posted on August 2, 2001 11:41:34 AM
The time has come; my paltry 6 gig hard drive is almost full. I need a new one. Any pointers? Where's a good place to buy online (I don't know enough about this to buy from ebay -- unless someone can advise me otherwise)? I want at least 20 gig (or maybe 40?). Any idea what I should expect to pay? Any experiences to share?
posted on August 2, 2001 12:13:24 PM
Just a thought james....I kept my hard drive and added 2 scsi hard drives. I have Windows and most big programs on that, then have the 2 separate hard drives to play with. It works great! (For now.....! )
posted on August 2, 2001 12:16:57 PM
You'll want an EIDE then. Some Compaq's don't have room for 2 hard drives, so I don't know if you can just add a second one, you may have to transfer data from your 6 giger (not a do-it-yourself job for most). I suggest looking in the manual or calling your local Compaq dealer to find out if you can just add one.
posted on August 2, 2001 12:22:06 PM
Hi kraft, most home computers aren't set up to take scsi drives. You would have to add a scsi controller card (expensive). They are good drives though, that's for sure.
James - I probably shouldn't have sounded so certain about the EIDE, it is possible it takes another kind, but I'd say the chances are very high you'll need an EIDE.
posted on August 2, 2001 12:43:42 PM
Most hard drives will come with software that makes it very easy to transfer the contents of your old drive to the new one. Maxtor and Western Digital both do as a matter of fact.
If your existing hard drive has a stable installation of Windows, and you don't HAVE to start over with a new installation, use the software to do a drive copy from the old to the new.
This means you have to first hook the new drive up as a slave to the first (master drive). You boot up to the floppy that comes with the new hard drive, and basically follow the instructions. All the content will be copied from the old to the new drive. You'll have to move the Jumpers on the new drive to make it work as a Slave, then you'll move them back to make it a Master when your done.
Then you shut down, switch the drives making the new one the Master, and then you boot up like normal. If your computer is too old, it may not support a drive over a certain size. In this case, you either need to update your bios (check the maker's website), or use the software that comes with the drive. This will be called EZ Bios or something like that depending on the brand.
Go with a Western Digital, 7200 rpm. You can get a 40 gig for around $150.
Before you do anything, check with Compaq. They are known for using proprietary hardware, and you need to know for sure what will work before you spend any money.
posted on August 2, 2001 01:44:27 PM
I just purchased a brand new 40Gb HDD Western Digital 7200rpm for $102.00 locally. They have a WD 80G DMA100 7200 IDE for $223.00. Their web site for ENU,Inc will give you their prices and they will ship UPS or FedEx.
posted on August 2, 2001 01:47:58 PM
Can anyone explain RPM? I see some with 5400 RPM. Is this speed? Does it make a critical difference (of course it does, right?)? How?
posted on August 2, 2001 01:58:24 PM
Yes, the rpm's are speed. Faster is just that, faster. How critical speed is, is up to you.
For internet access, the modem is the bottle neck, but for the speed programs load off your hard drive, the speed the drive spins at is is one factor. (there are others)
Edited to add: RPM = Revolutions Per Minute... Just like the Tachometer on a car.
[ edited by Microbes on Aug 2, 2001 02:03 PM ]
posted on August 2, 2001 02:05:06 PM
Speed is definitely critical. Can you recommend a minimum acceptable speed? Meya and Borillar so far have mentioned 7200. I know it's subjective, but I mean similar to how we'd probably not recommend less than 128 mb of ram. What would be the "minimum" to get in that sense? Also, if anyone can make sense of the other specifications I'd appreciate it.
posted on August 2, 2001 02:35:49 PM
MHz is the speed of the CPU (main chip) on the computer. But don't go by that alone, there a CPUs and then there are CPUs. A Celeron is slower than a Pentium 4 chip with the same MHz rating. (has to do with how much cache memory is built into the CPU chip.)
(well, bus speed is also measured in MHz, but when we speak of a 900 MHz computer, we are talking about the CPU)
I'd go with a minumum of 7200 rpm, the difference in price wouldn't be enough to sneeze at I don't think.
posted on August 2, 2001 02:48:54 PM
James has the best threads...
One more stupid question. I've heard that high speeds (of the CPU or the HD...not sure) can cause severe overheating and lots of trouble. Is this true, and if so, how do you prevent problems?
edited to say: I have a 3 year old generic, with a 4GB HD and a 266MHz Pentium II. I put in some more memory (myself!) so I have 192MB RAM... So I'm thinking about upgrading or buying a new one, myself.
[ edited by toke on Aug 2, 2001 03:01 PM ]
posted on August 2, 2001 03:19:44 PMI've heard that high speeds (of the CPU or the HD...not sure) can cause severe overheating and lots of trouble
The higher the MHz (frequency) of the CPU, the hotter it runs. The little fan mounted on the chip is critical, if it quits, the CPU will fry it self real quick. It's a good idea to open the computer every few months, and blow the dust out of it. Dust can clog up the fans, coat the chip, and keep things from cooling like they should.
Use canned air to do this, the air from a compressor probably has moisture in it.
Some people like to "over clock" a CPU. (make it run at a higher MHz than it's designed for.) I wouldn't recommend it, but for anyone who does, cooling is very critical. They even make refridgeration units for computers for those who want the very fastest computers, but your looking at big bucks for this.
posted on August 2, 2001 03:22:21 PM
Toke, how does it run with that kind of memory? I have a lousy 64 mb. Truthfully I should buy a new computer but I'm kinda attached to this one.
posted on August 2, 2001 03:47:33 PM
It runs much better James. I had 64MB before I added the 128 to it. I was getting freezes...blank spots in my Windows...all kinds of strange stuff. Now, I'm not. I wouldn't say anything is running a lot faster...but fewer problems. I definitely have too much in my system tray...but, it's stuff I want...
If you got whoever put together your new computer to "ghost" your HD...everything would look the same, right? So maybe you wouldn't miss anything. I think they can do that. I dunno if there's any real merit in upgrading from Windows 98, do you?
Thanks microbes & artsupplies. I think I actually understand what you're talking about...
What would you recommend as a CPU speed for optimum performance at minimum risk of frying?
posted on August 2, 2001 03:55:01 PM
That's as silly as could be. Become 'attached' to a new one.
Attached how, or where, by the way?
RPM has nothing to do with a disc's throughput. Read-write response is the measure to look for in milliseconds.
If your machine is archaic enough to be running on 64 megs it's bios probably won't know WTF to do with a large disc. Change the bios and your disc controller will be confused by the new setup and that will flabbergast your chip. You'll spend hours mwssing around even though you are completely competent and do it all four or five times a week.
Take your card and just say "gimme" to the best mostest awesome system they have. It'll be out of date next week, but you're not to think about that.
posted on August 2, 2001 04:00:35 PM
I don't know if I can recommend a CPU speed that has little danger of frying. Starting way back with 486 DX 66's, CPU's have needed fans. (it was a smart idea, even before that)
The 2 things I would recommend is don't let anyone talk you into "overclocking" (unless you want to buy one of those refridgerator units ), and keep the dust cleaned out of the machine. The chips are designed to run at the rated speed, so barring anything causing a cooling problem, they should be ok.
posted on August 2, 2001 04:06:43 PM
They don't do overclock tricks anymore. You can go buy a system that runs at over a gig, a gigahertz. No more megaherts--drop it from the vocabulary. Think I saw something the other day aout a 3 gigahertz machine. Whizzz!
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