how can i use multiple hard drives

[xartrax]

I now have a c and d drive installed....c with Win XP...D clean with no operating for storage only.
I am doing digital recording and need much more storage space.
I know hard drives are cheaper than ever by old used hard drives are just lying around from friends and family's recycled computers!!

can I daisy chain hard drives???
can I buy a ribbon cable with more than 2 plugs???
any other problems I may encounter???
any suggestions????\\thank youall

 

[edfair]

You can have a maximum of 4 drives on the normally available IDE controller set on the motherboard. (2 per channel)
You can add an additional IDE controller for an additional 2 channels and 4 drives.

You can also add SCSI controllers to the mix, with up to 7 or 15 drives per controller.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[garebo]

You do have to bear in mind that when Edfair says drives he is not only talking about hard drives but also cdrom drives, cd or dvd burners as well. These are all drives and included in the totals.

Also, you may want to check out your power supply. Depending on how many drives you install on your system, and how many drives may be running at the same time, its possible that your power supply may not be able to handle the extra load. It may handle it ok, im just saying this is something you have to consider.
The only time i ran a total of 8 drives using an ultra 100 pci card i had an enermax power supply, which is considered a good quality unit, i think it was the 400 watt model, but it could have been the 330 watt model. I just dont know if you can do all that with, say, a generic 250 watt power supply. I dont know the details on your power supply of course, so it only a suggestion you can check out.



Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[xartrax]

hey guys....thanks for the ideas...I am leaning!!!
I am checking out my mother board and will also check into the power supply.
I'm good to go for now!!
thanks
Tim