finding a second hd

philip · 04-29-2004, 03:08 PM

Since I want to try linux and don't want to partition my already small hd, I try to find another one. My motherboard is really old though, and only supports ATA/66 IDE. I've been searching some shops specifically for ATA/66 but I can barely find them. Is it because they're hard to get anyway or because it just isn't in the naming convention? I see a lot of HDs having 7200 rpm and IDE but it doesn't state which ATA it has. Is it only mentioned if the ATA is higher (100 or 133) and are these HDs on which it isn't specified just ATA/66?

Are there any other things I should be check before. I'm looking in my motherboard manual at the moment and it looks like there's room for the second HD, also there are a lot of non-connected IDE cables in my case, but I have to check if I can add the second HD to those. Any other tips?

Thanks for your help !

andrewas · 04-29-2004, 04:17 PM

It should be backwards compatable, so stick an ATA 100 in there. ATA/66 is ancient now, Im not surprised you cant find any.

You can run two devices per IDE channel, and most motherboards have two IDE channels. Make sure you arent confusing the floppy cables, but if you have a free IDE connector you should be good to go. Just set the first drive on that channel to Master (or master with slave, whatever the drive wants) and the new one as slave, and it should all work. Make sure you have a power cable free as well, otherwise you need to get a splitter cable.

philip · 04-29-2004, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by andrewas:
It should be backwards compatable, so stick an ATA 100 in there. ATA/66 is ancient now, Im not surprised you cant find any.

But backwards compatible normally means that you can stick a worse thing in a good motherboard, doesn't it?

edit: I think I see now, the 100 can run at 66 too then, those numbers represent speeds, don't they.

Thanks for the help [img]smile.gif[/img] Shame all shops are closed tomorrow

[ 04-29-2004, 04:29 PM: Message edited by: philip ]

philip · 05-04-2004, 08:23 AM

OK I've bought a HD but now I have to change a few things in the whole setup cause cables are connected weird. That's not the problem but I have an IDE Cable with 2 connectors. One connector is fine (connected to the CD and it will stay there) but the other looks kind of like there's something missing. I don't know what the part's called so I'll try to describe it as good as possible:

What I see now is a black connection to the IDE cable (just like all other) with on the other end the holes to attach it to a part, but it doesn't have the missing hole. Also when I look at the other connectors it looks like something is put on what I see in the above connector. This part which is put on has the missing hole.

There's only one way I can connect this connector to my CD burner cause the cable is too short to twist. Also the connector fits fine into the CD burner, but I haven't tried with the power on.

Is this missing part just a check that you don't connect things improperly or is it very important and should I buy it first? If so what's this part called?

philip · 05-04-2004, 01:39 PM

Another small question. The HD is 40 gig but I only get around 32 once fdisked and formatted. Is that because it's a cheaper brand?

andrewas · 05-04-2004, 03:42 PM

Some plugs have the missing hole so you can't put it on backwards, but it isnt an essential thing, it will work without it. Just make sure the red stripe on the cable is towards the power connector.

On the size, your motherboard BIOS is missing some advanced BIOS features needed to run a drive bigger than 32Gb. Try the manufacturers site, sometimes you can flash the BIOS and get it to work, but not always.

philip · 05-04-2004, 04:36 PM

I did a flash of the BIOS since it was the only way to get BIOS to even recognize I had two HDs. I downloaded via a different site cause AOpen's downloads doesn't seem to work but I'll search for later versions of it. At least I expected something like this to happen but I'm still glad it's only 8 gigs.

Thanks for the help!

Wysardry · 05-05-2004, 11:18 AM

Also check the hard drive manufacturer's site, as sometimes they provide utilities to get around the 32Gb limit.

Splitting the drive into two (or more) partitions might also help.

philip · 05-05-2004, 02:50 PM

Problem is it only recognizes 32 GB in the partitioning tool. I tried with DOS fdisk and today with the linux utility but neither would see more. I'll have a look on their site but I fear the worst cause their downloads page seem to be ofline or something.

Wysardry · 05-05-2004, 05:48 PM

Yes, I guessed that, but many manufacturers provide a special partitioning and formatting utility to get around that.

Western Digital definitely do, but you can't use it for non-WD drives.

04-29-2004, 04:17 PM	#2
andrewas Harper Join Date: October 2, 2001 Location: Aberdeen, Scotland Age: 42 Posts: 4,774	It should be backwards compatable, so stick an ATA 100 in there. ATA/66 is ancient now, Im not surprised you cant find any. You can run two devices per IDE channel, and most motherboards have two IDE channels. Make sure you arent confusing the floppy cables, but if you have a free IDE connector you should be good to go. Just set the first drive on that channel to Master (or master with slave, whatever the drive wants) and the new one as slave, and it should all work. Make sure you have a power cable free as well, otherwise you need to get a splitter cable. __________________ [img]\"http://www.sighost.us/members/Zvijer/andrewas.gif\" alt=\" - \" />

05-04-2004, 03:42 PM	#6
andrewas Harper Join Date: October 2, 2001 Location: Aberdeen, Scotland Age: 42 Posts: 4,774	Some plugs have the missing hole so you can't put it on backwards, but it isnt an essential thing, it will work without it. Just make sure the red stripe on the cable is towards the power connector. On the size, your motherboard BIOS is missing some advanced BIOS features needed to run a drive bigger than 32Gb. Try the manufacturers site, sometimes you can flash the BIOS and get it to work, but not always. __________________ [img]\"http://www.sighost.us/members/Zvijer/andrewas.gif\" alt=\" - \" />

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04-29-2004, 03:08 PM	#1
philip Galvatron Join Date: June 24, 2002 Location: aa Posts: 2,101	Since I want to try linux and don't want to partition my already small hd, I try to find another one. My motherboard is really old though, and only supports ATA/66 IDE. I've been searching some shops specifically for ATA/66 but I can barely find them. Is it because they're hard to get anyway or because it just isn't in the naming convention? I see a lot of HDs having 7200 rpm and IDE but it doesn't state which ATA it has. Is it only mentioned if the ATA is higher (100 or 133) and are these HDs on which it isn't specified just ATA/66? Are there any other things I should be check before. I'm looking in my motherboard manual at the moment and it looks like there's room for the second HD, also there are a lot of non-connected IDE cables in my case, but I have to check if I can add the second HD to those. Any other tips? Thanks for your help !

05-04-2004, 08:23 AM	#4
philip Galvatron Join Date: June 24, 2002 Location: aa Posts: 2,101	OK I've bought a HD but now I have to change a few things in the whole setup cause cables are connected weird. That's not the problem but I have an IDE Cable with 2 connectors. One connector is fine (connected to the CD and it will stay there) but the other looks kind of like there's something missing. I don't know what the part's called so I'll try to describe it as good as possible: What I see now is a black connection to the IDE cable (just like all other) with on the other end the holes to attach it to a part, but it doesn't have the missing hole. Also when I look at the other connectors it looks like something is put on what I see in the above connector. This part which is put on has the missing hole. There's only one way I can connect this connector to my CD burner cause the cable is too short to twist. Also the connector fits fine into the CD burner, but I haven't tried with the power on. Is this missing part just a check that you don't connect things improperly or is it very important and should I buy it first? If so what's this part called?

05-04-2004, 01:39 PM	#5
philip Galvatron Join Date: June 24, 2002 Location: aa Posts: 2,101	Another small question. The HD is 40 gig but I only get around 32 once fdisked and formatted. Is that because it's a cheaper brand?

05-04-2004, 04:36 PM	#7
philip Galvatron Join Date: June 24, 2002 Location: aa Posts: 2,101	I did a flash of the BIOS since it was the only way to get BIOS to even recognize I had two HDs. I downloaded via a different site cause AOpen's downloads doesn't seem to work but I'll search for later versions of it. At least I expected something like this to happen but I'm still glad it's only 8 gigs. Thanks for the help!

05-05-2004, 11:18 AM	#8
Wysardry Elite Waterdeep Guard Join Date: February 2, 2004 Location: UK Age: 57 Posts: 40	Also check the hard drive manufacturer's site, as sometimes they provide utilities to get around the 32Gb limit. Splitting the drive into two (or more) partitions might also help.

05-05-2004, 02:50 PM	#9
philip Galvatron Join Date: June 24, 2002 Location: aa Posts: 2,101	Problem is it only recognizes 32 GB in the partitioning tool. I tried with DOS fdisk and today with the linux utility but neither would see more. I'll have a look on their site but I fear the worst cause their downloads page seem to be ofline or something.

05-05-2004, 05:48 PM	#10
Wysardry Elite Waterdeep Guard Join Date: February 2, 2004 Location: UK Age: 57 Posts: 40	Yes, I guessed that, but many manufacturers provide a special partitioning and formatting utility to get around that. Western Digital definitely do, but you can't use it for non-WD drives.

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