Remove HPA


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Hi,

 

I updated my BIOS, and disabled HPA. I followed this link http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=3739.msg49310#msg49310 to remove my HPA from HDD.

 

From what we've seen recently, removing the HPA is just a matter of running one hdparm command.

 

Step 1. determine the correct full size of the drive  (it is found in the syslog)

Step 2. run the hdparm -N pXXXXXXXXXXX /dev/XYZ command for your drive

Step 3. verify the HPA was removed.

 

The problem i'll get a error:

 

root@Tower:~# hdparm -N 1953523055 /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
setting max visible sectors to 1953523055 (temporary)
max sectors   = 1953523055/7368112, HPA setting seems invalid

 

when i also check the main page of unRAID it says my HDD is 976,761,496 KB.

 

Any idea how to solve this?

 

 

 

 

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I had the same problem with hdparm.  I removed HPA from my drives by downloading/creating/using the Ultimate Boot CD

 

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

 

First, I had to remove the drive from the unRaid server and install it into a Windows machine.  Then, boot the Win machine from UBCD.    Use the utility called HDAT2.  Select the option to SET_MAX_ADDRESS.  This will remove the HPA and restore the full capacity to the drive.  Shutdown Win machine and re-install drive into unRaid.  It should now show corrected full capacity.

 

A real PITA, but it worked.

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root@Tower:~# hdparm -N 1953523055 /dev/sda

 

/dev/sda:

setting max visible sectors to 1953523055 (temporary)

max sectors  = 1953523055/7368112, HPA setting seems invalid

Your command worked, but you did not use a leading "p" in front of the new value to make it permanent.

 

You would type instead:

hdparm -N p1953523055 /dev/sda

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Hi,

 

Thanks for the reply Rob_Esc and Joe L.

 

Fist i tried the solution from Joe L.

 

hpa.png

 

root@Tower:~# hdparm -N p1953525168 /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
setting max visible sectors to 1953525168 (permanent)
max sectors   = 1953525168/7368112, HPA setting seems invalid

 

So thats not working. I don't know why. I'm doing something wrong? Any Idea Joe L.

 

 

I have three disks with HPA on it. I now gonna try Rob_Esc solution with one disk. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

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Hi,

 

Thanks for the reply Rob_Esc and Joe L.

 

Fist i tried the solution from Joe L.

 

hpa.png

 

root@Tower:~# hdparm -N p1953525168 /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
setting max visible sectors to 1953525168 (permanent)
max sectors   = 1953525168/7368112, HPA setting seems invalid

 

So thats not working. I don't know why. I'm doing something wrong? Any Idea Joe L.

 

 

I have three disks with HPA on it. I now gonna try Rob_Esc solution with one disk. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

First, only work on one disk at a time.  unRAID will think the disk has changed since to it, the size will change.  If you work on multiple disks at the same time, odds are your array will not start since it will thing multiple disks have changed..

 

It appears as if the command worked.  I'd reboot and see if it still says the HPA exists.  Also, according to the manual for hdparm, the commands to set the HPA can only be performed once per power cycle of the disk, so you might need to power down and back up.  Additionally, it is a multiple command sequence sent to the disk, so if some other activity is also occurring you might need to repeat the command so it arrives at the disk with no other intervening command to interrupt the sequence..

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  • 3 weeks later...

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