Jump to content

Enable48BitLBA | Break the 137Gb barrier!


Recommended Posts

...just adding to the records...

I've used this patch and all my drives are now accessible, and functioning properly - I have connected just the 160 with 6 partitions and Win98se on C: - it's been filled with no errors, as well as slaving the 160 to the 40(Win98se on the 40) - so far so good!

Screenshot 40+160GB

I hope I put the link in right, thanks for everything :thumbup

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I have a slight question here. I read this topic and he's talking about the IAA and drives larger than 127 GB. Well I have the IAA 2.3 on my system (intel 850E chipset) and I want to know what I need to run drives over 127 GB properly. I thought about a 250 GB drive and two partitions with 125 each (I know they will be smaller in the end, just to get the idea). I have like 5 120 GB drives and slowly but surely it annoys me.

Edited by xtrm
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi,

I bought myself a WD3200JB and before I'm going to install it and update my "ESDI_506.PDR" I have one important question: I have 2 other HDDs installed which have less than 128GB [iC35L060AVVA07 (system drive) & SP1203N (storage drive)] and I'd like to know if my data on these disks is really safe when using the updated ESDI driver?

I'm asking because the readme says compatibility is given "in most cases". In other words: Is there anybody who lost data on his smaller drives as a result of using LLXX's modified driver?

By the way: Of course, my mainboard is fully 48BitLBA compliant.

Thx a lot in advance!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I bought myself a WD3200JB and before I'm going to install it and update my "ESDI_506.PDR" I have one important question: I have 2 other HDDs installed which have less than 128GB [iC35L060AVVA07 (system drive) & SP1203N (storage drive)] and I'd like to know if my data on these disks is really safe when using the updated ESDI driver?

the updated ESDI_506.PDR driver from the unofficial 48bitLBA patch should be safe to use, even on hard drives less than 128 gigs. i've installed the updated driver on an old 2Gb hard drive and found no problems.

btw, woodpusher, what version of Windows are u using?

Edited by erpdude8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi erpdude8,

I'm using German Windows 98 SE (4.10.2222A). The driver you are talking about is LLXX's version which can be found in this thread, right? My ESDI_506.PDR is 4.10.2222.

unfortunately, woodpusher, LLXX's 48bit LBA ESDI_506.PDR patches are for US English editions of Win98fe/98se/ME only and not available for other languages such as German. the creator had no time (and no commitment) of making them available for different languages, so "localization" of the 48bit LBA ESDI_506.PDR patches was completely out of the question.

if there are people out there who can translate LLXX's ESDI_506.PDR patches from English into other langauges, feel free to do so.

Edited by erpdude8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

even Rudolph Loew's High Capacity Disk Patch software is only provided in English language and has not been localized as well. latest version [5.2] now supports Windows 95 OSR2.

My High Capacity Disk Patch instructions and support programs are only provided in English. The Patch itself works with all localized versions of ESDI_506.PDR versions 2186 and 2225. It should work will all others as well. If the Demo Version can patch the file, the Full Version will also.

I added support for the original Windows 95 (ESDI_506.PDR Version 1111) also but do not have a setup to test it. The patch also removes some bad code that may be causing the problems known to exist with that version above 32GB.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LLXX's driver also seems to be language independent. On Saturday, I installed my new HDD (it's connected to an IDE PCI controller card with IT8212 chipset) and replaced my old ESDI_506.PDR with the one from this thread.

Everything works fine and I've filled the WD3200JB over the critical 128/137 GB mark. All files on the smaller disks are still there and accessible.

I'm very happy :thumbup

Good news for all German users of Win98 SE!

post-131302-1174945165_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LLXX's driver also seems to be language independent. On Saturday, I installed my new HDD (it's connected to an IDE PCI controller card with IT8212 chipset) and replaced my old ESDI_506.PDR with the one from this thread.

Looks like you're right, woodpusher. LLXX's ESDI_506.PDR drivers ARE language independent. why have you NOT applied the German Q243450 esdi_506.pdr patch before installing LLXX's esdi_506.pdr patch for Win98se? Get it here:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/win.../243450GER8.EXE

This updates ESDI_506.PDR to version 4.10.2225.

good thing LLXX's esdi_506.pdr patches backup the existing esdi_506.pdr before replacing the existing file with the 48bit LBA-enabled version.

Edited by erpdude8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My High Capacity Disk Patch instructions and support programs are only provided in English. The Patch itself works with all localized versions of ESDI_506.PDR versions 2186 and 2225. It should work will all others as well. If the Demo Version can patch the file, the Full Version will also.

I added support for the original Windows 95 (ESDI_506.PDR Version 1111) also but do not have a setup to test it. The patch also removes some bad code that may be causing the problems known to exist with that version above 32GB.

Also, rloew, the latest version of the ESDI_506.PDR file for Windows 95 OSR2 is version 4.00.1119 which is mentioned in MS article 175629:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/175629/en-us

The Q175629 hotfix for Win95 SR2 replaces REMIDEUP.EXE and also fixes the Large IDE Hard Disk MSDOS Compatibility mode problem. Hopefully your High Capacity Disk Patch software should still function properly with version 4.00.1119 of the ESDI_506.PDR file.

See if you can mention this info about Q175629 and version 4.00.1119 of the ESDI_506.PDR file on your page. I've obtained the Q175629 hotfix for Win95 OSR2 from MS more than a year ago and have applied the Q175629 fix on an old Win95 SR2 machine.

Edited by erpdude8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also, rloew, the latest version of the ESDI_506.PDR file for Windows 95 OSR2 is version 4.00.1119 which is mentioned in MS article 175629:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/175629/en-us

The Q175629 hotfix for Win95 SR2 replaces REMIDEUP.EXE and also fixes the Large IDE Hard Disk MSDOS Compatibility mode problem. Hopefully your High Capacity Disk Patch software should still function properly with version 4.00.1119 of the ESDI_506.PDR file.

See if you can mention this info about Q175629 and version 4.00.1119 of the ESDI_506.PDR file on your page. I've obtained the Q175629 hotfix for Win95 OSR2 from MS more than a year ago and have applied the Q175629 fix on an old Win95 SR2 machine.

Dear erpdude8,

I am aware that the latest version for Windows 95 OSR2 is 1119. I have successfully patched all of the OSR2 versions. I added support for version 1111 for users of the original Windows 95.

I have not gotten involved with recommending upgrades as that information is available from Microsoft. I support all of the readily available versions with my HDCP. Sometimes an upgrade can have unintended consequences. Only my new >2TB Patch requires an upgrade from the original versions. I only recently mapped out the actual differences between the 2222, 2225 and 2226 versions. So only now can I properly support 98SE users with respect to which version to use.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
I have already done the reverse (split one large hard drive into smaller drives) in the experimental versions of my High Capacity Disk Patch for Hard Drives larger than 2200GB. A matching DOS DDO, similar to my BOOTMAN packages, will be required for DOS support and to pass the protected mode validation precedure in the IOS.VXD and ESDI_506.PDR code.

Wouldn't is be more elegant to increase the sectorsize, instead of splitting the drive? AFAIK the sectorsize doesn't need to be 512 bytes, and since FAT32 creates clusters of at least 4kB, sectors could get this size without any penalty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wouldn't is be more elegant to increase the sectorsize, instead of splitting the drive? AFAIK the sectorsize doesn't need to be 512 bytes, and since FAT32 creates clusters of at least 4kB, sectors could get this size without any penalty.

More elegant maybe, but it would require a major redesign. A new partition table format would be required making it incompatable with all existing operationg systems.

Splitting the drive using a DDO and a Patched ESDI_506.PDR file remains compatable with existing DOS and Windowx 98/SE/ME systems. Unsupported systems will still see the first 2TB.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great work. I haven't seen any mention of this on either of the two break the 137GB threads so I thought I would mention it.....

Instead of testing by filling the drive, surely simply installing Win98SE on a partition which STARTS above the 137GB barrier? Without the patch, you won't get it to restart on installation without forcing compatibility/real mode disk access and then you have to enable the CD/DVD drives in DOS mode (using autoexec.bat and config.sys).

Of course, I can't think how to send you the images you asked for because unless I show you my partition table, you won't know that Win98SE is booting from a partition starting over the 137GB limit, but it is. And of course I checked the property tables and it's still using the LLXX version of the ESDI_506.PDR.

And the CD/DVD burners are now showing up in device manager instead of simply showing in Explorer.

So all's well. Probably the ultimate test isn't it? Win98SE simply won't START if you install it on a partition above the 137GB limit. Very good going!

Now a few quick questions/points:

Q1. Buried in this thread is an installer (which backs up the original). What is the latest version of this and which version of the patched driver does it install?

Q2. Should I be matching the version of the patched driver against the version of the Win98SE (showing on my desktop) - for example, if I show 2222, should I revert to the 2222 patched driver or continue using 2226 which is what I downloaded thinking it was the latest?

Q3. I want to slip the driver into the CAB on my Win98SE installation CD. But I read somewhere on this thread that I am supposed to install the driver and get a "1 later than the latest MS version number". Does that matter or can I simply replace (overwrite) the existing driver in the CAB? (Yeah, I know how and I have the backed up original.)

Q4. If you use the patched driver and then check the file details, you will find that the provider is Microsoft. I think I have a question or a point about this, but I'll let you consider your own and answer them to yourselves! :D.

Again, thanks for the driver. It is nice not being stuck being able to have a DOS partition on the tail end of a 200GB disk, but having to put my Win98SE on the second disk.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...