Bios Limitations For Hard Drives Larger Than 2.1 Gb - Western Digital WD Caviar Installation Manual

BIOS Limitations for Hard Drives Larger than 2.1 GB

IMPORTANT. If you installed a 2.5 GB or larger hard drive
and your system does not respond (locks up) on initial boot,
read this section.
Hard drives larger than 2.1 GB have more than 4095 cylinders.
On some systems, the system BIOS cannot properly recognize
hard drives with more than 4095 cylinders.
You will know if your system BIOS has this limitation after
installing your drive if:
Your operating system shows a much smaller drive capacity.
Your system locks up on initial boot, preventing you from
accessing CMOS setup.
Operating System Shows a Much Smaller Capacity
If your operating system shows a much smaller drive capacity,
use EZ-Drive to overcome the 2.1 GB BIOS limitation.
Your System Locks Up on Initial Boot
If you cannot access the CMOS setup because your system
locks up on initial boot, follow the instructions below.
1. Turn off your system power, check the IDE interface cable
and power supply cable.
2. Check jumper settings.
3. Turn on your system power.
4. Try to enter your CMOS setup and set the drive type to auto
config.
If your system still doesn't respond, your system BIOS may not
support drives with more than 4095 cylinders. If this is the
case, consider these solutions:
Troubleshooting 39