I have an older(400 MHz, Pentium II) Windows 98SE system. I've upgraded the BIOS and have no problem with drives up to 40 GB. (ASUS P2B ACPI BIOS Rev. 1011) I haven't tried larger drives. My question regards the best way to install a new WD drive with a PCI ULTRA ATA controller. My current configuration is:
Primary Master: Internally mounted 30 GB Quantum Fireball
Primary Slave: CD ROM
Secondary Master: Removable HD (40 GB IBM or 40 GB WD)
Secondary Slave: Iomega 100 MB Zip Drive
I've just purchased new 200 GB and 120 GB WD drives. I want to use them as removable drives (not permanently installed). My plan was to install a new removable hard drive bay in place of the Iomega Zip (replacing it with a USB Zip). The 200 GB drive requires installation of an included ULTRA ATA PCI controller card. With this controller, I'm wondering what the best installation is:
1) Can I use the controller to install a third IDE cable? If so, I would be tempted to leave the current configuration (without the Zip because of front panel space) and install the 200 GB and 120 GB as masters in a removable HD bay connected to the new controller.
2) If I can't install the controller and a third IDE cable, then I would try to install the secondary cable on the controller, leaving the primary cable still connected to the motherboard. This is mainly because I see this as the least disturbance to my OS (on the Primary Master).
3) My third choice is to install both my Primary and Secondary cables on the new controller (which also means I will need to install the controller drivers beforehand), using the newer cables that came with the 200 and 120 GB WD drives. I would still want to install both removables on one IDE cable.
Which of the three options can't be accomplished? Which would you recommend? If I install new IDE cables, can I buy newer round cables rather than the flat cables shipped with the drives?
Primary Master: Internally mounted 30 GB Quantum Fireball
Primary Slave: CD ROM
Secondary Master: Removable HD (40 GB IBM or 40 GB WD)
Secondary Slave: Iomega 100 MB Zip Drive
I've just purchased new 200 GB and 120 GB WD drives. I want to use them as removable drives (not permanently installed). My plan was to install a new removable hard drive bay in place of the Iomega Zip (replacing it with a USB Zip). The 200 GB drive requires installation of an included ULTRA ATA PCI controller card. With this controller, I'm wondering what the best installation is:
1) Can I use the controller to install a third IDE cable? If so, I would be tempted to leave the current configuration (without the Zip because of front panel space) and install the 200 GB and 120 GB as masters in a removable HD bay connected to the new controller.
2) If I can't install the controller and a third IDE cable, then I would try to install the secondary cable on the controller, leaving the primary cable still connected to the motherboard. This is mainly because I see this as the least disturbance to my OS (on the Primary Master).
3) My third choice is to install both my Primary and Secondary cables on the new controller (which also means I will need to install the controller drivers beforehand), using the newer cables that came with the 200 and 120 GB WD drives. I would still want to install both removables on one IDE cable.
Which of the three options can't be accomplished? Which would you recommend? If I install new IDE cables, can I buy newer round cables rather than the flat cables shipped with the drives?