Ml310 (COMPAQ version)

[Tom Johansson]

I have an ML310, with the compaq logo on ... Am i able to upgrade the bios or something to handle 250gb harddrives? (IDE disks)

[Prashant (I am Back)]

Hi,

Yes you can update the BIOS to latest version. But i am using it with 200 GB drive may work with 250GB also. But check what HP says

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/11446_div/11446_div.HTML#Storage

Regards,
Prashant S.

[Tom Johansson]

Thank you for your quick answer. Witch bios update are you using? I downloaded the 15/09/2004 i think it was .. still nothing, finds 130gb of 250 gb :(

[Tom Johansson]

Another question, can there be any problems if i use the disk at 130gb even though it is a 250? Should everything work as if it was a 130gb disk?

[Brian_Murdoch]

Tom,

This is a known limitation of the ML310 G1 BIOS. It cannot be resolved by updating the BIOS. Any disk greater than 137Gb (Say 160Gb) will only show as 130Gb (131071Mb).

The problem is caused by the BIOS not supporting â 48-bit LBA addressingâ which is required to see drives over 137GB in size. This will not be fixed in the BIOS of the ML310 g1, so there will be no solution to this.

There is a note in the drive quickspecs which confims this for the 160Gb IDE option.

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/11361_na/11361_na.html

I hope this helps.

Brian

[Brian_Murdoch]

Tom,

In answer to your second question there won't be a problem with using the 250Gb drive as a 130Gb drive. The BIOS will believe it to be a 130Gb drive and treat it as if it was a 130Gb drive. This won't cause any problems but it seems a waste of your money. Perhaps you could exchange it for a 160Gb drive and get a small refund if you explain this to the location you bought it from.

It won't cause any problems anyway.

Regards,

Brian

[Tom Johansson]

Thank you! I am about to install Linux slackware on the machine now, and it sees the whole 250gb disk. Seems a bit wierd? Does linux take over the bios role?