How do you get an older computer to recognize a newer, bigger hard drive?

[masterc]

 

[minendo]

Update the BIOS

 

[leapingfrog0]

A lot of the time the manufacturer will throw in a disk with a bunch of utilities on it that can be used override the BIOS' limitations allowing you to use the full capacity of your hard drive.

You just run the software on the disk, it figures out your BIOS' limitations, and installs the override program if needed.