hard drives (slave)

[JAMESSRICH]

how do i know what type of hard drive to get????
i need a big slave drive (media) 200 gig ish, but dont know what type i need!!!

any help much apprectited - pm info if easier!!

 

[biojo]

erm , all hds have a selecter on rear

slave
master
cable select


alls u do is set it oposit to what yer current one is on

or just get a usb one

 

[JAMESSRICH]

but isnt there diff types of hardrive??? i.e ide, serial ata etc???

 

[Gareth]

yes, sata, ide, scsi etc, etc, you need to be able to determine what your PC is currently using, most probably (unless it is fairly new) it will be IDE

 

[JAMESSRICH]

its a dell dimension 4600 - bought it about 1 1/2 - 2 years ago

 

[biojo]

just go with ide , all pcs can have 4 ide drives , some times more

so upto 4 drives either hds or cd drives

or usb ones are pritty cheap nowadays

 

[JAMESSRICH]

got to many external items so want a internal! as i said i want about 200 gig but aint sure on the rest of the specs (cache and buffer stuff)
what is best to get!!!


also need some big ram - have 512mb fitted at mo but dont know what type that is as well

 

[Andi-B]

if your still confused as to what is what this should help a little...


IDE Hard Drive

SATA Hard Drive

 

[JAMESSRICH]

^^^^^ thats bloody excellent - so if i open it up should i be able to tell what type of rem i have as well???? stickered up etc??!!!

 

[ViolentJ]

Don't know what size drive you have at present but your bios may not be able to support over 137Gb although there maybe a BIOS update to correct this.

If not then you'll need an IDE Controller card. Like this one: http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=14982058876&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=60610

 

[Dink]

if your still confused as to what is what this should help a little...


IDE Hard Drive

ATA Hard Drive

that's a SATA hd in the bottom pic

 

[ViolentJ]

^ lol yeah IDE and ATA are the same thing. Must have missed the S off.

 

[Gareth]

your pc will be IDE, best to get an IDE HDD with 7200rpm, 8mb buffer

 

[Andi-B]

lol ... whuuups .... sorry guys I've edited it lol

 

[JAMESSRICH]

how do i check this?????to see if i need it or not!!!

just want to increase memory and storage as media storage is slowing it down i think!? -- pc has a 80 gig in allready

Don't know what size drive you have at present but your bios may not be able to support over 137Gb although there maybe a BIOS update to correct this.

If not then you'll need an IDE Controller card. Like this one: http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?rb=14982058876&action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=60610

 

[ViolentJ]

get the model of your mobo (usually printed on the board somewhere if you're not sure) and check out the manufacturers website.

You'd soon know because you'll either be able to access all 200Gb or just 137Gb.

If you can only access 137Gb you'd have to install the card (assuming there is no BIOS update to fix it) and reformat.

 

[JAMESSRICH]

great!!! all sounds to much hassle - but i need to do it!

 

[JAMESSRICH]

just the only mate i got that knows anything about comps now lives in brighton and i live in bath

 

[ViolentJ]

what else do you need to know?

It's all very easy really.

 

[JAMESSRICH]

i think i need to open her up and take pics and let someone tell me what i got and need etc as well as getting the model numbers etc you say i need !!!

 

[Tiger]

whats the diff between sata and ide, speed im presuming? im in the process of building a beast just now


ps. why dont u get one of they system checker things that tells you all the models of the hardware inside your pc etc?

 

[Norris_309]

if it's a Dell, get on Dell.co.uk
http://support.euro.dell.com/support/index.aspx?c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&s=dhs

Enter your service tag which should be on your pc somewhere and if you have a little look around it will tell you all about your pc.
Although i'm pretty certain (as R20GRC said) that you'll have an IDE hard drive so get yourself one of them.
One thing you may need to get is another IDE cable to connect it with unless one of the ones in your pc has a spare plug. you'll see that as soon as you open the boy up.

 

[Norris_309]

SATA is just the new 'improved' interface. It is or has the potential to be faster than IDE, whether you'd actually notice this is a diferent matter.
I'd go for SATA if my board accepted it (it doesn't) for the simple fact it's the newer technology.
I doubt that the 2 year old Dell motherboard will have SATA connections.

 

[ViolentJ]

whats the diff between sata and ide, speed im presuming? im in the process of building a beast just now


ps. why dont u get one of they system checker things that tells you all the models of the hardware inside your pc etc?

Higher transfer rates.

PATA = up to 133 Mbytes / sec
SATA = up to 150 Mbytes / sec

not sure what else.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

I always use Maxtor diamond Max hard drives . You can download a utilty from www.maxtor.com that formats and partitions your hard drive from a floppy disk in a couples of minutes , much better than doing it in dos .

Now don't quote me on this ( i may be wrong ) but you need to be running windows xp ( ntfs ) if your gonna install a hard drive bigger than 137gb .

Maybe Simon can confirm this of not ? I just haven't got my thinking head on at the minute as i've just got outta bed , workin nights tonight

MrBillyUK !

 

[ViolentJ]

I always use Maxtor diamond Max hard drives . You can download a utilty from www.maxtor.com that formats and partitions your hard drive from a floppy disk in a couples of minutes , much better than doing it in dos .

Now don't quote me on this ( i may be wrong ) but you need to be running windows xp ( ntfs ) if your gonna install a hard drive bigger than 137gb .

Maybe Simon can confirm this of not ? I just haven't got my thinking head on at the minute as i've just got outta bed , workin nights tonight

MrBillyUK !

Not 100% sure to be honest. I know XP without any SP's won't handle over 137Gb - i think SP1 corrected this. I assume previous version won't be able to - not sure though.

 

[JAMESSRICH]

this is what it just dragged off

so what do i need - hard drive and ram


General Information

Computer Model Dimension 4600i
BIOS Vendor Dell Computer Corporation
BIOS Version A07
BIOS Date 11-06-03
Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

Processor
Manufacturer Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.06GHz
Clock Speed 3.1GHz
Manufacturer Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.06GHz
Clock Speed 3.1GHz

Processor
Clock Speed 3.1GHz
Clock Speed 3.1GHz

Memory
Available Memory 16.93 %
Page File Size 1536.8Mb
Available Page File 51.35 %
Virtual Memory 2047.8Mb
Available Virtual Memory 97.98 %
Memory Slot 1 [CHANNEL A DIMM 0] 256Mb
Memory Slot 2 [CHANNEL B DIMM 0] 256Mb

Memory
Memory Slot 1 [CHANNEL A DIMM 0] 256Mb
Memory Slot 2 [CHANNEL B DIMM 0] 256Mb

Memory

Memory

Network Card
Adapters Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection - Packet Scheduler Miniport
WAN (PPP/SLIP) Interface
WAN (PPP/SLIP) Interface
NETGEAR WG111T 108Mbps Wireless USB2.0 Adapter - Packet Scheduler Miniport

Storage
Drive Type Drive Size Total Available Space Used Space
C: NTFS 74.45Gb 8.600Gb 65.85Gb

Storage

Hardware
Type Description
DVD/CD-ROM Drives SAMSUNG CDRW/DVD SM-348B
Disk Drives ST380011A 74.50Gb
Display Adapters NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128Mb
Floppy Disk Drives (Standard floppy disk drives) Floppy disk drive
IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers Intel(R) 82801EB Ultra ATA Storage Controllers
Primary IDE Channel
Secondary IDE Channel
Intel(R) 82801EB Ultra ATA Storage Controllers
Keyboards USB Human Interface Device
Mice and Other Pointing Devices Logitech HID-compliant Cordless Mouse
Monitors Default Monitor - (Standard monitor types)
Sound Devices Logitech Microphone (Messenger)
Creative SB Live! Series (WDM)
USB Controllers Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24D2
Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24D4
Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24D7
Intel(R) 82801EB USB Universal Host Controller - 24DE
Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller

Software
Name Version
ISScript
WOW XT Plug-In for Windows Media Player (Trial) 1.00.08.00
Microsoft Plus! Dancer LE 1.1.0.3464
WebFldrs XP 9.50.6513
Sonic RecordNow! 6.5.0
iPod for Windows 2005-02-22 3.1.0
Sonic Update Manager 2.9
Intel(R) PROSet 6.05.2001
Sonic DLA 4.50
Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 Starter Edition 2.00.000
Nero 5.5.8.3
Messenger Beta 8.0.0365.0
Java 2 SDK, SE v1.4.2_04 1.4.2_04
iPod for Windows 2005-03-23 3.8.0
Microsoft Windows Journal Viewer 1.5.2315.3
Adobe Reader 7.0.5 7.0.5
iTunes 6.0.1.3
Paint Shop Pro 7 7.06.0000
DAO 3.50
Java 2 Runtime Environment, SE v1.4.2_08 1.4.2_08
J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 Update 2 1.5.0.20
J2SE Runtime Environment 5.0 Update 5 1.5.0.50
Microsoft Works 7.0 07.02.0620

iPod for Windows 2005-10-12 4.3.0
DVDSentry 1.00.0000
Dell Solution Center 1.00.0000
Dell Picture Studio - Dell Image Expert 3.4.1
Sony Ericsson PC Suite 1.0.16
Norton WMI Update 2005.1.2.20
iPod Update 2004-04-28 1.1
Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 1.1.4322
HighMAT Extension to Microsoft Windows XP CD Writing Wizard 1.1.1905.1
QuickTime 7.0.3
Help and Support Customization 1.00.0000

Software

 

[Norris_309]

Sorry... Nothing to do with the Thread but i noticed in James profile that you live in Bath & do power kiteing... you go up on top Lansdown with your kite by any chance??
There are always people up there, never seen a clio round there though.

 

[ViolentJ]

Intel(R) 82801EB Ultra ATA Storage Controllers

Don't see any mention of SATA.

IDE (PATA) it is then mate.

RAM - best bet is pop the case, should have a sticker on your existing memory.

Unless I'm blind it doesn't give you the make and model of motherboard so you still need to check that on the motherboard then on the manufacturers website to see if you are ok for drives over 137Gb/need a BIOS update/Need a controller card.

 

[JAMESSRICH]

so is my comp man enough for a 200 gig baby???

 

[Norris_309]

Thats an ATA (IDE) seagate Barracuda (nice drive)
So get yourself a 200gb or whatever you want IDE/ATA drive for your storage needs.
Get another seagate if i were you.
do not get fujitsu
As for the ram there was a post on here the other day with a link to a memory testing place to find out the speed or your ram in your system..
It was on www.crucial.com i think

 

[JAMESSRICH]

yes do go up landsdown with it - 5 meter blue beamer!!!! have not been up for a while as its abit dark after work (getting back from platinum trowbridge)

Sorry... Nothing to do with the Thread but i noticed in James profile that you live in Bath & do power kiteing... you go up on top Lansdown with your kite by any chance??
There are always people up there, never seen a clio round there though.

 

[Norris_309]

think you can probably go DDR2700 or DDR3200 on the memory front mate.

Make sure you got some free slots by the way

 

[ViolentJ]

Thats an ATA (IDE) seagate Barracuda (nice drive)
So get yourself a 200gb or whatever you want IDE/ATA drive for your storage needs.
Get another seagate if i were you.
do not get fujitsu
As for the ram there was a post on here the other day with a link to a memory testing place to find out the speed or your ram in your system..
It was on www.crucial.com i think

If it's the link on the site i think you mean then you have to know the mobo model and it won't tell you what you have, it will tell you what you CAN have. You can't (normally anyway) mix different speeds.

 

[JAMESSRICH]

i was told you have to fit memory in pairs of equal sizes - apparantly the mobo has 4 slots for memory - so two of them are using 256 to make up 512 --- is this correct???
so if i wanted to add a gig for example would i need two 512 to fit in the other two slots??

 

[Norris_309]

Just had a look on there and it has the dell dimension 4600 on there.
your right about it not saying what you have, but what you can have.
but it does give you an idea

 

[ViolentJ]

you don't have to fit memory in pairs.

Your machine would run quite happily with 1, 2, 3 or all 4 slots filled. Just go for the same speed and same size. I have had motherboards in the past that didn't mind different sizes but some that did.

 

[Norris_309]

with your type of memory you don't necessarily need to install them in pairs.
Just depends on what you want to put in i suppose.

 

[MRBILLYUK]

I'm guessin that your pc being 1 1/2 - 2 yrs old will have ddr memory , probably pc2700 or pc3200 . You dont have to fit memory in pairs , you could have just one slot filled . Depending on your budget , i'd just get another stick of 512mb and leave one slot free . Havin 1gb of memory you'll notice a big difference in speed .
Crucials expensive and overated imo . I always get mine from bowlers computer fair in manchester .Or go to a small , local computer shop , not pc world .They have computer fairs all over the country . Check out this website to see if there is one near you .
http://www.computermarkets.co.uk/

MrBillyUK !

 

[JAMESSRICH]

so this

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=89214

or this?

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=74135