Hard Drive Question

[Marius24]

I am wanting to get a extra hard drive for my pc (if it can be upgraded)

is there any info i need to know such as compatability (like RAM) or do i just get it and plug it in?


Thanks :)

[Mad Cat]

You'll have to make sure its an IDE if you only have IDE on your motherboard etc, or if you want a SATA make sure its SATA compatible motherboard, otherwise you'll need a controller card.

[Marius24]

Device Properties
Driver Description Maxtor 4D060H3
Driver Date 01/07/2001
Driver Version 5.1.2535.0
Driver Provider Microsoft
INF File disk.inf

Disk Device Physical Info
Manufacturer Maxtor
Hard Disk Family DiamondMax D540X
Form Factor 3.5"
Formatted Capacity 60 GB
Disks 2
Recording Surfaces 3
Physical Dimensions 147 x 101.6 x 26.1 mm
Max. Weight 580 g
Average Rotational Latency 5.5 ms
Rotational Speed 5400 RPM
Max. Internal Data Rate 347.2 Mbit/s
Average Seek 12 ms
Track-To-Track Seek 2 ms
Full Seek 24 ms
Interface Ultra-ATA/100
Buffer-to-Host Data Rate 100 MB/s
Buffer Size 2 MB
Spin-Up Time 7.5 sec

Device Manufacturer
Company Name Maxtor Corporation
Product Information http://www.maxtor.com/en/products/





Does that mean its a SATA hard drive?

[Virtualbody1234]

Interface Ultra-ATA/100
No. That means IDE.

What is your motherboard?

[Marius24]

Asus P4B266

[Virtualbody1234]

Click here (http://www.asus.com.tw/mb/socket478/p4b266/overview.htm#) and look near the bottom of the page:

It says:

- ATA-100/66/33 support

So, yes, the Maxtor posted above will work with that board.

Is that the only drive in your system?

If you buy another IDE drive you will need to set it up as a slave.

[Marius24]

the one i posted above is the one i already have and i have had alook at my motherboard before and seen (i think) that i can have another one. I will proberly get it from ebuyer and i will post one when i find one that i like :)

[Marius24]

how would you guys rate this?

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...oduct_uid=43153 (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=43153)

[Mad Cat]

I'd go for this one instead http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...oduct_uid=47654 (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=47654)

From my experience, Western Digital are a better brand than Maxtor, plus that one is cheaper.

[Marius24]

Originally posted by Mad Cat@5 February 2004 - 19:13
I'd go for this one instead http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...oduct_uid=47654 (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=47654)

From my experience, Western Digital are a better brand than Maxtor, plus that one is cheaper.
thanks :)

its got better reviews and its cheaper

[Mad Cat]

Good choice :)

My Maxtor drive is a little on the noisy side, but my the 2 WD hdds I've had run silent.

By the way, Seagate is a good choise too.

[Marius24]

yea i was reading the reviews sayin that seagate is a better make and abit more pricier but i dont have much money ;)

[Marius24]

ok so my dad is getting me the one posted by mad cat. When it arrives i have no idea how to install it. Are there any how to or tutorials on install new hard drives?

thanks

[ObiWan]

it is simple

you will have 2 connectors on the mobo with big grey ribbon cables
each ribbon cable will have 3 connectors - 1 for Mobo 2 for devices

primary cable

master device
|
|
slave device
|
|
|
primary on mobo

you will have one the exactly the same for the secondary cable

you can have 4 devices connected in total

standard setup:
Primary Master - HD1
Primary Slave - HD2 (only if 2 Hard drives, sometimes CD rom)
secondary master - CD Rom
secondary slave - CDRW

to connect just set the jumper on the HD to master or slave (it will be marked to let you know)
then connect the power cable and IDE cable

NOTE: it is important to set the jumpers on all devices and you should have 1 master per cable and 1 slave per cable (if you have 4 devices)

[Robert00000]

To put all that more simply :D , just set the new drive to slave and connect it to the other connector on the cable thats connecting your current hard drive - assuming your the cable has another connector and its long enough to reach.

EDIT: or you have to buy another IDE cable.

[Robert00000]

Originally posted by Marius24@5 February 2004 - 20:10
how would you guys rate this?

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/in...oduct_uid=43153 (http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=43153)
Actually both my 120 gig drives are maxtor, one has 8meg cache and one 2 meg and they are both very good.

the 8 meg cache drive is much faster, i didnt think it would be, but it makes a lot of difference.

Incidently, both my 80 gig drives are seagate and they are good too. The funny thing is my friend told me WD drives are too noisy because he owned one before and recommended i buy Maxtor instead.

If you are judging from expeience then you have to think about the date when the drive was manufactured. The older one's (of whatever make) tend to be more noisy.

The first quite hard drive i had came with my compaq pc, and it was made by fujitsu.

[bigdawgfoxx]

I got a 160GB Seagate 7200RPM w/ 8MB Cache...I love it..its really quiet. Its hard to tell though..cuz I have 7 80mm case fans also...so it just kinda has a silent hum...my computer is VERY quiet for that many fans...great fans...32CFM at 25Db B)

[tesco]

Originally posted by bigdawgfoxx@5 February 2004 - 23:19
I got a 160GB Seagate 7200RPM w/ 8MB Cache...I love it..its really quiet. Its hard to tell though..cuz I have 7 80mm case fans also...so it just kinda has a silent hum...my computer is VERY quiet for that many fans...great fans...32CFM at 25Db B)
but 25db times 7 would be 175 :o thats quiet?

I have one 30db fan and hte stock heatsync plus a silent (REALLY SILENT) dual fan psu.

i cant hear my hard drive though becuase of the fans so im not sure how loud it is.

[bigdawgfoxx]

Originally posted by ROSSCO_2004@5 February 2004 - 22:23
but 25db times 7 would be 175 :o thats quiet?


I don't think it quite works like that lol ;) Yes, it is pretty quiet.

[Marius24]

sorry (i can't read) :helpsmile:

[RGX]

A quick Google, Microsoft has a simple tutorial for you.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...2Fharddrive.asp (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=%2Fdirectory%2Fworldwide%2Fen-gb%2Fharddrive.asp)

[Askjeevesbot]

I can see the fun i will have if i upgrade :frusty:

[Marius24]

k so my hard drive should be comming on wednesday

does it go here is the spare slot?

http://www.chinkii.com/uploads/album/misc/hard%20drive.jpg

[ObiWan]

yes that should be OK

[Marius24]

I've heard about formatting or partitioning hard drives. will i have to do any of that or will it be ready to use once installed? :)


Thanks for all your help btw

[callum]

If you are getting that maxtor drive you can use maxblast to create partitions and format the drive. Max Blast (http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/maxblast3.htm)

You can also do it from windows if you go to the control panel->performance and maintenance->administrative tools->computer management. Then select disk managment then select the drive to be formatted.

Also, make sure you have screws to fix the hardrive in position, as the drive will more than likley come without them.

[DWk]

http://www.upgradingandrepairingpcs.com/videos/index.asp

Check that out. Really good site :)

[Marius24]

Originally posted by callum@8 February 2004 - 23:46
Also, make sure you have screws to fix the hardrive in position, as the drive will more than likley come without them.
Does anyone know what size, type and how many screws i need so i can go get them tomorrow :)

[Marius24]

would they be the sameones used to hold my current hard drive in with?

[clocker]

Originally posted by Marius24@9 February 2004 - 15:18
would they be the sameones used to hold my current hard drive in with?
Yes, they will be exactly the same.
All computer components are standardized and use the same hardware.
Chances are good that your new unit will come with the necessary screws and probably a new IDE cable also.
Read the manual that comes with and you shouldn't have any trouble at all.

[Marius24]

Originally posted by clocker@10 February 2004 - 01:38
Chances are good that your new unit will come with the necessary screws and probably a new IDE cable also.
Is that a definate or a maybe? :unsure:

[clocker]

That would be a vey strong "probably"... :P

[Skillian]

If you're getting that OEM one that MadCat posted I would guess it doesn't come with manual, screws or IDE cable. Though if you read the reviews at the ebuyer site you might be able to tell for sure.

[Marius24]

Originally posted by Skillian@10 February 2004 - 19:11
If you're getting that OEM one that MadCat posted I would guess it doesn't come with manual, screws or IDE cable. Though if you read the reviews at the ebuyer site you might be able to tell for sure.
and if it doesn't would i be able to get them from a local DIY/computer store?

[Skillian]

Yep, no problem. Just tell them what you're installing and they will give the screws to match. You will probably be able to download the manual from the manufacturer's website.

[tesco]

Originally posted by Marius24+10 February 2004 - 15:29--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Marius24 @ 10 February 2004 - 15:29)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Skillian@10 February 2004 - 19:11
If you&#39;re getting that OEM one that MadCat posted I would guess it doesn&#39;t come with manual, screws or IDE cable. Though if you read the reviews at the ebuyer site you might be able to tell for sure.
and if it doesn&#39;t would i be able to get them from a local DIY/computer store? [/b][/quote]
yes you will be able to buy them there, but what i did was I had like 6 screws holding in my cdrom drive in my old computer and 4 for teh hard drive but really IMO they each need only 2, so i gained 6 screws and used those for my harddrive, dvd rom and cdrw drives. check to see if your harddrive or cdrom drives have extra unneeded screws and take those out IF it doesnt come with them.

[Marius24]

ok, if it doesn&#39;t come with screws i will take them from my sisters pc :devil:

[Marius24]

i got my new hard drive :D

i installed it and started my pc. When my pc had started windows said new hard drive found and all was well. Then i went to my computers and theres nothing there :huh:

is that normal? If yes what do i do now its installed?

[Marius24]

I was looking on their site and found Western Digital Data Lifeguard. I used that and all is working well :D

Only problem is that the drive only shows up as 149 gb <_<

[Marius24]

also what is better FAT32 or NTFS?

which cluster size is better 32k or 512 bytes?

[callum]

149GB is about right, my 160gb hd shows up at 149gb aswell.

I would use NTFS. I think the default cluster size is 4K, so i would use that size.

[Marius24]

when i partition the drive data lifeguard changes the format to FAT32 at 34 gb. Why is this?

sorry for all the questions :ph34r:

[callum]

Is the drive for storage, is why don&#39;t use use windows disk management to format and partition, sounds like it would be alot easier.

Control panel->performance and maintenance->administrative tools->computer management->disk management

[ObiWan]

Originally posted by Marius24@11 February 2004 - 18:00
I was looking on their site and found Western Digital Data Lifeguard. I used that and all is working well :D

Only problem is that the drive only shows up as 149 gb <_<
that is the correct size of the drive because to convet bytes into k you divide bytes by 1024. HD manufacturers divide by 1000 so they get a higher figure