Re: Hard Drive Help

Paula,

I'm in general agreement with all of the post replies so far except that if there is indeed only one EIDE connector on the MB, and you elect to go with an external enclosure, then I would connect the second HDD to the onboard connector.

I would then connect the optical drive to an external enclosure (USB 2.0) - this way the HDD gains the most benefit in usage and speed via the internal cable.

Fred S

Anna wrote:
"PaulaDawn" <Blah@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


Just bought a Dell Dimension 1100, I saved the hard drive from my old
computer a Maxtor Diamond max Plus 9 120GB ATA/ 133 HDD. The computer only has one connector for the hard drive, but since it did not come with the DVD drive I was wondering if I could put it on that EDE cable OR it has a spare IDE slot so could I use the cable that I have and connect it on that? OR
should I just wait and get a new cable? and the Maxtor is 7200 RPM, should I use that as my primary drive? and How do I find out what the specs are for
the drive that came with the computer?
Thanks



"Ron Martell" <ron.martell@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:lgicv1h2jnbc9qerqr0b44int89nkhbtlh@xxxxxxxxxx

You could do either, whichever works best for you for installing and
connecting up the cables. If there is another drive connected to the
same cable make certain that the drive jumpers are set properly for
master/slave configuration. If it is an 80 wire cable then you can
use cable select settings.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2006)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca



"PaulaDawn" <Blah@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:%23QIlOPCNGHA.2604@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

How do you find out if it is a 80 pin cable?
They are finer in texture aren't they?



Paula:
To the best of my knowledge the Dell Dimension 1100 came standard with an 80
GB HD. Is that not what you have now installed in that machine?

I assume from your query that you're considering using that 120 GB Maxtor either to replace the 80 GB drive as your booting drive or using the 120 GB HD as a secondary drive for storage or some other purpose. Is my understanding correct?

If it is, I really don't think substituting the 120 GB HD for the 80 GB HD as your booting HD will yield any appreciable performance enhancement in your present system. It will, of course, give you some added disk space capacity on your booting drive but I don't know if that's really important to you.

If you're planning to use the 120 GB HD as a secondary drive, I'm not sure if you can accomplish that in your present system. My understanding is that the 1100 came standard with a CD burner and that device is installed as a Slave to the HD. Since that machine contains only a single IDE connector to which the HD and the optical drive are connected, you don't have available IDE connection for your second HD under the present circumstances.

If, of course, you would uninstall the optical drive then you could install the second HD on the same IDE cable used by your primary HD. (Most certainly the IDE ribbon cable presently in use is an 80-wire cable, suitable for hard drives). But I hardly think you would want to remove a CD burner to achieve this capability. I do note your statement that the machine did not come with a "DVD drive", but I'm not clear if you mean the computer didn't come with *any* optical drive. If that is indeed the situation, then you could simply install the Maxtor on the same IDE cable that your primary HD is connected to. This, of course, assumes the IDE ribbon cable contains two connectors - an end & middle connector. I'm sure you do understand the secondary HD would have to be correctly jumpered as mentioned by Ron. I believe, but am not absolutely sure, that the Dell configuration in that computer is set up for cable select.

Assuming I have all this right, i.e., your current configuration at this point contains one HD & one optical drive connected to a single IDE connector, there *is* a way you could install a secondary HD in your machine. If you have an available (vacant) PCI card slot in your machine (on the motherboard) you could purchase a HD controller card such as the Promise Ultra 133 TX2 (sells about $35 or so) and plug it into that PCI slot. The HD would then be connected to the controller card and then you would have two internal HDs.

Have you thought about using your Maxtor in a USB external HD enclosure?
Anna


.

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