Cain Highwind

I originally posted a topic here:
http://www.techsupportforum.com/othe...d-torrent.html

Because, I was having problems with files downloaded with Bit Torrent, I figured it was just a software issue. Now I see that it is indeed some kind of hard drive issue, and I figured since I've gotten no more replies in my other topic I'd post it here.

I seem to recall being told about how old motherboards don't see large hard drives here:
http://www.techsupportforum.com/hard...d-adapter.html

So does that mean I'll have to split the hard drive up? What should I do with the 100 GB or so I have already on the hard drive (is it safe to split the hard drive with the remaining space or no?)

linderman

Hello:

is the drive in question a slave drive or your primary master drive ??????

is backing up the contents on your 300 gig drive to another drive a possibility for you ??????

the 137 gig barrier is a windows xp limitation which is easily overcome by installing service pack-2 to your current OS (free download at windows update site )

if you say your bios reports your drive as a 300 gig drive then your bios is not the entity with the "glitch" its your OS

but; please consider the practical nature of partitioning your drive into smaller chunks / their is NO benefit to have one huge 300 gig partition / if you mess up that partition then poof goes all data and progs / if you partition the drives into multiple chunks (say 100 gigs each) that will give you a redunant oppurtunity to make data back-ups (although the premiere back-up is multiple drives !!!)

if I were in your shoes I would definetly partition the drive into chunks / add sp-2 to your current OS first though.

when you look in the disk mangement what are you seeing now ??????

I apoligize now if I am rambling / there are soooo many options and so many ways of perfroming those options; it becomes difficult to try to guess what perscription will suit a user the best and explain the execution of it in a palletable form.

please dont hesitate to ask questions


regards

joe

Cain Highwind

-It's a slave drive (used primarily for extra storage)

-I have about 20 GB free on my other drive, and as for the rest, that's a lot of CDs I'll need to make.

-I already have Service Pack 2. It's the BIOS that reads 137 GB and Windows XP which reads it as 300 GB.

So even if I have extra space? Making a new partition will delete everything?

linderman

i dont believe you can add partitions on a drive from within windows once you have begun the process of data placement / their are third party partition managers that can do such a task however I dont reccomend them for the average user and especailly if that data is important to you, its common place to lose data while leanring how to use 3rd party (other than windows or computer makers utilities) partition manager software.

I would go for the bios upgrade for sure !! There is a very good chance that will solve all your problems.

give us your motherboard model and I;ll try to assist you to find the bios file and instructions needed to update your bios.

regards

joe

Cain Highwind

Nice thought, but I beat you too it, it's a DFI CA64-TC and I'm already using the latest build (from 3-26-2002).

crazijoe

Your MB may be too old. Your best bet would be to get a PCI IDE controller card. This will have it's own BIOS and does not rely on the MB BIOS for 48 bit LBA support.

Cain Highwind

Hmm that just might work (And it technically woule mean more space as a whole, instead of split up, right?). However, I think I'll wait for my copy of Nero 6 and DVD-R's for my new burner to arrive first since a lot that's on the hard drive are music videos and anime. I'd have to wait for my next paycheck (Thursday) anyway.

linderman

very good approach Joe / i like that perscription !!


you can buy a top of the line PROMISE IDE controller for only $35.00 to $40.00 at newegg.com cheapers ones too !!!!



regards

joe

Cain Highwind

Yeah I think that's what I'll do. Just a quick question. If I use one of those IDE controllers to hook up the drive I have right now, could I get ANOTHER drive (like 120 GB, something the MB would fully recognize) and hook it up via the IDE port I have the hard drive on right now?

linderman

yes that configuration should work nicely

Cain Highwind

Just came to report back that did the trick. All my video files on the drive run just fine, smoother than ever.

Oh one thing I just realized, if I WERE to get a new (small) hard drive to fill in the old IDE slot. I'll need some kind of Y Power Cable, am I right? (I know my case uses such a cable for the external fans, although I don't know the exact name for the cable)

linderman

if youre talking about a lack of 4 pin molex connectors to power up drives and such / then yes a typical Y splitter will do it

look on ebay they are cheap / just serach for 4 pin molex Y-splitter




regards


joe

Terrister

Make sure you have enough Power supply to run all this.
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

linderman

also dont forget after your run the power supply calculator add 30% to the size load the calculator gives you / the end result of the psu calculator tells you the full load requirement of your system >>> NOT THE SIZE OF THE PSU YOU NEED !!! / then you must add 30% to that figure to get the size of the PSU it takes to disH out your full system load / as the most high quality PSU's available are only 75 to 80% efficient / which means a 500 watt psu can NOT handle a 500 watt full load output.

regards

joe

Cain Highwind

Thanks guys. Firstly, how do I check what kind of PSU I have already (just to ensure whether I need a new one or not)? because when I got my new case I'm nearly positive I got a new Power SUpply to go with it, but it was so long ago, I don't remember.

Secondly, on a related subject, when I installed the IDE Card, I thought I needed to get a new floppy disk drive since mine was broken and unused for quite some time (I later found I could just download the drivers). It seems when I got the drive, I'm missing the power cable needed for the floppy drive. What kind of cord am I looking for, I can't find it at Newegg.

linderman

Cain:

to get the PSU maker and size you would need to remove your case cover and try to read a manuf sticker / there are no sotware progs yet that can do this for you :( whoever makes the first one will get a hug from me !!!

as for the floppy disk / are we talking about internal or external drive ??????



joe