About Hard Drives

[scrambler]

Hi there

I need advice regarding a possible new hard drive. I currently have 2 harddrives - 80GB [1 single partition] and 200GB [2 partitions with 98GB each]. I want to buy another hard drive with 200GB [i thought that since i'm getting a new one, i may as well get a big-ish one]

A friend said that i should make sure my pc can have another hard drive, but i'm clueless as to what he's talking about. So far, i know my pc has an empty space to slot another hard drive in. But i think he's talking about my Windows and bios. I have read that Windows may have a limit on the capacity it can read large drives. But as i'm planning on partitioning my new drive, this wont be a problen right????

so basically, i dont know what problems there may be. I'm not really a techie person. Hence i thought i'd ask more knowledgable people about this. What [if any] are the problems about me buying a new harddrive? Like any foreseeable problems?

As i dont know much about things, i thought i'd just give as much information as possible regarding my pc.


MY SPECS >>>>>>>.
windows xp home, sp1

My pc is a Packard Bell. Here is a link to the specs of my motherboard for my pc - http://support.packardbell.com/uk/mypc/index.php?PibItemNr=spec_columbia2&PibItemParent=025346320070#show

Here is a report from Everest [attached]. As i dont know what info is needed, i just did a report on my whole motherboard which contins info about - motherboard, BIOS, chipset.


I just thought i'd give as much ino as possible regarding my pc. I hope its sufficient.

Advice appreciated:)


EDIT -
i hope i have attached the Everest report correctly

EVEREST REPORT (http://filesharingtalk.com/vb3/attachment.php?attachmentid=1796&stc=1&d=1136264084)

[clocker]

Your attachment isn't working.
I blame Rossco.

Physically installing the drive will probably not be the problem...hooking it to the motherboard will.
If you already have two drives, there is one IDE slot filled.
If you have two optical drives the second IDE is used up and you have no place left for the new HDD to connect.
I'm assuming your PC does not support SATA, so you have no more storage drive options open.

[scrambler]

ah fook :(

i did a check and your right, i dont have an extra IDE slot. [Its the ribbon thingy isnt it from the motherboard to the drives?] One IDE is used for my rom and writer and the other is used for my current two drives.

Isnt there any such a thing as erm an IDE thingummy that will enable me to connect to 4 in 1? I dont know whether my pc supports SATA or not.:huh:

So basically, cos i have both my IDE slots taken up, there's no hope for me in getting another hard drive except for an external one???

I'll copy and paste the Everest attachment. [I had problems when i tried to attach it as although it was uploaded, it just said "close window" and i couldnt properly attach it to the thread but saw it in the attachments bit under my profile]

can you tell me whether my pc supports sata then???

Thanks for reply clocker:)


=====================================================
=====================================================
EVEREST REPORT


--------[ CPU ]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CPU Properties:
CPU Type Intel Pentium 4, 2800 MHz (21 x 133)
CPU Alias Northwood, A80532
CPU Stepping C1
Instruction Set x86, MMX, SSE, SSE2
Original Clock 2800 MHz
Min / Max CPU Multiplier 21x / 21x
Engineering Sample No
L1 Trace Cache 12K Instructions
L1 Data Cache 8 KB
L2 Cache 512 KB (On-Die, ECC, ATC, Full-Speed)

CPU Physical Info:
Package Type 478 Pin uPGA
Package Size 3.50 cm x 3.50 cm
Transistors 55 million
Process Technology 6M, 0.13 um, CMOS, Cu, Low-K
Die Size 131 mm2
Core Voltage 1.475 - 1.55 V
I/O Voltage 1.475 - 1.55 V
Typical Power 38.7 - 89.0 W (depending on clock speed)
Maximum Power 49 - 109 W (depending on clock speed)

CPU Manufacturer:
Company Name Intel Corporation
Product Information http://www.intel.com/products/browse/processor.htm

CPU Utilization:
CPU #1 0 %


--------[ CPUID ]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CPUID Properties:
CPUID Manufacturer GenuineIntel
CPUID CPU Name Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz
CPUID Revision 00000F27h
IA Brand ID 09h (Intel Pentium 4)
Platform ID 0Fh (Socket 478)
IA CPU Serial Number Unknown
Microcode Update Revision 27
HTT / CMP Units 0 / 0

Instruction Set:
64-bit x86 Extension (AMD64, EM64T) Not Supported
Alternate Instruction Set Not Supported
AMD 3DNow! Not Supported
AMD 3DNow! Professional Not Supported
AMD Enhanced 3DNow! Not Supported
AMD Extended MMX Not Supported
Cyrix Extended MMX Not Supported
IA-64 Not Supported
IA MMX Supported
IA SSE Supported
IA SSE 2 Supported
IA SSE 3 Not Supported
CLFLUSH Instruction Supported
CMPXCHG8B Instruction Supported
CMPXCHG16B Instruction Not Supported
Conditional Move Instruction Supported
MONITOR / MWAIT Instruction Not Supported
RDTSCP Instruction Not Supported
SYSCALL / SYSRET Instruction Not Supported
SYSENTER / SYSEXIT Instruction Supported
VIA FEMMS Instruction Not Supported

Security Features:
Advanced Cryptography Engine (ACE) Not Supported
Data Execution Prevention (DEP, NX, EDB) Not Supported
Hardware Random Number Generator (RNG) Not Supported
Montgomery Multiplier & Hash Engine Not Supported
Processor Serial Number (PSN) Not Supported

Power Management Features:
Automatic Clock Control Supported
Enhanced Halt State (C1E) Not Supported
Enhanced SpeedStep Technology (EIST, ESS) Not Supported
Frequency ID Control Not Supported
LongRun Not Supported
LongRun Table Interface Not Supported
PowerSaver 1.0 Not Supported
PowerSaver 2.0 Not Supported
PowerSaver 3.0 Not Supported
Processor Duty Cycle Control Supported
Software Thermal Control Not Supported
Temperature Sensing Diode Not Supported
Thermal Monitor 1 Supported
Thermal Monitor 2 Not Supported
Thermal Monitoring Not Supported
Thermal Trip Not Supported
Voltage ID Control Not Supported

CPUID Features:
36-bit Page Size Extension Supported
Address Region Registers (ARR) Not Supported
CPL Qualified Debug Store Not Supported
Debug Trace Store Supported
Debugging Extension Supported
Fast Save & Restore Supported
Hyper-Threading Technology (HTT) Not Supported
L1 Context ID Supported
Local APIC On Chip Supported
Machine Check Architecture (MCA) Supported
Machine Check Exception (MCE) Supported
Memory Configuration Registers (MCR) Not Supported
Memory Type Range Registers (MTRR) Supported
Model Specific Registers (MSR) Supported
Page Attribute Table (PAT) Supported
Page Global Extension Supported
Page Size Extension (PSE) Supported
Pending Break Event Supported
Physical Address Extension (PAE) Supported
Secure Virtual Machine Extensions (Pacifica) Not Supported
Self-Snoop Supported
Time Stamp Counter (TSC) Supported
Virtual Machine Extensions (Vanderpool) Not Supported
Virtual Mode Extension Supported



--------[ Motherboard ]-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Motherboard Properties:
Motherboard ID 62-1029-001199-00101111-040201-SiS650$NECC000_8SIMLNF V2.0U
Motherboard Name Gigabyte GA-8SIML

Front Side Bus Properties:
Bus Type Intel NetBurst
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 133 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 533 MHz
Bandwidth 4267 MB/s

Chipset Bus Properties:
Bus Type SiS MuTIOL
Bus Width 16-bit

Motherboard Physical Info:
CPU Sockets/Slots 1
Expansion Slots 3 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 CNR
RAM Slots 2 DIMM
Integrated Devices Audio, Video, LAN
Form Factor Micro ATX
Motherboard Size 230 mm x 240 mm
Motherboard Chipset SiS650
Extra Features EasyTune III

Motherboard Manufacturer:
Company Name Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Product Information http://tw.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Products/Products_NewProduct_List.htm
BIOS Download http://tw.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/BIOS/BIOS_List.htm


--------[ Memory ]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Physical Memory:
Total 1023 MB
Used 497 MB
Free 526 MB
Utilization 49 %

Swap Space:
Total 1727 MB
Used 325 MB
Free 1401 MB
Utilization 19 %

Virtual Memory:
Total 2750 MB
Used 822 MB
Free 1928 MB
Utilization 30 %

Physical Address Extension (PAE):
Supported by Operating System Yes
Supported by CPU Yes
Active No


--------[ Chipset ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ North Bridge: SiS 651 ]

North Bridge Properties:
North Bridge SiS 651
Revision 01
In-Order Queue Depth 12

Memory Timings:
CAS Latency (CL) 2.5T
RAS To CAS Delay (tRCD) 3T
RAS Precharge (tRP) 3T
RAS Active Time (tRAS) 6T
Row Cycle Time (tRC) 10T
RAS To RAS Delay (tRRD) 2T
Write Recovery Time (tWR) 2T

Memory Slots:
DRAM Slot #1 512 MB (DDR SDRAM)
DRAM Slot #2 512 MB (DDR SDRAM)

Integrated Graphics Controller:
Graphics Controller Type SiS 315
Graphics Controller Status Disabled

AGP Controller:
AGP Version 2.00
AGP Status Enabled
AGP Device Gigabyte GV-R9000 (Pro)
AGP Aperture Size 128 MB
Supported AGP Speeds 1x, 2x, 4x
Current AGP Speed 4x
Fast-Write Supported, Disabled
Side Band Addressing Supported, Enabled

Chipset Manufacturer:
Company Name Silicon Integrated Systems Corporation
Product Information http://www.sis.com/products/index.htm#chipsets
Driver Download http://www.sis.com/download

[ South Bridge: SiS 961 ]

South Bridge Properties:
South Bridge SiS 961
Revision 04
Package Type 371 Pin BGA

AC'97 Audio Controller:
Audio Controller Type SiS 7012
Codec Name SigmaTel STAC9766/67
Codec ID 83847666h
S/PDIF Output Supported

Chipset Manufacturer:
Company Name Silicon Integrated Systems Corporation
Product Information http://www.sis.com/products/index.htm#chipsets
Driver Download http://www.sis.com/download


--------[ BIOS ]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BIOS Properties:
BIOS Type AMI
System BIOS Date 05/08/03
Video BIOS Date 02/09/16

BIOS Manufacturer:
Company Name American Megatrends Inc.
Product Information http://www.ami.com/amibios
BIOS Upgrades http://www.esupport.com/biosagent/index.cfm?refererid=40

[clocker]

If you already have two opticals and two hard drives then you are full up.
You could add a PCI host card but that is awkward and clunky.

Maybe just replace the 80GB with a newer, bigger drive?

[tesco]

Maybe just replace the 80GB with a newer, bigger drive?
Or take our the cd-rom, unless it's dvd.:unsure:
In that case you could buy a dvd writer and remove both the rom AND cd writer, leaving you with one extra space.

[clocker]

Excellent idea.

I still blame you for his non-working attachment though.

[scrambler]

i currently have a dvd rom and a dvd writer. if i take out the dvd rom, then erm, i cant read dvds/cds right??? Can all writers play dvds? or is that just for combo ones?

thanks

[Virtualbody1234]

All writers can read.

[clocker]

Even Adster?

[Virtualbody1234]

Even Adster?
Yup. But poorly.

[scrambler]

:O thanks guys for you help:) i just tried putting in a dvd into my writer, being skeptical as to whether it could really read a dvd. And it bloody does!!! Which leads me to think why on earth didnt Packard Bell gave me both a rom and a writer. I'm gonna get a new hard drive to plug in, removing my rom. As a last resort, i can always, as suggested, replace my 80GB one for the new larger harddrive.


I have one more question though. Now and then, i like to do direct 1to1 copies of cd/dvd's. Using nero, i use both rom and writer. If i take rom out, will i still be able to do 1to1 copies? or must i rip the cd/dvd first onto HD and then burn it???

Thanks guys

[shazzar]

u could try using the rom connection to connect a sata harddrive. The only other solutions are an external hard drive or a device that goes into a spare bay and allows connection of sata hard drives externally. Just get a external hard drive( they comming down in price).

scrambler you can use the one drive to burn copies of dvds, but you will find that orginal copies of cds and dvds will need to be decrypted ist.

[Virtualbody1234]

:O thanks guys for you help:) i just tried putting in a dvd into my writer, being skeptical as to whether it could really read a dvd. And it bloody does!!! Which leads me to think why on earth didnt Packard Bell gave me both a rom and a writer. I'm gonna get a new hard drive to plug in, removing my rom. As a last resort, i can always, as suggested, replace my 80GB one for the new larger harddrive.


I have one more question though. Now and then, i like to do direct 1to1 copies of cd/dvd's. Using nero, i use both rom and writer. If i take rom out, will i still be able to do 1to1 copies? or must i rip the cd/dvd first onto HD and then burn it???

Thanks guys
When making copies using only one drive (burner), Nero, or any burning software, will automatically use your HDD as a temporary space until it asks you to insert the blank media.

[scrambler]

Oh good. I guess i'll be doing what i said above, which wouldnt be possible without the help given here. Appreciated and thanks :)

[top25]

If he where to get another IDE controller that can't hold up too 4 more hardrives or atleast 2 more?

[lynx]

If he where to get another IDE controller that can't hold up too 4 more hardrives or atleast 2 more?
Yes he could.

My brother has a very old pc which doesn't support the larger disk sizes or speeds, but he achieves both with an add-in pci controller.

An alternative would be to get a cheap SATA controller and matching drive. Any future system/motherboard purchases are certain to include SATA controllers so you are future-proofing your investment.

[Adster]

Even Adster?


I know how to read you fuck its typing I cant do

[clocker]

Even Adster?


I know how to read you fuck its typing I cant do
Apparently you are improving.
All twelve words are typed correctly.

Please see Manker about your punctuation skills now.

[Adster]

Actually it is 11 words you need to improve your counting. :P

[suprafreak6]

no its 12 moron

[shazzar]

If he where to get another IDE controller that can't hold up too 4 more hardrives or atleast 2 more?
Yes he could.

My brother has a very old pc which doesn't support the larger disk sizes or speeds, but he achieves both with an add-in pci controller.

An alternative would be to get a cheap SATA controller and matching drive. Any future system/motherboard purchases are certain to include SATA controllers so you are future-proofing your investment.

Just to update i was going to do that with my old pc has it wouldnt recognize the full 250gb hard drive. Instead i have managed to add the hard drive to my new pc via the rom connection since its it only accepts sata drives. Just have to transfer the stuff thats on it and reformat and hopefully should get the full 250gb showing up.