dell optiplex gx1 500 mhz win xp drive not visible

llacy · 01-27-2006, 05:21 AM

dell optiplex gx1 500 mhz bios a10 win xp drive not visible

i am trying to put a 40 gig hard drive in my kids dell.
if the hard drive is the master (has xp) then the bios show it if tou enter setup, but it says primary drive fails.
if i set it as the slave (with xp) the bois sees it, but it doesn't show up in windows explorer, or the device manager list.

is it a 32 gig drive limit or something else?

**The_Other_One** · 01-27-2006, 05:27 AM

I don't know much about the system so I don't know how much help I'll be...

Are you setting the jumpers for wahtever you're trying to install the drive as? Does the bios have an auto setup deal for your harddrives? If so, be sure it's setup for your new HD correctly. Some computers have the settings entered for the primary/original HD, but are auto on the others.

As for not seeing it when it's a slave, assuming it worked hardware wise(bios and all) right-click on my computer and go to manage, then disk management. Assign a drive letter if you see the drive there.

tractorboy · 01-27-2006, 02:03 PM

how old is the pc?
did you use FAT32 or NTFS partitions
who makes Your PCs bios

the 32gig limit is only if you are using FAT32, FAT32 can not support larger than 32gigs partitions. There was a flaw in the AWARD bios around 1999 that affected drivers that tried to use 32gig or larger partiotions. Award has long since corrected this, so if you have award bios, you may want to flash your bios. IF tou flash your bios YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, FLASHING WITH THE WRONG .bin FILE , OR INCOMPLETE FLASH, PC GETTING TURNED OFF IN THE MIDDLR OF FLASH ...etc CAN RUIN THE PC.
How did xp get on this 40 gig HD ?

**ceewi1** · 01-28-2006, 01:34 AM

Even so, the drive should still be detected - it will just only detect 32GB. My guess is that the drive hasn't been partitioned. Go to Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Disk Management, and see if the drive is displayed there. If it is, create a partition on it. That should cause the drive to appear in My Computer.

**Praetor** · 01-28-2006, 01:56 AM

Quote:

is it a 32 gig drive limit or something else?

That may very well be the case and would be my first guess. This article might be helpful

01-27-2006, 05:21 AM	#1 (permalink)
llacy New Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2	dell optiplex gx1 500 mhz win xp drive not visible dell optiplex gx1 500 mhz bios a10 win xp drive not visible i am trying to put a 40 gig hard drive in my kids dell. if the hard drive is the master (has xp) then the bios show it if tou enter setup, but it says primary drive fails. if i set it as the slave (with xp) the bois sees it, but it doesn't show up in windows explorer, or the device manager list. is it a 32 gig drive limit or something else?

01-27-2006, 05:27 AM	#2 (permalink)
The_Other_One Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lexington, NC Age: 23 Posts: 12,368	I don't know much about the system so I don't know how much help I'll be... Are you setting the jumpers for wahtever you're trying to install the drive as? Does the bios have an auto setup deal for your harddrives? If so, be sure it's setup for your new HD correctly. Some computers have the settings entered for the primary/original HD, but are auto on the others. As for not seeing it when it's a slave, assuming it worked hardware wise(bios and all) right-click on my computer and go to manage, then disk management. Assign a drive letter if you see the drive there. __________________ Desktop * Athlon X2 4200 \| 2G RAM \| 160G HD \| 7600GT Laptop1 * C2D T5550 \| 3G RAM \| 120G HD \| Intel x3100 Laptop2 * C2D T5250 \| 2G RAM \| 160G HD \| Intel x3100

01-27-2006, 02:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
tractorboy Gold Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 253	how old is the pc? did you use FAT32 or NTFS partitions who makes Your PCs bios the 32gig limit is only if you are using FAT32, FAT32 can not support larger than 32gigs partitions. There was a flaw in the AWARD bios around 1999 that affected drivers that tried to use 32gig or larger partiotions. Award has long since corrected this, so if you have award bios, you may want to flash your bios. IF tou flash your bios YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, FLASHING WITH THE WRONG .bin FILE , OR INCOMPLETE FLASH, PC GETTING TURNED OFF IN THE MIDDLR OF FLASH ...etc CAN RUIN THE PC. How did xp get on this 40 gig HD ? __________________ Win XP Prof Win 2003 --------------- A+ MCP NASDA CERT SCUBA Diver >>PCs underwater ?

01-28-2006, 01:34 AM	#4 (permalink)
ceewi1 Moderator Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Melbourne, Australia Age: 21 Posts: 5,267	Even so, the drive should still be detected - it will just only detect 32GB. My guess is that the drive hasn't been partitioned. Go to Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Disk Management, and see if the drive is displayed there. If it is, create a partition on it. That should cause the drive to appear in My Computer. __________________ CPU: Core 2 Duo E6600 / MOBO: Gigabyte 965P-DS3 / GPU: Gigabyte HD4870 RAM: 2GB G.Skill F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK / HDD: 2TB Total HDD / PSU: Antec NeoPower 480W Cheap PSUs - 2% of system costs, responsible for 28% of system deaths As Sealed Stick was removed, lost or damaged, it shall be out of warranty validity. - The "Warranty void if removed" sticker on numerous CoolerMaster PSUs. Useful PSU Guides

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