Max harddrive size for an old 440BX motherboard?

[GTaudiophile]

I want to run a file server on an old 440BX/PII-450 machine. It currently has a 40GB harddrive, but I would like to expand that to 120GB if possible (less than 137GB).

Can a 440BX handle a 120GB? Or is the max it can handle a 80GB?

Edit: It's a circa 1998 board that came with a Gateway. The latest board/CPU before the first Slot PIII-450 & 500 CPUs came out.

 

[WobbleWobble]

Had a 120GB in a Asus BX mobo back in the day.

 

[rbV5]

If it didn't support 28-bit LBA (maybe it does), you could just use a PCI promise card or similar?

 

[tcsenter]

440BX with the usual 82371xB (PIIx3/4) South Bridge supports up to the 28-bit IDE/ATA limit; ~ 137GB. Whether or not the BIOS has other limitations is another matter. Check that you have the latest BIOS.

 

[CalvinHobbes]

I vote add-in PCI card and get large drives.
ATA-133 cards are cheap. SATA aren't expensive either.

 

[Peter]

28-bit LBA is the _old_ mode. You need 48-bit - and while the chipset might even support it, such an old board's BIOS most certainly won't. I second the "get a PCI SATA card" move.

 

[t0mn8r]

There are issues with larger HDD on these old (but reliable) mobos.

Add-in card and SATA (not SATA II because of different PSU plugs unless you want to change the PSU as well).

HTH