D620 doesn't like new SATA harddrive - anything I can do?

Trying to run a D620 with a new harddrive, a 320 GB WD3200BEVT.

The 620 will say "a read error occurred, press Ctrl alt del to reboot" directly after post. I doesn't not attempt to load an OS.

In the BIOS:

• I made sure that the harddrive password protection thing is all off
• In the device list the 320 GB drive appears, so it's not a mechanical problem

The drive works on a modern AM2 desktop.

Anything I can do?

Known problem?

Maybe a BIOS update?

It does not try to load an OS, from any source.

Directly after POST it will give the read error message, mandating a reboot.

It's a fresh drive.

I managed to now install a Linux. Booting from CD works if I completely disable the HD boot and now the HD boots Linux.

A generic XP CD is not happy, goes blank screen when examining the hardware.

The drive is good, it runs Linux just fine.

So what appears to have happened is that there was a Windows install on the drive that somehow bailed out directly after loading the bootsector (not like normally complaining about the hard drive controller or whatever).

Now I got a problem since I do want a XP on here. I did a binary copy from the old drive and shows the same behavior. Something about XP doesn't like this big drive (in a 60 GB partition), but only in this computer. The XP on the big drive doesn't show this error when connected to a random desktop. So I am pretty sure that the problem here is a BIOS that tells lies to XP and Linux ignores those lies.

And as I mentioned before, a regular XP install CD goes blank screen on "inspecting your hardware". So no go for me so far. That is pretty ridiculous since I have two legal XP licenses here, the one from Dell that's still on the smaller drive and my CD is a legally purchased XP. The free OS runs fine, figures.

I think my courses of action include trying to locate the recovery CD for this thing. Or to mess with the old install on the 60 GB disk to update SATA drivers and whatever else, then do a binary copy and see whether that fixes it. But it won't if the BIOS is the culprit. I should probably check for BIOS updates.

Well, there wasn't any Linux on it when the problem started. Nothing about the initial problem changed when installing Linux.

I don't think there's a real hardware problem here since Linux runs like a charm.

I also have to remind people that this very Windows XP on the very harddrive doesn't show this problem when connecting it to a random desktop. It only appears when in the D620.

I am sure now that what we see here is a repetition of the old phenomenon that BIOSes would limit the harddrive size for Windows but that Linux and FreeBSD would run the large drives fine if you just restricted the boot partition to be within the size limit. Once up, in Linux and FreeBSD the disk controller drivers take over ignoring the BIOS. In Windows the disk controller drivers inherit the bad size information from the BIOS and won't do even if you limit the partition size to be within the limit.

As a matter of fact, Dell seems to have managed to buy a BIOS that has a 128 GB hard drive size limit:
http://techrepublic.com.com/5208-623...237829&start=0

This also says "up to 100 GB":
http://www.dell.com/us/en/dfb/notebo...n=specs#tabtop

I think for a Core Duo generation business laptop that is very embarrassing.

I ordered both a regular HD caddie and a bay caddie. That will allow me to run XP off the 60 GB drive and either dual-boot by swapping harddrives or do dual-disk dual-boot. Not what I had in mind when I picked the Latitude.

I'll check whether I have the newest BIOS, though. You'd think I'm not the first one to find that a Notebook of that age shouldn't have a 128 GB limit, so maybe they fixed it in an update.

What? I didn't see that.

I found that Dell's website as the BIOS downloadable as A10. The changelog doesn't mention harddrive size modifications but then it's against the previous version and who knows what I have. I'll look it up at home.

What version do you run, MrEvil?

Yeah, after looking at all the evidence and what you guys posted I think I can say it is almost certainly the BIOS not dealing with the big drive. Just the fact that only Windows is affected strongly suggests that.

I have BIOS A08 and downloaded A10. Hopefully the flash to A10 goes smooth.

Too bad they don't have a bootable CD image with the flasher, but I suppose the Windows flash *.exe might be fine.

What's up with this forum, BTW?

Did they sell it to somebody with bad taste and too much advertising demands?

I don't mind the ads as such, but the forum structure (where what is placed on a page) and the fact that there's no straight forum list anywhere close to where you arrive is a little unusual.

Anyway, I flashed to A10 but I can't test the new harddrive until later today.