How many hard drives or gb can xp or vista handle?

[ingeborgdot]

What is the answer to that?

 

[RiverDog]

I've got 7 in my system and just got an external with no problems. At least 8...

 

[robisbell]

depends on the motherboard mainly. I seem to remember supposedly it can handle a max total storage of 20 TB, theoretically.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: ingeborgdot
What is the answer to that?

2003 can do 16TB volumes. XP and Vista should be somewhat similar, and an essentially unlimited number of volumes. (http://technet2.microsoft.com/...9481033.mspx?mfr=true)

The answer for hard disks is essentially as many as you can attach. Buy an eSATA connection or attach a SAN if you like; MS's latest handle massive amounts of disks very, very well.

Quick answer: You won't hit limits in home usage. Even a datacenter will have a tough time, even with massive SANs, at hitting limits.

 

[Laputa]

Without limitation with external NAS and RAIDs; you can put 2-n numbers of drives in any RAID configuration. The down side is that the RAID controller can handle and expensive to setup. Internally, it's all up to what the power supply can handle and the physical limitation of the case enclosure. If you have a 650W or better PS, you should have no problem putting 7-9 drives in a full tower. I did 19 at one time with the Thermaltake 750 and no a problem, but the cheap PS may give you a power drain issue. In that case, I guess you will find out one way or the other when your system flickers.

 

[cubby1223]

How many hard drives? Probably 24. 26 letters in the alphabet, A & B reserved for floppy drives.

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: cubby1223
How many hard drives? Probably 24. 26 letters in the alphabet, A & B reserved for floppy drives.

Drive letter mappings are no longer a requirement in 2000 and later OSs. There is no limit of 24 as you suggest.