I have an old Vectra VA, and unfortunately the BIOS are old enough that it doesn't accept HDD over 8GB. It has PhoenixBIOS 4.05.N (GZ.07.05), and obviously nobody supports this old hardware anymore.

If magically it is possible to replace the bios with a newer 4.06 version, larger disks would be supported. However, arbitrarily swapping BIOS doesn't seem like the smartest idea ;*) so I'd like to know just how generic these are and if it has any chance of working.

I assume that this refers to a Compaq/HP PC.

These, and others, often have a customised BIOS which is used for the particular motherboard series.

It looks like the PC is sufficiently old in design to mean that you need to get the full details (which it looks like you have) and chase the HP or phoenix sited to see if they have bios/updates which go back that far.

Have you any idea whether it is flashable or not (seems doubtful to me).

If it isn't, then you may need to go to a specialist to get round the preparation of a new BIOS chip (is it soldered in?).

I had one system which I added an adaptec controller with its own IDE chipset, and could so cope with larger HDDs. What sort of mobo is it (as far as addon slots is concerned)?

It's an OEM, so there's not much chance of succeding. I would advise you not to upgrade the BIOS as it most likely won't make any difference and you may screw up your computer for good.

You can request a patch for large HDDs over at Wim's BIOS forums, but i don't know if they do OEM BIOSes too. Worth a try anyway. If not, get yourself a PCI controller card.

That's pretty much what I thought. Even back then HP abandoned it, figuring nobody would ever want a HDD over 8GB Looks like a PCI controller is the best bet. Lament...

Hey i got an extra Promise ultra 100tx2 ide card on top of my monitor right now just pay me like 5 for the card and 5 for shipping and I'll send it to ya..

PM if you want it