[Ham-Computers] Re: True or False?

[Dale Miller]

I thought harddrive capacity was dependent on the BIOS not the OS?

73's
Dale Miller, KC2CBD

Duane Fischer W8DBF wrote:

>Jim, 	
>	
>1. What was it about Windows 95a that limited it to 2.1 Gig aprox? Then Windows
>95b raises it up to 8.? Gig. How come? What changed?	
>	
>2. Why am I told that Windows 98SE will not support a hard drive that is over 30
>Gig?	
>	
>What are the 'real facts and real issues?  	
>	
>	
>Thank you. 			
>	
>Duane W8DBF		
>dfischer at usol.com 	
>
>
>
>----------
>From: Jim Myers <kd7eir at yahoo.com>
>To: ham-computers at mailman.qth.net
>Subject: [Ham-Computers] Re:  True or False?
>Date: Friday, October 22, 2004 10:52 PM
>
>All of the following answers relating to hard drive
>size are dependent upon having a BIOS that can support
>the larger drives, regardless of the operating system
>used.
>
>1) In theory, Win 95b can address a hard drive that is
>2 terabytes (2,199,023,255,552) in size. The FAT32
>table does not scale well in that as its size
>increases, it takes more time for Windows to find
>information in it. It also takes more time to
>calculate free space at boot-up. The maximum size of
>the FAT32 table is about 128 megabytes. The maximum
>size of any one file on a FAT32 drive is 4 gigabytes.
>
>2) Yes, you can have a 10 GB hard drive in Windows 95b
>on a laptop.
>
>3) Yes, you can run an 80 GB hard drive under Windows
>98.
>
>4) Many, people sell computers without an installed
>operating system.  eBay is an excellent source of
>these systems, as are most local computer stores (NOT
>a chain store, but a privately owned store.)
>
>5) No operating system requires a particular brand of
>BIOS.  Some operating systems may work better with
>certain versions of a BIOS, particularly when you have
>an operating system that contains advanced features
>relating to hardware.
>
>6) BIOS is the Basic Input Output System that allows
>the computer to boot before the operating system is
>loaded.  This allows the system to boot, perform the
>POST (Power On Self Test) which tests the basic system
>components to make sure that they are functioning.
>
>CMOS stands for Complimentary Metal Oxide
>Semiconductor.  CMOS is a type of chip that is
>frequently used to store the BIOS code.  They are
>frequently used interchangeably, but they are not the
>same.
>
>7) I have never suffered a hard drive failure either. 
>The data on hard drive failures does not indicate that
>one type of use is necessarily harder on a hard drive
>than another.  The major cause of hard drive failures
>seems to be excessive heat, caused by inadequate
>cooling of the system that the hard drives are
>installed in.
> 
>Jim, KD7EIR
>--- "Duane Fischer, W8DBF" <dfischer at usol.com> wrote:
>
>  
>
>>	
>>Greetings All, 	
>>	
>>Here are some questions that I thought I knew the
>>answers to, but several have
>>told me of their computers which contradict what I
>>was told.	
>>    
>>
>
>
>=====
>Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if you
>don't.
>
>Wilderness itself is the basis of all our civilization. I
>wonder if we have enough reverence for life to concede to
>wilderness the right to live on?
>
>Great occasions do not make heroes or cowards; they simply unveil them to the
>eyes. Silently and imperceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow strong or we grow
>weak, and at last some crisis shows us what we have become.
>
>
>		
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>