Compaq "hacked" HD

[excitron]

I have an old Fujitsu MPB3064AT that the Compaq system it came from somehow hacked the firmware into displaying only a third of it's capacity. The drive is a 6.4 gig unit, but it keeps showing up (on any system) as a 2.1 gig drive. Why this was done is beyond me.

I noticed that when I started the Compaq system up, and old DeskPro EN system running on a PII 450, it mentioned something about it's configuration and to change it to use the Compaq User Dianostic Diskette.

I managed to locate this disk on the Compaq site, but while using it, it asks you to insert a "setup" disk, which I don't have. I looked all over the Compaq site and could not find a link to such a disk. So I'm dead in the water without this disk.

So I'm wondering if there is another way to bring this drive back to it's full capacity. Would performing a low-level format do it? It seems to me it wouldn't, as this strikes me as some kind of firmware hack.

So if anyone knows how I can revert this drive back to it's full capacity, please let me know. Thanks.

 

[Crashman]

LOL, are you sure? Because 2.1GB was the limit for older DOS partitions (FAT16), and Windows 98 for example will format the drive to that size automatically if you do it from Settup.

If you're trying to format it for a Windows 98 installation, boot off the 98 CD to command prompt, type "FDISK" at the command prompt, choose (Y) by default when it asks if you want to enable large disk support, delete the old partitions and creat a new one. Reboot when prompted (boot from CD), choose command prompt with CD-ROM support, change the drive letter to the one listed at the top, type "CD Win98", then type "Format".

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[excitron]

Nope, that doesn't work. The damn thing keeps showing up as a 2.1 gig drive. I don't know what the hell that Compaq configuration routine does, but it must be a firmware hack. Totally annoying. I don't think a low-level format will do it either, but if anyone here thinks differently, let me know. Also let me know what I can use to perform the LL format. Thanks.

 

[Crashman]

No, there are several possibilities, but the firmware hack is an impossibility. The first possibility is that the drive is misconfigured in the board's BIOS, or that the board's BIOS has a 2.1GB limit. The second is that it's not partitioned properly. The third is that the drive could be using a 2.1GB limit jumper for compatability that needs to be changed. I'm going with #2.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[excitron]

>>The first possibility is that the drive is misconfigured in the board's BIOS, or that the board's BIOS has a 2.1GB limit.<<

Sort of.

>>The second is that it's not partitioned properly.<<

The drive has been partitioned and de-partitioned about 4 times now. It presently has no partitions.

>>The third is that the drive could be using a 2.1GB limit jumper for compatability that needs to be changed.<<

It does have this option, but it is jumpered normally.

Here's what I think it is. Compaq, in it's proprietary anal-retentive wisdon, put the *SYSTEM* BIOS *ON THE HARD DRIVE*. It creates a custom partition on the front of the drive which stores this information. This information came from this site:

http://webpages.charter.net/dperr/compaq.htm

As I mentioned initially, I unfortunately could not find this SETUP disk they speak of, the ROMPaq I found was simply a BIOS update, not the SETUP/DIAGNOSTICS disks they state in this documentation. This left everything hanging for me.

So, in much the same way that hard drive setup utilities would do a similar thing so older systems could see the full capacity of the drives their older BIOSs couldn't let them see, Compaq has somehow formatted this damnned thing to show only 2.1 gigs in this "BIOS" setup. The drive originally had NT on it, and apparently Compaq felt that permanently partitionaing it as a 2.1 gig drive was a GOOD THING. So to the world, that "BIOS" setting tells the world this is a 2.1 gig drive, and never the platters shall meet.

So it's kind of a firmware hack, so to speak. Thinking about it, perhaps a low-level format WOULD blow that crap out of there. I wonder if there is a simpler way of doing this. I remember seeing something about a "sector 63" setting in the MAXBLAST utility disk I have, I wonder if that would do it. I don't know if that is also a 4 meg partition, as per the above site's documentation. Otherwise, how can I perform a low-level format? Or any other ideas?

Thanks for your replies.

 

[Crashman]

Nah, it's still not a firmware hack of any sort, it doesn't touch drive BIOS. Compaq put the GUI for their BIOS on a hard drive partition, but this partition is just a partition. Compaq could set the board BIOS to read the drive at 2.1GB, but that wouldn't affect the drive BIOS and you'd be able to repartition the drive at full size. Unfortunately, if the system doesn't support the drive at a larger size, the only way to get it to partition at full size would be to put it in another system.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[excitron]

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT...

as the Monty Python boys used to say. First, I want to thank you for your help. I appreciate your time taken on this.

And now for the DUH factor. Upon re-examining the Fujisu jumper settings, I realize Fujitsu inverted the jumper layout exactly 180 degrees to implement the 2.1 gig FAT 16 limit. A mirror finish of the standard jumper settings. A second inspection of the drive art displayed the drive upside-down. I inverted the jumpers, and instant 6.4 gig drive.

Tricky, those Japanese...

 

[Crashman]

That was one of my suspects, but you threw me off when you said you checked it.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[davemar14]

Its Compaq, they do some really gay stuff.

 

[Crashman]

Nothing that severe, they just put the GUI for BIOS settup on the hard drive. The hard drive itself is unmodified, the BIOS GUI is on a special partition which can be removed like any other partition.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>