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3dcal · ‎08-30-2014

Hi,
I tried to add a 2nd HD to my G73 JH, but it wasn't recognized.

Is it necessary to flash the bios? It sounds risky, so don't want to if it
isn't required, but saw somewhere (here?) that it could help.

I found this guide for the process, ......just found the bios (213) for G73.

Thanks! 🙂

All Blender goodness. All FREE. 😉

billyray520 · ‎08-31-2014

3dcal wrote:
Hi,
I tried to add a 2nd HD to my G73 JH, but it wasn't recognized.

Is it necessary to flash the bios? It sounds risky, so don't want to if it
isn't required, but saw somewhere (here?) that it could help.

I found this guide for the process, ......just found the bios (213) for G73.

Thanks! 🙂

There should be no need to flash the BIOS to get a hdd recognized. Even the first original BIOS should be ok. However, having BIOS 213 shouldn't hurt either. But something else is going on. Have you double checked your connections? Can you try the hdd in another pc? Can you try moving the good hdd to the other location? You would have to boot with a CD or USB in that case though. I would try booting a Linux CD, and see if GParted or some such program could see the drives ok. But the BIOS MUST see the hdd for any of the software to see it too. Is the added drive a MBR or GPT? Is it brand new, or did it come out of another computer?

Asus Maximus V Extreme BIOS 1903, see specs above avatar.

Asus G73 jh A1 laptop, BIOS 213, vBIOS OD2, 8 GB Ram, 240 GB Intel SSD, 180 GB Intel SSD. Win 7 Pro. Purchased new from PowerNotebooks.com in May 2010.
(both have 1920X1080 hd screens, mine above, hers below )
Asus G73 Sw XR1 laptop 8 GB Ram, 160 GB Intel SSD, 80 GB Intel SSD. Purchased used >Ebay 1/10/13, Did clean install of Windows 7

3dcal · ‎08-31-2014

Hi billyray,
thanks for the things to check....it's a new (8/2011) Hitachi 500gb SATA.
re: MBR or GPT? I'm assuming it's MBR, but don't know how to check.
I'll put it in an external holder and see if the computer sees it.

I'm glad to know it's probably not the bios. Poking around in Setup make me nervous! =O

All Blender goodness. All FREE. 😉

3dcal · ‎08-31-2014

Later.....
re: Hitachi 500gb... looks like it was a bad HD......it spins, but doesn't initialize even in an external holder.
Too late to return it.....dang! Should have tried it right away....will next time.

But found an old 250gb HD I'd cleaned off & set aside, and it runs fine as a 2nd HD in the G73. 🙂

BTW, is there any benefit to updating the bios? Is it worth the risk?

All Blender goodness. All FREE. 😉

billyray520 · ‎09-01-2014

3dcal wrote:
Later.....
re: Hitachi 500gb... looks like it was a bad HD......it spins, but doesn't initialize even in an external holder.
Too late to return it.....dang! Should have tried it right away....will next time.

But found an old 250gb HD I'd cleaned off & set aside, and it runs fine as a 2nd HD in the G73. 🙂

BTW, is there any benefit to updating the bios? Is it worth the risk?

If everything is OK, there's no need to update the BIOS. However, when I updated the vBIOS I DID need to update the System BIOS first to 213.

Asus Maximus V Extreme BIOS 1903, see specs above avatar.

Asus G73 jh A1 laptop, BIOS 213, vBIOS OD2, 8 GB Ram, 240 GB Intel SSD, 180 GB Intel SSD. Win 7 Pro. Purchased new from PowerNotebooks.com in May 2010.
(both have 1920X1080 hd screens, mine above, hers below )
Asus G73 Sw XR1 laptop 8 GB Ram, 160 GB Intel SSD, 80 GB Intel SSD. Purchased used >Ebay 1/10/13, Did clean install of Windows 7

3dcal · ‎09-01-2014

Ok, I won't mess with the bios or vbios unless absolutely necessary.
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" 😉

Great to have a 2nd HD now.......I didn't even know there was a slot for one
until I opened it to add more ram.....good surprise.

Thanks for the help! 😄

All Blender goodness. All FREE. 😉

G73 JH.....2nd HD, flash bios?