[smhughes]

When you request an RMA on a $200 drive you got dead within a week from Compgeek.com


I'll call Maxtor when I get a chance but was totally dispappointed to see that this drive they sent to me only showed up as 137GB when I patched it with my other 160GB Maxtor.

 

[pu82]

Only computers with the new IDE controllers and only the 4000 series ReplayTVs can recognize the full 160GB capacity. What you are running into is the addressable limit that the controller can handle. This is a per drive limit. 137GB is the max you will get.

If you want to use the drive in an RTV4K, you have to get your computer to recognize the 160GB drive. The newest boards with the newest controllers will do that. If you don't want to buy a new computer, you can get a new controller card, I use the Maxtor PCI ATA/133 Adapter card. They are selling for less than $25 on eBay.

 

[screamitus]

I got a maxtor 160 recently that came with it's own eide controller for free. Neat!

 

[smhughes]

I've got a 4k (2 for that matter and as I said that patch software did recognize one of the drives as at around 163GB) and I've got the PC133 board (that came with the drive) and I'm running XP. I think they just sent me a refurbished bum drive. It must be a total coincidence about the 137GB.

 

[Babbster]

Even a refurbished drive should not be 137GB as there is (to my knowledge) no such beast...I've never even seen a 140GB drive advertised - just 120s and 160s. I would suggest that you go through all of your settings, run the Maxtor utilities (again?), etc. and make sure that everything is set up correctly.


-Aaron

 

[tommyy2]

The drive is 40GB per platter. The Maxtor 120GB is three platters, the 160GB is four platters. 137GB (actually 128 real GB) is the limit available when running under windows using an older controller.


With the drive attached to the new controller whats fdisk list the drive size as?

 

[pu82]

Check to make sure that the drive is indeed connected to the PCI133 board. Verify that the PCI133 card id's the drive correctly during bootup. You will see a different screen during startup. Also, make sure that you have the correct XP drivers for the card. I think XP does not identify the PCI133 card correctly and it will use the wrong XP drivers. If you are using a pre-137GB+ driver on XP, then 137GB is all you will get. Try getting the latest version from Maxtor.

 

[smhughes]

Does this mean anything? Sorry, it reports a 127GB drive for the new one that was sent to me.


Thanks.

 

[jtl]

well, that's interesting.


Maybe there's a jumper to get it to lie? There sometimes is for the old 32MB and 4096cylinder limits. If so, it's not documented, but that wouldn't be the first time.

 

[smhughes]

...what about this? I swear before I hastily jerked the two drives from my 4K unit this PII 400 was up and running (I actually had to shut it down to install the two drives again to the 133 card). Now I get this message

I even get it after ripping out the 133 card. What's up with that?


Well, it was time for a new pc anyway

...but I was sure wanting to purchase the rio central.

 

[Babbster]

That makes me wonder if there isn't a compatibility problem of some sort between your motherboard and the PCI controller. Best way to find out is to take the controller and drives to a friend with a new(er) system and see what you get there.


I think these kinds of things are why I haven't upgraded the hardware in my computer in a few years (cruising along nicely, for what I do, on my AMD K6-III 450). I hate the taste of bile in my throat when upgrades don't go the right way the first time (which they so seldom do).


-Aaron

 

[tommyy2]

What happens after you hit f2 can you set it back to defaults in setup?

 

[GadgetGuy]

Check for a firmware update for the card. What happens if the 127GB is the only drive on the card and set as master? I bet it will show up properly then. Probably some bug in the firmware.

 

[pu82]

The 127GB is yet another misrepresentation of the 137GB. When I Bless a 160GB Tivo B Drive, it reports the drive size as 127GB not 137GB. Yes I own Tivos and Replays. It all depends on how the capacity is read from the drive/or calculated. The error message you get is an indication of incompatibility. You shouldn't get it if you pull the card out because the BIOS on the PCI card is not present. I would reset your BIOS on the motherboard to see if it goes away.

 

[pu82]

I just posted a page with downloads for Powermax 3.03. I would suggest running this program to do a low-level format of your 160. If it reads the drive and formats it properly then the drive is fine.

Software Downloads

 

[smhughes]

Thanks for all of the input from everyone...I've got the 'ol PII400 up and running again after ripping out some of the cards (PCMCIA bay with ISA card and adaptec PCI scuzzy card; I'll play with those later) and I've got the "127GB" maxtor in the replay (hey, if it works I'll leave well enough alone) if I encounter problems I'll do the low level format.


Noel: Just ordered the "kit" for the second drive, thanks for making them availble.


Later,


Jerz