(no subject)
Sep. 21st, 2003 03:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
asherisSo I finally am getting around to installing my new hard drive this weekend.
drive - check
screwdriver(s) - check.
install cd's - check
backed up old drive - check
copied down settings info for networking stuff - check
beer - check
Should be ready to cruise right through.
Right?
er... right?
Saturday evening, post workout, while watching Velvet Goldmine on TV, I began.
Note: that is one freaking strange movie. From what I followed, while dealing with the computer and doing laundry, it looked good, but I'll have to try watching it again sometime. Preferably as a rental, so you can actually see all there is to see, without the cable network censors doing their blurring and cutting "magic" to make it "appropriate" for broadcast. And possibly after having a few drinks... but I digress.
After several reboots, with the BIOS setup hanging when I tried to detect the new drive, I found out that my BIOS can't handle the size of the new drive. Award BIOS 4.51PG only handles drives up to 32G, so my 40G is causing much confusion. Tried using the flash BIOS updates downloaded from the motherboard manufacturer, but they're both for a different VERSION of said motherboard- and the only updates they offer.
So I've been out searching for the correct bios update- a real bitch, too, because if you use the wrong one, you fry your computer... ugh.
Think I found the right one, but when I try to run that, I get a message saying "insufficient memory". Doesn't matter if I'm running it from the A: or C: drive.
Oh, what the heck???
So, there was much cursing and muttering until I finally gave up and headed for bed around 3:30. Note that you're getting the abridged version. (Funny, once I take out all the cussing, it's a pretty short story, really.)
This morning was no better. Trying to make a boot disk for yet another try at updating the BIOS, and I had to go through 6-7 diskettes before the computer deigned to make one. During the many attempts, one of them got jammed in the drive. The little metal slider was caught. Finally got the thing out, with the use of a pair of hemostatic forceps P. gave me to use on my jewelry stuff. (Who knew- surgical instruments for computers. Also available at AxeMan.)
Finally got the thing formatted, but there are bad sectors. (Cartman: Goddamnit!!) Tried turning it into a boot disk anyway, but chickened out about actually using it in another BIOS flashing attempt.
If this keeps up, I may just take the new drive over to the office tomorrow and get the thing formatted there, so that my system might have half a chance of recognizing it. Certainly easier than the mess I'm dealing with now!
Thankfully, I didn't delete anything on the old drive yet- just swapped the cables and power back to the old drive, and this machine's still running- well, more like limping, but you know what I mean. Everything's backed up to CD that I can think of needing right away, and anything else that's left (if it's smallish) I'll just email to myself for retrieval later.
Thus lies the saga for now...
Tune in tomorrow night for another exciting cough hack episode of "Adventures in DIY Computer Hardware, which really shouldn't be such a bloody pain in the arse, really it shouldn't... *whimper*".
drive - check
screwdriver(s) - check.
install cd's - check
backed up old drive - check
copied down settings info for networking stuff - check
beer - check
Should be ready to cruise right through.
Right?
er... right?
Saturday evening, post workout, while watching Velvet Goldmine on TV, I began.
Note: that is one freaking strange movie. From what I followed, while dealing with the computer and doing laundry, it looked good, but I'll have to try watching it again sometime. Preferably as a rental, so you can actually see all there is to see, without the cable network censors doing their blurring and cutting "magic" to make it "appropriate" for broadcast. And possibly after having a few drinks... but I digress.
After several reboots, with the BIOS setup hanging when I tried to detect the new drive, I found out that my BIOS can't handle the size of the new drive. Award BIOS 4.51PG only handles drives up to 32G, so my 40G is causing much confusion. Tried using the flash BIOS updates downloaded from the motherboard manufacturer, but they're both for a different VERSION of said motherboard- and the only updates they offer.
So I've been out searching for the correct bios update- a real bitch, too, because if you use the wrong one, you fry your computer... ugh.
Think I found the right one, but when I try to run that, I get a message saying "insufficient memory". Doesn't matter if I'm running it from the A: or C: drive.
Oh, what the heck???
So, there was much cursing and muttering until I finally gave up and headed for bed around 3:30. Note that you're getting the abridged version. (Funny, once I take out all the cussing, it's a pretty short story, really.)
This morning was no better. Trying to make a boot disk for yet another try at updating the BIOS, and I had to go through 6-7 diskettes before the computer deigned to make one. During the many attempts, one of them got jammed in the drive. The little metal slider was caught. Finally got the thing out, with the use of a pair of hemostatic forceps P. gave me to use on my jewelry stuff. (Who knew- surgical instruments for computers. Also available at AxeMan.)
Finally got the thing formatted, but there are bad sectors. (Cartman: Goddamnit!!) Tried turning it into a boot disk anyway, but chickened out about actually using it in another BIOS flashing attempt.
If this keeps up, I may just take the new drive over to the office tomorrow and get the thing formatted there, so that my system might have half a chance of recognizing it. Certainly easier than the mess I'm dealing with now!
Thankfully, I didn't delete anything on the old drive yet- just swapped the cables and power back to the old drive, and this machine's still running- well, more like limping, but you know what I mean. Everything's backed up to CD that I can think of needing right away, and anything else that's left (if it's smallish) I'll just email to myself for retrieval later.
Thus lies the saga for now...
Tune in tomorrow night for another exciting cough hack episode of "Adventures in DIY Computer Hardware, which really shouldn't be such a bloody pain in the arse, really it shouldn't... *whimper*".
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no subject
Date: 2003-09-21 06:11 pm (UTC)Yep, pretty much.
Date: 2003-09-22 08:11 am (UTC)Running Windows 98 SE Version: 4.10.2222 A
Mainboard: Shuttle HOT-661/P AGP-based
Chipset: Intel 440BX/ZX rev 2
BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v4.51PGM
BIOS ID: 08/14/1998-i440BX-ITE867-2A69KH2BC-00
256K BIOS RAM in socket