First time poster: Need help with adding a couple extra HDs?

[ajskhan22]

OK. I am somewhat techy....


I had an older computer that I am just getting to take the parts out and put them in a new(er) PC.

I have already taken the RAM (1GB>>>1.5GB), tv tuner, and now to HDs!

There were two of them in there.

#1:
Western Digital WD Caviar
Enhanced IDE Hard Drive WD300 30.0GB.

#2:
Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 8
40GB
ATA/133 HDD

I currently have a http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...docname=c00471060&lc=en&jumpid=reg_R1002_USENCompaq Presario SR1650NX

(See link for specs of current machine.)

I hope to add at least one drive just so I can add some of the pics, music, movies, etc on there.

I am not too sure if it is compatible, if it will work, fit, etc.

-Thanks


Oh and, if you need any more info, I will tell you... (although I don't know that much more...).

 

[Markbnj]

As long as the new system has an up-to-date IDE interface, and most still do since there are a lot of IDE CD and DVD drives out there, then both of these drives should work fine. Enhanced IDE and ATA-133 both refer to IDE interfaces, with the ATA-133 being I think the later and faster standard, or at least a more specific term than "Enhanced IDE". Anyway, they should both work. You'll need a single master/slave IDE cable (ribbon or round cable with two connectors). You may also need the documentation for the drive jumpers. If you look at the labels on the back of the physical disks it may give the jumper pinouts there. You want to make sure the drives are either set for "cable select" meaning the cable connector used will determine master/slave status. Or you want to make sure one drive is jumpered as master and the other as slave.

Then connect the drives, and on startup you should probably pop into the BIOS and make sure they were detected correctly.

 

[ajskhan22]

Ok, thanks! looking at the top of the drives right now - the WD 30gb says some stuff about slave, master with slave present of master. I want to be able to save stuff, but I dont really need to be able to boot... which should i choose? And what exactly are jumpers?

 

[Markbnj]

Doesn't matter whether you will boot off the drives or not. The way IDE works it requires one drive to play the role of master, and the other the role of slave. Most IDE drives are "cable select" these days, which means that the connector you plug it into determines which role it plays.

Jumpers are small plastic connectors that plug over two pins on the drive, creating an electrical connection between them. Having a jumper in place, or not, tells the logic on the drive controller how to behave. If you're in doubt then set one of the drives for master, and the other for slave. Usually a drive is master with the jumper in place, or slave without it, or the other way around.

If this is too confusing post closeup pics of the drives labels and we can probably straighten it out.