                       HIGH CAPACITY DISK PATCH

                            Version 5.3

                             10/11/2008

                       Copyright (C) 2003-2008
                          By Rudolph R. Loew



The High Capacity Disk Patch Program patches Windows 98/98SE/ME to provide
direct support for Hard Drives larger than 137GB without requiring a
controller card or the Intel Application Accelerator which can only be
used with some Intel Chipset Motherboards. The Patch installs support for the
48-Bit LBA addressing mode required for Hard Drives larger than 137GB.

This patch updates the standard IDE controller (ESDI_506.PDR in the Windows
SYSTEM\IOSUBSYS Directory). If you are using a controller card such as the
Promise Card included with some Maxtor or Western Digital drives, this Patch
will not affect drives connected to the Card(s). If you have installed the
Intel Application Accelerator, this driver may no longer be used and the
Patch is not needed and may not have any effect. SATA drives may or may not
be supported depending on configuration.

NOTE: Some documentation and utilities use a different definition of
Gigabytes (GB) based on powers of 2. The 28-Bit addressing limit using this
definition is 128GB.



REQUIREMENTS

Windows 95 Release 2 (See Windows 95 Below)
Windows 98, 98SE or ME (See WINDOWS ME Section Below if using Windows ME)
Motherboard IDE and/or SATA Controller recognized by the Default ESDI_506.PDR
 Port Driver. Customized SATA .INF files are required, contact author for
 further information

BIOS support for hard drives >137GB (48-Bit LBA) or
A Windows Compatable Boot Manager that supports hard drives >137GB
A Mini Boot Manager is now available from Rudolph R. Loew

WARNING: Some BIOSes have defective support for 48-Bit LBA. Rearranging
         Drives may cause a previously working system to fail. Verify
         support using 48BITLBA.EXE for all Drive arrangements you plan to
         use. In particular, VIA EPIA BIOSes before 07/05 may claim to
         support 48-Bit LBA, and will show the full size of the Drive, but
         will not actually support the Drive if it is not the Primary Master.
         Users of VIA EPIA motherboards should contact the Author to obtain
         a Patched BIOS if needed.



IMPORTANT: If you have installed a Version older than 5.0 you MUST Uninstall
           it using the Original Version before attempting to Install this
           Version of the Patch. You can Uninstall the old Version and
           Install the new Version without risk of data loss as long as you
           do not Boot Windows while the Patch is not Installed. Windows ME
           users must Boot into DOS or SAFE MODE to install the new Version.
           After you have successfully updated the Patch to your system you
           will need to replace the old Patch program and update your
           AUTOEXEC.BAT if you are using the Automatic
           Installation/Verification feature described later.

           NOTE: The name of the Patch program in the Full Versions is
           PATCHATA.EXE while the name in the Demo Versions is PATCH137.EXE.



BIOS SUPPORT VERIFICATION

The 48BITLBA program tests your Computer's support for Large Hard Drives.
You will need at least one Hard Drive larger than 137GB connected to either
of the IDE connectors on your Motherboard.

Run the Program from DOS, not a DOS Box, to verify BIOS, or Boot Manager,
support for Large Hard Drives. A "48-BIT Support Verified" message should be
displayed next to the Large Hard Drive's Number and Size Report. Otherwise
your BIOS may not support Large Hard Drives.

If you get a "Last 28 Bit Sector Unsupported" message, your BIOS or Boot
Manager has a bug making it incompatable with your Hard Drive.

WARNING: Some BIOSes have defective support for 48-Bit LBA. Rearranging
Drives may cause 48-Bit LBA support to fail. Verify support with all Drive
arrangements you plan to use. In particular, there are some BIOSes that only
support 48-Bit LBA on the MASTER Drive on the PRIMARY IDE Bus.



DRIVER USAGE VERIFICATION

The DISKDVR Program scans the Registry and displays the Port Driver being
used by Windows for each IDE Bus and it's associated Info (.INF) file.
This Program must be run from a Windows DOS Box.

The Port Driver used for each IDE Bus that will be used with Large Hard
Drives must be ESDI_506.PDR for the Patch to work.

This is the Windows Default Port Driver. If you have loaded other IDE
Drivers, Windows may no longer use the ESDI_506.PDR Port Driver.

If the Port driver is reported as INTELATA.MPD, the Intel Application
Accelerator is controlling that IDE Bus. The Intel Application Accelerator
must be uninstalled before using the High Capacity Disk Patch.

If the Port driver is reported as VIADSK.MPD, the IDE Bus is being controlled
by a VIA MiniPort Driver. The June 2003 version of the VIA MiniPort Driver,
the latest version as of this release, is not compatable with some Hard
Drives and cannot be easily removed. A Patched version of the MiniPort Driver
is available, please contact Author for further information.

If any other Port Driver is reported, please contact the Author for further
information.

NOTE: Running DISKDVR +ALL will display all Hard Disk Controllers (hdc) in
      the Registry. This includes many USB Drives.
      Running DISKDVR -SCSI will display all SCSI Disk Controllers
      (SCSIAdapter) in the Registry..



PATCH INSTALLATION

Windows ME users should read the WINDOWS ME Section Below before Installing.

1. Download and UnZip the Program to a known location.
   Do not UnZip the Program to the C:\ Directory if you do not want the
   AUTOEXEC.BAT File to be replaced.
2. Open a MS-DOS Box (Windows 98 or 98SE Only) or Boot into DOS.
   WARNING Do not Install the Patch from Windows ME. Boot from DOS or Windows
   ME SAFE MODE.
3. Go to the Directory where the program is located.
4. Run PATCHATA to install the patch.
5. The Patch will take effect the next time Windows is Booted.



AUTOMATIC PATCH INSTALLATION/VERIFICATION (Windows 98 and 98SE Only)

This method can be used when installing Windows 98 or 98SE or after
installation to Install or Verify the Patch on each Reboot.

1. Download and UnZip the Program to a known location.
2. Copy the PATCHATA.EXE to C:\PATCHATA.EXE
3. If there is no C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file or it is empty, copy the supplied
   UnZipped AUTOEXEC.BAT to C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT.
4. If you already have a C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file, add the following line to it:

   C:\PATCHATA.EXE -V

   Do not use LOADHIGH or LH with this program, it is not needed.

See the AUTOMATIC VERIFICATION AND UPDATE Section below if you wish to put
the PATCHATA.EXE Program in a different Folder.

WARNING: If the Patch Program ever interrupts the Boot Sequence and reports
an error. It is STRONGLY recommended that you do NOT press ENTER to Continue
if you have already defined Partitions extending above the 137GB limit on
any Drive. You should Press RESET to Reboot the Computer and either use a
Boot Floppy or the "Command Prompt Only" from the Windows Startup Menu until
the problem is resolved.



Windows 95

Support for Windows 95 has been added in Version 5,1. Author has not tested
Windows 95 Support and Microsoft claims that Windows 95 does not support more
than 32GB. Use this Patch with Windows 95 at your own risk.

It is strongly recommended that you update your Disk Driver up to Version
4.00.1116 or later before installing the Patch. The upgrade to Version
4.00.1116 is available from Microsoft at

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/171353/EN-US/



WINDOWS ME

Windows ME contains a number of changes that affect the Installation and
Verification of the High Capacity Disk Patch.

Windows ME does not use the AUTOEXEC.BAT file during boot so Automatic
Installation and Verification cannot be performed. Commands placed in the
AUTOEXEC.BAT file will be ignored.

Microsoft added a function called "System File Protection" (SFP) that
prevents changes to System files including the ESDI_506.PDR file Patched by
the High Capacity Disk Patch. This function cannot be disabled.

If any file protected by SFP is changed, SFP will replace it with the old
version a few seconds later without any warning or indication.

The Patch can only be Installed from DOS, not a DOS Box, or from SAFE MODE
where SFP is not active.

The Patch can be Uninstalled in Windows but a Reinstallation will be lost.

To stop SFP from protecting the ESDI_506.PDR file, perform the following
steps:

1. Boot from DOS
2. Edit the FILELIST.XML file in the Windows SYSTEM\RESTORE folder.
3. Remove the lines referring to the FILELIST.XML and ESDI_506.PDR files.
4. Save the updated file.

Windows ME has a new feature called "System Restore" which allows changes to
be rolled back. If you use System Restore to rollback before the Patch was
installed, you will lose the Patch and risk corruption.



WINDOWS SUPPORT VERIFICATION

The 48BITLBA Program can be run from Windows, in a DOS Box, to verify proper
operation of the Patch after you have installed it.

NOTE: If you just installed or upgraded the Patch, you must reboot before
      performing this test.

If you have existing data on your Hard Drive above the 137GB limit there is
a very small chance that Windows might access sector 268435456 which is
temporarily modified during the test. To eliminate this possibility, run the
command as follows:

48BITLBA -LOCK

NOTE: If your DOS Box is displayed as a Window, running this Program with the
      -LOCK option will force the DOS Box to Full Screen Mode and you will
      have to reset the Screen Mode from the DOS Box's Properties to return
      to Window Mode.

If some of your Hard Drives are not displayed, you can increase the range of
Physical Drives that the Program will scan by specifying the number of Drives
to scan as follows:

48BITLBA ###

Where ### is the number of Drives to scan (1 to 127).

The 48BITLBA Program will first test each drive for High Capacity Disk Patch
support. If verified, an appropriate message will be printed. Then the
48BITLBA Program will test the drive for 48-Bit LBA support and report the
results.

The High Capacity Disk Patch Support Test requires that the 48BITLBA Program
and the High Capacity Disk Patch use the same signature. This version uses a
different signature than previous versions. Mixing different versions can
prevent the 48BITLBA Program from verifying support.

If you get a "Last 28 Bit Sector Unsupported" message, Windows is using a
Driver that supports 48-Bit LBA but has a bug making it incompatable with
your Hard Drive.



UNINSTALL PATCH (See WARNING Section Below)

1. Download and UnZip the Program to a known location (if necessary).
2. Open a MS-DOS Box or Boot into DOS.
3. Go to the Directory where the program is located.
4. Run PATCHATA.
5. Type Yes to the Uninstall request to uninstall the patch.
6. Remove the C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file or the line in it that invokes the
   PATCHATA Program if you are using the Automatic Installation/Verification
   Mode of the Program.



OTHER PROGRAMS, PATCHES, DRIVERS AND UPDATES

There are a number of other programs which can disable this Patch if they are
installed. Some overwrite the ESDI_506.PDR Port Driver, while others reassign
the IDE driver in the Registry bypassing the ESDI_506.PDR Port Driver.

The following is a list of known programs that will disable this Patch. There
are probably others. Any program that promises to improve Hard Disk
performance, except defraggers, or provide monitoring of Hard Disk operations,
is suspect.

Microsoft Fix Q243450.

    This Fix updates the ESDI_506.PDR in Windows 98 or 98SE to fix a
    problem with some Phoenix BIOSes. This Fix does not provide 48-Bit LBA
    support. The High Capacity Disk Patch can Patch this Fix.

    1. Run the Microsoft Patch but do NOT reboot.
    2. Rerun the High Capacity Disk Patch.
    3. Reboot

Intel Application Accelerator.

    The Intel Application Accelerator provides Large Hard Drive Support and
    other features for certain Intel Chipsets. This program will bypass the
    ESDI_506.PDR Port Driver and use one called INTELATA.MPD instead. This
    program can be used as is. The 48BITLBA Program will no longer be able
    to verify proper operation on WIndows ME systems.

VIA IDE Miniport Driver.

    The VIA IDE Miniport Driver provides Large Hard Drive Support and
    other features for certain VIA Chipsets. This program will bypass the
    ESDI_506.PDR Port Driver and use one called VIADSK.MPD instead.
    Version 3.20B is the most recent version to date (08/03).
    The Driver has a flaw that can cause errors to appear on Large Seagate
    Drives and possibly others. This program CANNOT be uninstalled.

    Use of this program is NOT recommended.

    If you do install this program, Author has an updated Port Driver file that
    corrects the flaw in this Driver. You can order this file by contacting
    me by E-Mail.

Unfortunately there is no way to determine what effect other programs will
have until they are installed. Some installations cannot be undone. If the
program does not support Large Hard Drives and this Patch cannot be reapplied,
you risk corruption if the program cannot be uninstalled before rebooting
Windows.

Doing a complete backup of your system is STRONGLY recommended before
installing any such program.



WARNING

THE POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR DATA LOSS TO OCCUR DUE TO ERRORS IN THE PATCH OR
IF THE PATCHED DRIVER IS BYPASSED OR OVERWRITTEN. DO NOT USE IN CRITICAL
SYSTEMS OR WHERE HUMAN SAFETY IS INVOLVED.

Please E-Mail any Bug Reports to RLoew@hotmail.com.

If you install a Windows update that replaces the ESDI_506.PDR file or
uninstalls the Patch, and have Partitions defined that extend above the 137GB
limit there is a possibility of data loss anywhere on that drive. This is due
to a flaw in the original version of the ESDI_506.PDR file that misinterprets
sectors above the 137GB limit as being sectors below it. Since Microsoft
has decided not to add large disk support to any Windows before 2000, any
updates are likely to have the same flaw. If in doubt, rerun the PATCHATA
Program BEFORE allowing Windows to Reboot and Answer NO to the Uninstall
Request if it appears. If the Computer Reboots before you can run the
Program, make it boot in Safe Mode, apply the Patch and Reboot again. See the
AUTOMATIC PATCH INSTALLATION/VERIFICATION Section above for instructions to
setup Windows to have the Patch Verified and Reinstalled (if necessary) on
each boot.

Installing this Patch on a Computer without BIOS Support for large drives is
not recommended. The Patch is bypassed if Windows disables the Driver or if
Windows is in Safe Mode. In either case, the BIOS may cause data loss if it
mishandles sectors above the 137GB limit as does the Microsoft Driver. A bad
shutdown will trigger SCANDISK which is very likely to corrupt your Hard Disk.

Usage with a Disk Manager other than BOOTMAN (See Below) may or may not work.
Proper operation in Windows Mode is uncertain and may corrupt your system.

Installing this Patch on Windows NT, 2000, or XP has not been tested and may
corrupt your Hard Drive.

If you are installing Windows in a system which has partitions on any drive
extending above the 137GB limit you must apply the Patch after Windows
installs it's unpatched driver but before it tries to use it. If you are
installing Windows 98 or 98SE, see the AUTOMATIC PATCH
INSTALLATION/VERIFICATION Section Steps 1-3 above. If you are installing
Windows ME, use the alternate method described in the NEW WINDOWS
INSTALLATION section below for instructions.



OPTIONS

The Program automatically examines the Computer to locate the Driver File.

The Program can be redirected to Patch a specific File by specifying a
FileName as follows:

PATCHATA MYDRIVER.PDR

The Drive File is renamed to provide a Backup File before the Patched Driver
File is written. The Backup File has the same name as the Driver File but the
extension is changed to .bak provided the FileName has an extension. If not,
a .bak extension is added.

If an earlier Version of the Patch is found, or a Demo Version, it is
replaced with the new Version. The Backup File is used to create the new
Patch so it must be present.

The Patched Driver File is deleted and the Backup File is renamed back if the
Patch is Uninstalled. If the Backup File is not present, the Patch cannot be
Uninstalled.

The INSTALL/VERIFY mode is specified by adding "-V" (ex. PATCHATA -V).

   The Program will verify if the Patch is present or not.
   If present, the Program will print a report and exit.
   If not, the Program will attempt to Install the Patch.
   If successful, the Program will print a report and exit.
   If not, the Program will print a failure report and wait until you press
   ENTER or you REBOOT the Computer (Strongly recommened).



HARD DRIVE SIZE LIMITS

The High Capacity Disk Patch provides support for Hard Drives up to the
32 Bit Addressing Limit of 2199GB. Possible DOS, BIOS or Windows flaws may
limit support to 1099GB or less. The Patch has been tested with Drives up to
400GB. Raw Disk access tools may have their own limits. Microsoft claims that
FDISK is limited to 512GB.



PARTITION SIZE LIMITS

The size of individual Partitions are subject to additional limitations due
to FileSystem design and Partition management tools. Microsoft specifies a
maximum Partition size of 128GB. Third Party Partition Management tools may
have other limits.

The Windows 98 and SE versions of DEFRAG and SCANDISK (in Windows Mode) are
limited to less than 136.9GB. Some people have reported limits as low as
127GB.

WARNING: Diskeeper 10 claims to support Partitions up to 768GB and Windows
         98/SE/ME. Tests show that it can corrupt large Partitions.

DOS, WINDOWS and SCANDISK (in DOS Mode) can handle 1100GB.

It is recommended that you Partition your Large Hard Drive with 2 or more
Partitions so that no single Primary or Logical Partition is larger than
127GB.

If you must create individual Partitions larger than 127GB you will be unable
to run DEFRAG or SCANDISK (from Windows) if you are running Windows 98 or SE,
unless you find a suitable third party Program or replace the following files
with copies from Windows ME.

WINDOWS\DEFRAG.EXE
WINDOWS\SCANDSKW.EXE
WINDOWS\SYSTEM\DSKMAINT.DLL

Using the Windows ME files approach has been tested and appears to work but
has not been tested extensively. Use at your own risk.

NOTE: Defragmenting a very large Partition can take a very long time. A 465GB
      Partition took over 6 Days to Defragment.


FDISK can be used to Partition Large Hard Drives but will incorrectly report
sizes above 64GB. You will need to enter sizes as Percentages in order to
use the full capacity of the Hard Drive.

The 128GB Version of FDISK from Microsoft is NOT recommended. Under some
circumstances, it creates corrupt Partitions.



NEW WINDOWS INSTALLATIONS

If you are doing a clean install of Windows into a Computer where any of the
drives has a partition extending above the 137GB limit you must install the
Patch before Windows has a chance to use it's unpatched driver. Corruption
may occur before you can complete the installation otherwise. If the Windows
partition itself is above the 137GB limit it will DEFINTELY CRASH.

The simplest way of installing the Patch on a new Installation of Windows 98
or 98SE is to place the instructions to patch the driver in the
C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT startup Batch File. See the AUTOMATIC PATCH
INSTALLATION/VERIFICATION Section Steps 1-3 above for instructions.

If you do not wish to install the Patch using the C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file, or
you are installing Windows ME, you can install the Patch using the following
steps:

 1. Place the Patch Program on a Bootable DOS Floppy Disk.
 2. Perform the Windows installation until the FIRST reboot.
    Do not leave the Computer unattended in case Windows reboots without
    prompting.
 3. Insert the Floppy Disk before Windows Reboots. If Windows Reboots without
    warning, insert the Floppy Disk as soon as the Screen goes Blank.
    Ignore any instructions to remove any Floppy Disks.
 4. Let Windows Reboot the Computer if it doesn't Reboot automatically.
 5. When DOS finishes Booting, run the Patch Program.
    If the Program cannot find the driver skip to Step 9.
 6. Remove the Floppy Disk.
 7. Press the Reset Button or CTRL-ALT-DEL.
 8. Continue the Windows Installation.
 9. If the driver was not found in Step 5, perform Steps 6 and 7, then repeat
    steps 2 thru 5 at the Second Windows Reboot. If the Program still cannot
    find the driver, you will have to look for the ESDI_506.PDR and use the
    Specific File option described above. DO NOT allow Windows to startup
    after the Second Reboot until the Patch has been Installed successfully.

If you have a CD Burner or you install Windows from files placed on the hard
drive, you can purchase a pre-patched Installation Cabinet File for your
version of Windows. By replacing the original Cabinet File in the Installation
CD or Folder you can installs Windows without further patching. This will not
protect you if an update replaces the Patched driver or it is corrupted.

WARNING: If you install Motherboard Drivers provided by the manufacturer of
the Motherboard, you may disable the Patched Driver. Please contact the
Motherboard manufacturer to insure any IDE, ATA or ATAPI Drivers they install
are 48-Bit LBA compatable. You may also have the option to skip installation
of these Drivers. Run the DISKDVR.EXE Program after installing the Drivers
but BEFORE you reboot the Computer. You may have to choose the "Reboot Later"
option if asked to Reboot to run the Program. If the DISKDVR.EXE Program
reports that a Port Driver other than ESDI_506.PDR is now selected, you will
have to uninstall it before rebooting unless you have verified that it
supports Large Hard Drives. If you can't uninstall it, you will have to start
the Windows Installation from scratch.



MULTIPLE BOOT WITH OTHER OPERATING SYSTEMS

The Patch is compatable with multiple boot systems. Each separate Windows
98/98SE/ME System must be Patched individually. All other Operating Systems
must be 48-Bit LBA compatable to avoid corrupting the Windows 98/98SE/ME
Systems and/or each other.

WARNING: Installing an Operating System that is NOT 48-Bit LBA compatable
into an existing system or one where Partitions, of any kind, cross or are
above the 137GB limit risks causing corruption. This is true even if a 48-Bit
LBA compatable Service Pack will be installed immediately after, or the
Partition, the Operating System will be installed on, is entirely below the
137GB limit.

Windows XP users must use a copy of XP with SP1 or later already incorporated.
If you wish to install Windows XP Original Edition, you can contact the
Author to purchase an upgrade kit that provides the necessary files.
The rest of SP1 or SP2 can then be installed later.



AUTOMATIC VERIFICATION AND UPDATE: (Windows 98 and 98SE Only)

IMPORTANT: Do not use this method with Windows ME.

The Program can be setup to automatically verify and repatch, if necessary,
each time the computer is booted. This will prevent corruption if the Patch
is overwritten by other software.

Add the following line to your C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT file:

X:\PATH\PATCHATA.EXE -V

Where X:\PATH is the Drive and Folder where the Program is located.

If an unrecognized or corrupt driver is found, the Program will prevent
Bootup from progressing to prevent possible corruption.

WARNING: If the Patch Program ever interrupts the Boot Sequence and reports
an error. It is STRONGLY recommended that you do NOT press ENTER to Continue
if you have already defined Partitions extending above the 137GB limit on
any Drive. You should Press RESET to Reboot the Computer and either use a
Boot Floppy or the "Command Prompt Only" from the Windows Startup Menu until
the problem is resolved.



BOOTMAN

BOOTMAN is a Mini Boot Manager designed to provide Large Hard Drive support
for BIOSes that only support 137GB. It is compatable with DOS, Windows and
the High Capacity Disk Patch. Please contact Rudolph R. Loew (See Below) for
more information on this Product.



RELATED PRODUCTS

RFDISK   Nondestructive partitioning Program with Large Disk support and
         support for multiple boot and selectable partition configurations.

QFORMAT  Quick formatter for FAT Partitions.

SATA     SATA .INF files for Chipset based SATA controllers

PARTS    Partition Mapper.

WINXX.CAB  Windows Cabinet File with Patch already applied.

BIOS     Large Disk Support Patches for Tyan S1590 Motherboard and others.

EPIA     Patched BIOSes to fix bug in VIA EPIA BIOSes from 01/02 thru 06/05.

DOS      Patches to DOS 6.2 to access drives larger than 8GB.

XPPATCH  Updates to Windows XP Original Edition to provide 48-Bit LBA support
         during installation.

PATCHENC Patch to Support Encrypted Hard Drives.

PATCH2TB Patch to Support Hard Drives larger than 2200GB (Beta).


CONTACT INFORMATION

Rudolph R. Loew
506 Bieling Rd.
Elmont, NY 11003

1-516-352-9078

RLoew@hotmail.com

Website:  http://www.geocities.com/rloew

IP = conference.no-ip.org  PORT = 8192  (Conference Console)

