and therefore handling the
issue outside of Win in DOS, or some type of drive overlay software I
was reading about.

Officially there won't be a solution for some BIOS code, but there are a few nuts out there rewriting old BIOS code knocking these types of bugs down flat. If you'll give your system make and model perhaps I can find those pages again and you may have an unofficial BIOS update already to download. I'll see what info I've got stored away and get back here if I find something relevant.

Lacking fixed BIOS code, all I had to suggest was drive overlay software, but I don't have a software name suggestion going down that road at all, sorry.

Lee wrote:

a BIOS update for your computer.

Unfortunately, no BIOS update available

there are a few nuts out there rewriting old BIOS code

Lacking fixed BIOS all I had to suggest was drive overlay software

Seriously people.

Think about it.

We're talking about a laptop circa 1999 or 2000. Probably earlier
because this 8 gb drive limitation is really old - like 1995 - 1997.

This laptop is a POS from a hardware pov. The screen will be ****.
Resolution will be ****.

The battery is flat dead. It will need to be plugged in all the time.

It has no wifi. It probably doesn't even have ethernet port.

So you stick a 40 gb drive in it, and can use only 8 gb. And this is
the main point: What are you going to do with an ancient POS laptop
that you're going to need more than 8 gb of hard drive space?

You going to be editing video with it?

Autocad? Graphic design?

I don't think so.

If you like Win-ME, there is much better hardware (motherboards)
available on ebay where you can build a decent desktop PC and connect
tera-byte hard drives no problem.

Why people get fixated on ancient, lame hardware is a mystery.

98 Guy wrote:

Why people get fixated on ancient, lame hardware is a mystery.

You say that in a group dedicated to an OS that's more than 18 years old.

--
Linus Torvalds jokes about world domination, but Bill Gates *means* it.
-- Eric S. Raymond

(Good sigmonster. Have a cookie.)

On Thu, 02 Feb 2017 03:10:10 -0000, 98 Guy wrote:
[]

We're talking about a laptop circa 1999 or 2000. Probably earlier
because this 8 gb drive limitation is really old - like 1995 - 1997.

This laptop is a POS from a hardware pov. The screen will be ****.
Resolution will be ****.
[]

Why people get fixated on ancient, lame hardware is a mystery.

What about ancient s/w then Mr 98 Guy??!!

--
Bah, and indeed, Humbug

In message , 98 Guy writes:
[]
Seriously people.

Think about it.

We're talking about a laptop circa 1999 or 2000. Probably earlier
because this 8 gb drive limitation is really old - like 1995 - 1997.

This laptop is a POS from a hardware pov. The screen will be ****.
Resolution will be ****.

The battery is flat dead. It will need to be plugged in all the time.

It has no wifi. It probably doesn't even have ethernet port.

Well, Will has actually explained that he just wants to continue to use
it for some logging application, so the following doesn't apply, but:
some of us just _like_ getting old things to work. It's not dissimilar
to keeping old valve (UK; toob in US) wireless sets working, or old cars
(with many different definitions of "old").

A few years I enjoyed getting an XP system with a 6G hard drive and very
limited RAM working - not just functioning (it was, just about, though
with a horrendous amount of paging), but actually usable, including
online. It wouldn't play videos, but anything else, it was fine. If
asked why I did it, I really can't say! Other than (a) the challenge of
getting it working at all, (b) the satisfaction of not scrapping it.

I don't think I'd ever call a piece of equipment a POS - unless it was
in the first place.

So you stick a 40 gb drive in it, and can use only 8 gb. And this is
the main point: What are you going to do with an ancient POS laptop
that you're going to need more than 8 gb of hard drive space?

You going to be editing video with it?

Autocad? Graphic design?

I don't think so.

If you like Win-ME, there is much better hardware (motherboards)
available on ebay where you can build a decent desktop PC and connect
tera-byte hard drives no problem.

Why people get fixated on ancient, lame hardware is a mystery.

There's also the level of "authenticity" one goes for - which is very
much a matter of personal choice. The people who keep old electronics
going - some of them go to the extent, if say a capacitor needs
replacing, of hiding the modern equivalent inside the drilled-out body
of an original one; others remake the original; others just fit modern
capacitors and resistors, being content just to be using the original
valves/tubes. (A few back-fit completely modern innards, though those
tend to be just TV prop companies and the like.) Old car people (I mean
really old!) might or might not insist on using headlights with wicks.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

You can be tough without being rude - Nick Clegg, 2014 July

On 02/01/2017 08:34 PM, Lee wrote:


Officially there won't be a solution for some BIOS code, but there are a few nuts out there rewriting old BIOS code knocking these types of bugs down flat. If you'll give your system make and model perhaps I can find those pages again and you may have an unofficial BIOS update already to download. I'll see what info I've got stored away and get back here if I find something relevant.

Lacking fixed BIOS code, all I had to suggest was drive overlay software, but I don't have a software name suggestion going down that road at all, sorry.


Ok, Lee, thanks. It's a Toshiba Satellite 490XCDT / 4.0 model number
PRI1270U and part # PRI1270U-T2C. If you can find a BIOS rewrite that
would work, that would be great!

Will

On Thursday, February 2, 2017 at 11:04:28 AM UTC-7, William Bell wrote:

Ok, Lee, thanks. It's a Toshiba Satellite 490XCDT / 4.0 model number
PRI1270U and part # PRI1270U-T2C. If you can find a BIOS rewrite that
would work, that would be great!

Will

No luck sorry, but it's a better search when you do it anyway.
http://wims.rainbow-software.org/ind...art=0&count=40
https://www.wimsbios.com/

Mine was easy to find but it was fixed for 60 Gb bug not the earlier one, so not sure if you are up to date on BIOS or not after all. Mine was 1987 and doing 40 Gb, yours should be 2000 at version 8.

http://support.toshiba.com/support/v...ntentId=106474

http://support.toshiba.com/support/s...OCLink =false

When trying to download the BIOS file my download manager failed to latch onto it with a server error. But default firefox Save As system did get it, just a warning they are using tricks for what ever reason. And first time at Toshiba was zippo, don't know what happened but all of a sudden I get 490X files.

So by the BIOS ID number system you may be able to find a fixed similar version and patch the code in yourself with a hexeditor? That was my plan, but I've never done a thing since finding the above resources anyway. The BIOS string that they are looking for is on the POST, Power On Self Test screen and you may not be seeing it because you might need to press Pause/Break key to halt code long enough for the screen to wake up and show it. Press space bar to resume running code. Best of luck.