Windows 98SE on a
Traditional Motherboard
Microsoft Windows 98SE has a native limitation of 137GB
supporting ATA interface disc drives that are attached
to traditional Primary and Secondary IDE Channels on the
motherboard. In this configuration Windows 98SE will not
create partitions greater than 137GB.
Also, the native Windows 98SE ScanDisk and Defrag utilities
are limited to smaller partition sizes and may not function
on partitions greater than 127GB. There are no fixes available
from Microsoft for this limitation. Third-party software
may be available to defrag and monitor larger FAT32 file
systems. Seagate recommends creating partitions of a size
that can be managed by the native Windows 98SE ScanDisk
and Defrag utilities.
Intel offers drivers to support the full capacity of
drives larger than 137 GB on motherboards equipped with
the Intel 800 Series chipset. For help identifying your
Intel chipset see Intel's
Chipset Identification Page. If you are not sure what
kind of chipset your motherboard has, contact your system
or motherboard manufacturer. If your motherboard is unsupported
by a non-Microsoft driver, Windows 98 support of ATA drives
larger than 137GB are possible on an ATA controller card.
Otherwise, if you plan to upgrade to an operating system
that has native support of 48-bit addressing, the drive
could be prepared up to 137GB with the remaining capacity
added later.
The Intel Application Accelerator (IAA) v2.3 is listed
compatible with Windows 98SE. Detailed information and
the latest version of the driver is available from Intel's
website.
If
your system's old boot drive is less than 137GB and uses
a drive overlay program (DDO) to overcome a previous BIOS
capacity limitation (such as Disk Manager or previous
versions of DiscWizard or MaxBlast, and identifiable as
a blue banner box before the operating system loads),
then the Intel Application Accelerator is incompatible
with your system. If you have this legacy configuration,
the Ultra ATA controller card is the only solution for
Windows 98SE. If you install the Intel Application Accelerator
on this type of system, loss of data will occur. If you
are not sure if your system uses a DDO, contact Seagate
Technical Support_us.
Microsoft has issued updates that relate specifically
to ATA (IDE) interface disc drives and Windows 98SE limitations
and recommends that you keep the OS updated with the latest
drivers. For more information, see the following Microsoft
articles:
Q273017 - "Windows
IDE Hard Drive Cache package"
Q263044 - "Fdisk
Does Not Recognize Full Size of Hard Disks Larger than
64 GB"
Q184006 - "Limitations
of FAT32 File System" (regarding the ScanDisk tool).
New System Considerations
Windows 98SE has a default limitation of 137GB supporting
ATA interface disc drives. Therefore, your boot drive
partition will have a maximum size of 137GB.
Formatting
a drive past the 137GB barrier on a system that does not
meet all requirements of BIOS support and the Intel Application
Accelerator 48-bit Addressing operating system drivers
will result in data loss. Seagate is not responsible for
lost data.
If you have an Intel compatible chipset, and after the
OS and IAA are installed, any additional gigabytes will
show up later as unallocated space on the drive. You can
easily create a second partition with the Windows FDISK
partitioning tool.
Windows 98SE on a PCI
Controller Card
Controller cards support ATA interface disc drives through
their own onboard BIOS and Windows device drivers. Since
the drives are supported by drivers that emulate the SCSI
driver approach, the native Windows 137GB ATA limitation
does not apply since those drivers are not in use.
If your disc drives are recognized by the controller
BIOS when the system is first powered on but later the
drives are not seen by Windows then the device drivers
for the controller card need to be installed. See your
controller card documentation for direction.
Please see our list of PCI
vendors which are known to manufacture ATA controller
cards that support drives greater than 137GB.
Also, the native Windows 98SE ScanDisk and Defrag utilities
are limited to smaller partition sizes and may not function
on partitions greater than 127GB. There are no fixes available
from Microsoft for this limitation. Third-party software
may be available to defrag and monitor larger FAT32 file
systems. Seagate recommends creating partitions of a size
that can be managed by the native Windows 98SE ScanDisk
and Defrag utilities.
Microsoft has issued updates that relate specifically
to ATA (IDE) interface disc drives and Windows 98SE limitations
and recommends that you keep the OS updated with the latest
drivers. For more information, see the following Microsoft
articles:
Q273017 - "Windows
IDE Hard Drive Cache package"
Q263044 - "Fdisk
Does Not Recognize Full Size of Hard Disks Larger than
64 GB"
Q184006 - "Limitations
of FAT32 File System" (regarding the ScanDisk tool).
New System Considerations
As noted above, controller cards utilize custom 48-bit
device drivers that support the full capacity of the
drive. Unfortunately, in Windows 98, these drivers are
added after the operating system is installed. This
means that the initial partition may be smaller than
the full capacity of the drive. Once the controller
card drivers are installed, any additional gigabytes
will show up later as unallocated space on the drive.
You can easily create a second partition with the
Windows FDISK partitioning tools.
Adding a Drive to an Existing System
The installation procedure is relatively easy if your
original boot drive is attached to the motherboard and
your new drive is attached to the controller card as
additional storage. If you want your new drive to become
the boot drive, your system BIOS must have an option
to control the boot device or to release boot control
from the Primary Master to the controller card. This
is sometimes listed as "boot from SCSI".
For more background information about 48-bit LBA addressing
please visit our overview
on this issue. You may also use our Capacity
Limitations Walk-Through for 137 GByte limits, as
well as other capacity limitations.
REFERENCE
TO THIRD PARTIES AND THIRD PARTY WEB SITES. Seagate
references third parties and third party products as
an informational service only, it is not an endorsement
or recommendation - implied or otherwise - of any of
the listed companies. Seagate makes no warranty - implied
or otherwise - regarding the performance or reliability
of these companies or products. Each company listed
is independent from Seagate and is not under the control
of Seagate; therefore, Seagate accepts no responsibility
for and disclaims any liability from the actions or
products of the listed companies. You should make your
own independent evaluation before conducting business
with any company. To obtain product specifications and
warranty information, please contact the respective
vendor directly. There are links in this document that
will permit you to connect to third-party web sites
over which Seagate has no control. These links are provided
for your convenience only and your use of them is at
your own risk. Seagate makes no representations whatsoever
about the content of any of these web sites. Seagate
does not endorse or accept any responsibility for the
content, or use, of any such web sites.
