Last Modified: 03/28/96 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This document is intended for users to help themselves troubleshoot typical hard disk problems seen on Nx586 system boards. The problems described here are not unique to the Nx586 product. However, steps to follow in fixing the problems described in this document will be somewhat specific to our motherboard since it may for example use a different system BIOS from other machines. This document may periodically be updated as the BIOS changes or as new topics are added to this document. Just check the Web site as needed. The first half of this document is designed for VLB/ISA motherboard users, the second half is for PCI/ISA motherboard users. Identify your product before you continue! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - VESA Local Bus (VLB) Motherboard users - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - System won't see hard disk on cold boot but will on warm boot On occasion a drive will not be seen properly after a cold boot; i.e. the system is powered on or the reset button is pushed after the system is powered on. If after doing a warm boot; i.e. press CTRL + ALT + DEL the system boots from the hard disk correctly, contact our Web site and download the latest BIOS for the VLB motherboard. The file to download is UPDTVL30.EXE. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hard disk capacity not fully seen. A commonly seen problem with the VLB motherboard is users having difficulty getting the full capacity from their hard disk drives (over 528MB). This problem is usually very simple to resolve by following a basic set of instructions. The procedure for correcting this problem will depend on the type of hard disk controller installed. If the user has installed a hard disk controller which uses its own onboard BIOS (commonly known as an "intelligent" controller), disregard any information provided here on preparing the hard drive. Instead, use instructions provided by the hard disk controller manufacturer. The procedure for configuring a hard disk with an intelligent controller may vary from one controller manufacturer to another. For example, the DTC2278 controller has a BIOS which enables Logical Block Addressing (LBA) mode for hard disks greater than 528MB on its own. It does NOT require that LBA be enabled in the NexGen system BIOS. The second type of hard disk controller more commonly used is the non-intelligent controller, a controller which does not have its own BIOS. There are two possible scenarios when setting up this type of controller. In the first scenario, the controller is simply unable to support the motherboard's ability to enable LBA functionality. This is very rare but if it happens, it will become necessary to use a 3rd party disk drive partitioning scheme such as Disk Manager by OnTrack Software. Instructions on the software's use should be followed. In the more common second scenario, the controller will be able to support LBA from the NexGen BIOS but a set of specific steps must be followed; I. If you have not created a partition yet, skip to step II. If you already created a partition and you did not get the full capacity of your hard disk; A. Reboot the system and press DEL to run CMOS. Use the Detect Master function. If your hardware is installed correctly (e.g. ribbon cables, power cables, jumper settings) then the Detect Master function will identify the hard disk in less than 5 seconds. If it takes longer than that or the drive simply isn't detected then chances are good that something is wrong with your physical installation and a reseller should be consulted. B. Choose the "ADVANCED" option and press Enter C. Scroll down until the Pri IDE, Disk1: LBA mode option is highlighted D. Press Enter E. Choose enabled and press Enter F. Save the CMOS options and the system will reboot G. run FDISK to delete the partition.* Exit FDISK by using the Esc key until the system reboots. Do not press CTRL + ALT + DEL unless FDISK returns you to a Command prompt. You are returned to a Command prompt only with the Windows 95 version of COMMAND.COM. Once the system starts going through it's power-on self-test, turn the system off, wait long enough to let the hard disk spin down and power on again. *If the partition has already been deleted, follow steps A through F, create the partition, exit FDISK, reboot, and do step G. H. Now that the hard disk has been deleted and the system has been powered off and then on again, you should be able to run FDISK and see the full capacity of the hard disk. After creating the partition, format the disk using the FORMAT command as follows; 1. format c: /s I. Your hard disk is now ready to install an operating system. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - II. With a drive that has never been partitioned, preparation is very simple. A. Reboot the system and press "DEL" to run CMOS B. Choose the "ADVANCED" option and press Enter C. Scroll down until the "Pri IDE, Disk1: LBA mode" option is highlighted D. Press Enter E. Choose enabled and press Enter F. Save the CMOS options and the system will reboot G. you should be able to run FDISK and see the full capacity of the hard disk. After creating the partition, format the disk using the FORMAT command as follows; 1. format c: /s H. Your hard disk is now ready to install an operating system. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PCI Motherboard users - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hard disk capacity not fully seen. A commonly seen problem with the PCI motherboard is users having difficulty getting the full capacity from their hard disk drives (over 528MB). 3rd party disk drive partitioning schemes such as Disk Manager by OnTrack Software are not necessary on the PCI motherboard and are definitely NOT recommended. The integrated hard disk controller on the motherboard is able to support Logical Block Addressing (LBA) through the NexGen BIOS but a set of specific steps must be followed to see the full capacity of the disk beyond 528MB; I. If you have not created a partition yet, skip to step II. If you already created a partition and you did not get the full capacity of your hard disk; A. Reboot the system and press "DEL" to run CMOS. Use the Detect Master function. If your hardware is installed correctly (e.g. ribbon cables, power cables, jumper settings) then the Detect Master function will identify the hard disk in less than 5 seconds. If it takes longer than that or the drive simply isn't detected then chances are good that something is wrong with your physical installation and a reseller should be consulted. B. Choose the "PERIPHERAL" option and press Enter C. Scroll down until the "Primary LBA Mode" option is highlighted D. Press Enter E. Choose drive zero if your drive is greater than 528MB and press Enter F. Save the CMOS options and the system will reboot G. run FDISK to delete the partition.* Exit FDISK by using the Esc key until the system reboots. Do not press CTRL + ALT + DEL unless FDISK returns you to a Command prompt. You are returned to a Command prompt only with the Windows 95 version of COMMAND.COM. Once the system starts going through it's power-on self-test, turn the system off, wait long enough to let the hard disk spin down and power on again. 1. *If the partition has already been deleted, follow steps A through F, create the partition, exit FDISK, reboot, and do step G. H. Now that the hard disk has been deleted and the system has been powered off and then on again, you should be able to run FDISK and see the full capacity of the hard disk. After creating the partition, format the disk using the FORMAT command as follows; 1. format c: /s I. Your hard disk is now ready to install an operating system. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - II. With a drive that has never been partitioned, preparation is very simple. A. Reboot the system and press "DEL" to run CMOS B. Choose the "PERIPHERAL" option and press Enter C. Scroll down until the "Primary LBA Mode" option is highlighted D. Press Enter E. Choose Drive Zero and press Enter F. Save the CMOS options and the system will reboot G. you should be able to run FDISK and see the full capacity of the hard disk. After creating the partition, format the disk using the FORMAT command as follows; 1. format c: /s H. Your hard disk is now ready to install an operating system. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Other Considerations: Some hard disk drives may have difficulty in holding their partitions after running FDISK. The first thing you should do if this happens is to go into CMOS - Peripherals and verify that the MODE of the hard disk you have installed is set to PIO-4 and not AUTO. By choosing PIO-4, the system is able to negotiate the correct setting of the drive all the way down to PIO-0 if necessary, allowing it to hold a partition correctly. There can be exceptions to this rule. We are currently aware of two drives which seem to exhibit problems operating with PIO-4 selected in CMOS. The two drives believed to exhibit this problem consistently are the Western Digital AC21000 and AC31600. Each drive has a label affixed to the top and on that label is printed "CCC". To the right of "CCC" will be a pair of characters. If these characters are "B1" or higher, PIO-4 may be used. If the characters are below "B1" then it will be necessary to choose MWDMA1 or MWDMA2 for the mode of the drive in CMOS setup. Please consult your hard disk documentation for the appropriate mode you should choose based on the model of your drive. You may also wish to contact Western Digital for additional information. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - CD-ROM drives and the PCI motherboard Hooking up a CD-ROM drive to the PCI motherboard is a straight-forward affair. Configure your CD-ROM drive as a "MASTER" and attach it to the second IDE channel on the PCI motherboard. Enter CMOS, choose Peripherals and press "Enter." Set the Secondary Device 0 Installed to "Other." If you are using MS-DOS, you will be loading a driver in the config.sys. It may be necessary to pass additional parameters on the device driver. You may need to tell the driver that the "Port Address" is 170h and the "IRQ" or "Interrupt" is 15. After changing the parameters on the driver and rebooting, you should be able to see the CD-ROM driver without any problems. If you need additional information, it will be necessary to enlist the aid of a local reseller. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Windows 95 and the hard disk controller Users who install Windows 95 using one motherboard and then change to a different type of motherboard may experience problems in which the hard disk controller in the "Device Manager" for Windows 95 is either not operating correctly or is stuck in "MS-DOS 16-BIT COMPATIBILITY MODE." This is common for Windows 95 and is not specific to the Nx586 motherboard. This happens because when the motherboard is changed, Windows 95 is unable to properly set the hardware values for the hard disk controller and subsequently sets the mode to MS-DOS 16 bit compatibility mode. The best way to get rid of the problem is to follow these instructions. 1. Create a floppy boot disk. This disk should have CD-ROM drivers in the config.sys and autoexec.bat also if you are installing Windows 95 from a CD-ROM. 2. After verifying the floppy disk will boot and allow the CD-ROM drive to initialize, backup any important data on your hard disk. 3. In the "Device Manager" in Windows 95, delete all references to the hard disk controller and exit Windows 95. 4. Boot from the floppy disk and install Windows 95 on top of your existing installation. Windows 95 should be able to retain your previous configuration settings automatically and at the same time fix the problem of MS-DOS 16 bit compatibility mode. 5. If these steps don't work, you will either need to contact Microsoft for a solution or wipe your hard disk clean and install Windows 95 from scratch. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -