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Posted by John Doue on July 22, 2005, 6:00 am
Please log in for more thread options Martin wrote:
> Just a further note: I've noticed that when the 20GB drive is fitted, the
> LED lights the instant the power switched is pressed, whereas when the
> original 11GB drive is fitted, the LED stays off until some ten seconds or
> so into the bootup - after detecting IDE devices - when it gives the odd
> flicker or 2.
>
> Meanwhile, I have e-mailed AJP - the laptop manufacturer - I don't expect to
> get an answer, so I'm also contacting Hitachi for advice. If I get
> anything of interest I will post back.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>>Thanks. I really appreciate what you and John wrote.
>>
>>All I can see in the bios, relating to the hard drive, is under Primary
>
> HDD
>
>>in IDE Settings:
>>
>>3 items are listed and enabled - drive enabled; multiple sector mode; PIO
>>mode.
>>
>>The laptop is an AJP 3300 and is 5 years old, but as it does all I want
>
> and
>
>>has served me well, I'm keen to hang on to it. So I'll contact AJP and
>
> see
>
>>what they say; however, I don't fancy my chances on updating the bios even
>>if there's an update that would fix this.
>>
>>Nevertheless, I'm very grateful that you both made me aware that the
>
> problem
>
>>was more serious than I thought.
>>
>>Martin
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>Martin wrote:
>>>
>>>>My laptop has an 11GB hard drive (Hitachi DK23CA-12). From a
>>>>similar model laptop, I got a 20GB hard drive (Hitachi DK23CA-20).
>>>>When I fit this drive, the hard drive LED stays on all the time.
>>>>The 20GB drive also seems to run a fair deal hotter than the 11GB
>>>>drive, but it works without apparent problem - I've put my Windows 98
>>>>OS onto it.
>>>>
>>>>Could the constantly-on LED explain the higher running temperature?
>>>>
>>>>I fitted the 20 GB drive into the same chassis/base as the 11GB drive
>>>>so it's connected through the same connecting strip, yet the LED
>>>>remains on all the time whereas it flashes intermittently (except in
>>>>heavy activity) on the 11 GB drive.
>>>>
>>>>Any ideas why the LED's on all the time (and whether there's cause for
>>>>concern)?
>>>>
>>>>Thanks.
>>>
>>>Further to what John wrote, boot into BIOS setup and verify that the
>>>drive type is Auto - F2, Del, Esc or whatever key is required at POST.
>>>Check with your laptop vendor for any BIOS updates specifically for
>>>larger drives.
>>>
>>>Q
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
Martin,
this is definitely a sign that something is wrong with this set-up. Is
there any jumper on the drive that could be either missing or not set as
it should (like, main, slave, ...)? Check carefully for this, there
might be so printed indication on the drive itself as to the use of
those jumpers. Have you carefully checked for a bent connector?
Then, I am again thinking about the BIOS. Starting with the bios version
number, I would try to research the maximum admissible hd size to be
recognized. If 20G is above this limit, you might want to consider using
Diskmanager to circumvent this limitation. But from my experience,
although it works, the penalty on hd performance is very significant. If
an update for the bios is available, your situation is one where the
benefits vs risk ratio is favorable.
--
John Doue
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