I gave up on the external hd aspirations because my mobo probably won't boot a USB. You say that older mobos have problems recognizing larger disks.... 160 gb is probably one of those. Could I partition it maybe and it would see more of it... is there a work around? On Sat, Nov 19, 2011 at 8:32 PM, Jim March <1.jim.march@gmail.com> wrote: > Let me add some hard disk advice, regardless of whether you do IDE/PATA or > SATA. > > Laptop-class drives (2.5") are smaller and slower than a desktop-class > drive (3.5"). BUT the laptop drives are much tougher, esp. in terms of > drop-resistance, and put out a lot less heat. > > You'll pay more for the gigabyte for a laptop-class drive. > > If you're using a laptop IDE drive in a desktop computer, you need an > adapter to make it work. Costs $5 at Fry's Electronics. On SATA drives > the connectors are the same for laptop or desktop. > > If you have a motherboard without SATA support, a SATA PCI adapter card is > very cheap - about $20 tops (Fry's has tons). It can be a much, much > better idea to buy a SATA drive plus PCI adapter now as opposed to an IDE > drive for an older motherboard. By jumping to SATA right away you gain the > ability to upgrade to a hotter SATA-support motherboard later. And > usually, the SATA PCI adapter card will let you run a big SATA drive on a > motherboard that doesn't otherwise support big IDE/PATA drives, because the > SATA PCI adapter takes over a lot of the hard disk support firmware from > the motherboard. > > The best hard disks today are made by Western Digital, in my opinion. A > very close second is Seagate. Comparatively speaking, the Japanese such as > Hitachi, Toshiba and Fujitsu suck. In terms of reliability Samsungs from > Korea are actually better than the Japanese drives. Maxtor is Seagate's > "budget line" - avoid. > > If you're buying an external drive that is NOT made by one of the above > drive-makers (LaCie, Buffalo, SimpleTech, many MANY more) then you're > buying a pig in a poke. You have no idea what brand of actual drive is in > there unless you either crack the case open (breaking the warrantee most > likely) or you use software tools to probe the make/model info. If however > you buy a Western Digital external drive fr'instance, you can take it to > the bank that there's a WD drive in there. Same concept for all the rest, > except that Seagate owns Maxtor and might slap a Maxtor drive under a > Seagate-brand chassis. > > Hope this helps, > > Jim > > > On Sat, Nov 19, 2011 at 7:18 PM, JD Austin wrote: > >> IDE, EIDE, and PATA (Parallel ATA) have the same interface. >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_ATA >> >> Older motherboards may have trouble recognizing larger drives. >> IDE/EIDE/PATA is on it's way out.... get SATA if you have a choice since >> it's unlikely you'll find a motherboard with EIDE on it. >> Open Box= someone else didn't like it. >> I'd go SATA if I were you (supports native hot swapping). >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA >> I often use laptop drives for such things. >> >> On Sat, Nov 19, 2011 at 18:48, Michael Havens wrote: >> >>> this is the ad: >>> >>> http://www.macconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=8239542&cm_mmc=Base-_-8239542-_-Used-_-WN3&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=8239542 >>> >>> >>> On Sat, Nov 19, 2011 at 6:44 PM, Michael Havens wrote: >>> >>>> I have a sales guy telling me at http://www.macconnection.com/ that an >>>> eide drive (theirs) will work on an IDE system. Is this true. As stated >>>> before I don't know if my system is ide or eide. I have an IBM NetVista >>>> computer. This is what they're trying to sell: >>>> Open Box Western Digital 160GB Caviar SE EIDE 3.5" Hard Drive - 8MB >>>> Cache >>>> >>>> -- >>>> :-)~MIKE~(-: >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> :-)~MIKE~(-: >>> >>> --------------------------------------------------- >>> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us >>> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: >>> http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss >>> >> >> >> --------------------------------------------------- >> PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: >> http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss >> > > > --------------------------------------------------- > PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us > To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: > http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss > -- :-)~MIKE~(-: