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Old October 25th 03, 04:54 PM
Euc1id
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It's probably rare, but possible that a new hard drive could be faulty. So
be sure to run all of the PowerMax diagnostics to certify that it is working
correctly.

Then my suggestion would be to use the Maxtor diagnostic software PowerMax
and do a low-level reformat of the hard drive (takes a LONG time). That
should wipe it clean and remove any proprietary Maxtor BIOS-related junk.
Then perhaps your Compaq recovery software will work(?), but I have no idea
in that regard. I've heard that some Compaq's may not be friendly to putting
in new hard drives of a different brand, but I don't know.

I've tried to use the Maxtor installation software in the past and it didn't
work right for me. So I resorted to the old reliable DOS methods to format &
partition it as fat32, then it worked fine on my 4 year old HP Pavilion
6545C with W98se. That was a 20G Maxtor UltraATA 7200rpm hard drive which I
purchased about 1.5 years ago. I don't know about the other ID numbers -
they make it too complicated. I gave that computer away to someone, so can't
check it now.

As for my current Compaq Presario S4020WM running XP Home, I made a set of 6
recovery CDs as instructed. Then I bought a 120G Maxtor hard drive, stuck it
in (straight out of the box) as the new master, and then the set of Compaq
recovery CDs did everything automatically - formatted the drive and
installed the recovery partition + op system. I didn't have to do
"anything", and I didn't use the Maxtor installation software (which I don't
trust). Then the only thing I had to do was apply the Maxtor "quiet"
software utility (Amset), because the drive was extremely noisy otherwise.
--
Euc1id

"NewKillerStar" wrote in message
...
Did you format the drive first?

"Ricky Spartacus" wrote in message
om...
My new used Maxtor 5T020H2 20G HD arrived today and when loading the
Compaq full restore software into this hard drive it says, "Error, out
of memory" halfway into the loading process. The loading process is
halted. I notice the hard drive light in front of the computer rarely
comes on as quick flashes. No flashes or just 2 seconds flash on per 5
min.

It could be my Compaq restore software. But why do other hard drives
work with Compaq restore? I bought the 5T020H2 because it's known to
work with Compaq restore. If that means I may need to get a new
operating system I need to confirm it before I go get one. So what
could be the problem?
Thanks.