(Dead) Maxtor 160GB 8MB Hard Drive with FREE ATA/133 PCI card $69.99 AR & coupon at Staples

[Wei]

i'm still a little unsure about the usage of the card.

Does the card need a driver? do you just plug the card into an open pci slot and connect the drive to the card and boot up?

 

[GPz1100]

About the card.

Do you people NOT read the documentation that comes with it?????

It quite clearly states what needs to be done depending on which OS you're running.

As for the debit/atm card. If you card has a visa/MC logo, the merchant could care less thats its also a debit card. They run it through just like they would with a credit card.

Come on people, get with it...

 

[Wei]

sorry, i didn't open my drive yet.

if you need to do something to your OS in order to install the card, then what happens when you want to make this 160 G drive your only drive?

 

[kami333]

Doing this from memory, haven't done it in a while:

Install card and hook up drive to card.
Start computer with Windows setup cd.
Hit F6 when it asks you about drivers. You may or may not be able to swap cds, otherwise just make sure you have the drivers on a floppy.
Once it installs the drivers, install Windows as normal.

 

[huesmann]

Originally posted by: Wei
sorry, i didn't open my drive yet.

if you need to do something to your OS in order to install the card, then what happens when you want to make this 160 G drive your only drive?

You install it as a slave to your boot master drive, use Partition Magic (or equivalent) to copy the partition of your boot drive to your new slave, then pull the boot drive and swap the slave into the boot position. Resize your partition and you're set. No need to reinstall your OS, progs, etc.

 

[Bumper314]

Hey All,

I installed my drive and the ATA133 card, all is working well on that end, but I just noticed that my mp3s in winamp skip and pop all the time! (mp3s are on a different drive, worked flawlessly before).

I have a 2ghz system, and I never pull 100% cpu during a skip. Anyone else have similar problems?

Steve

 

[SafetyDog]

Thanks to the OP and the rest of you for the info on this great deal.

I installed this drive on my Dell 4600 and am noticing it's significantly louder than my other hard drive, which is also a Maxtor (a 30 gig one that came with the system). When the 160 gig drive is writing, I could best describe the noise being produced as "crunching".

Have any of you noticed that this drive is louder than most?

At Maxtor tech support's advice, I ran their PowerMax hard drive testing software, and everything came up fine.

I've also read other places that sometimes drives need a few days to settle in before they quiet down. That sounds fishy to me, and I'm wondering if anyone out there has any info or RTFM links to pass along.

Thanks!

 

[phatj]

If we didn't want to deal with MIR, could we do a pricematch to this staples price with another store?

 

[WolverineGator]

Fresh install problems... help appreciated!

1. Boot to Maxblast 3 CD
2. Install Windows XP Pro
3. Apply SP1
4. Registry Edit
5. Disk still shows 137GB !

What am I missing to realize the full 160?

 

[Wei]

Originally posted by: phatj
If we didn't want to deal with MIR, could we do a pricematch to this staples price with another store?

of course... if you can find one, please let us know

just a quick note: today is the last day for the rebate, i was at 2 different stores to day and yesterday, they still have a lot of them. Boston area

 

[TheTechnique]

You need to apply a BIOS update to your motherboard. But maybe even the newest bios won't support the full 160 gig, in which case you will not be able to use that drive in a single partition. So you will have to make two partitions, smaller than 137 gigs... Do a google search, this is a common issue...

 

[FFactory0x]

HEy, guys. I got anothr drive today. It doesnt have the free ata/133 card sticker on it. Does it still have one inside?

 

[TheTechnique]

Originally posted by: FFactory0x
HEy, guys. I got anothr drive today. It doesnt have the free ata/133 card sticker on it. Does it still have one inside?

lol, probably not... but hey, you can be like Johnny Carson and put the box to your head and predict what's inside!

 

[FFactory0x]

Well the 1st 2 i got said free ata/133 card. This 3rd one didnt. The Kit# is L01P160

Maybe ill just exchange at a different Staples

 

[DanFungus]

Originally posted by: FFactory0x
Well the 1st 2 i got said free ata/133 card. This 3rd one didnt. The Kit# is L01P160

Maybe ill just exchange at a different Staples

I pikced one up today, and it didn't have a card in it, but luckily I don't need one. It's going in an external enclosure

 

[CLiu]

alpha366i, I'm too late for the deal. If you don't want it, you can sell it to me.
Atif, I am still using a ATA66 card. I sure would be willing to pay shipping for your extra ATA133 card.

e-mail chanciusliu@yahoo.com

 

[FFactory0x]

CAN anyone confirm that the 160gb boxes without the FREE STICKER on them have the ata/133 card inside? My number on the box side is the same as my stickered one

 

[DanFungus]

Originally posted by: FFactory0x
CAN anyone confirm that the 160gb boxes without the FREE STICKER on them have the ata/133 card inside? My number on the box side is the same as my stickered one

mine without a free card sticker did NOT have a card in it.

 

[dc]

anyone know how to differentiate if the drive is a 60gb, 68gb, or 80gb platter model without opening the box?

 

[djmed]

sup,

does anyone have a extra staples coupon ?? couold u send it plz?? thnx

 

[nealh]

Ok I could not resist any longer and went to B&M and got one..LO1P160 model number so is there a way t otell whether it is 80gb platter size unopened..what if I check inside..how ca nI tell

Thanks
Neal

 

[huesmann]

Originally posted by: WolverineGator
Fresh install problems... help appreciated!

1. Boot to Maxblast 3 CD
2. Install Windows XP Pro
3. Apply SP1
4. Registry Edit
5. Disk still shows 137GB !

What am I missing to realize the full 160?

If your latest BIOS won't let you access the full 160, you will need to use a controller card to access the full 160GB in one partition (you will also need to set your BIOS to boot from the SCSI or external controller). Otherwise as someone else said, you'll need to split into 2 partitions.

 

[kitejumping]

i just installed one of these... when i first formatted it in maxblast, (using it as the boot drive) and tried to install xp on it i got hal.dll missing so i had to format and install it in windows. after that i couldnt get passed the 137gb (couldnt format it b/c it would delete windows) the solution, installing xp sp1 and the maxtor big hd enabler tool (on the maxtor site) then right clicking on my computer -> manage, scroll down to disk management then right click and format the unpartitioned space. i think the hardest part was getting a working version of sp1 and the maxtor big hd enabler tool is not needed if you install the maxblast software. but you need sp1 to use it in winxp.



cheap ata pci 133 card with 4 slots - 16.95 + shipping

 

[dc]

so is there no way to know which type of drive you have without opening the box? 60, 63, or 80gb platter?

 

[huesmann]

Why does it matter so much to you?