new HDD with old motherboard!!

kobe · 09-02-2002, 07:29 AM

Ok, i know this is not really linux related but....

i want to know if you can install a seagate barracuda (80Gb) ATA 4 into an old P2 350 motherboard??

is this possible or am i dreaming?....

are there any ways around this problem?

cheers

etherdeath · 09-02-2002, 07:33 AM

Look up the motherboard specs on the vendor site and see if there are any limitations due to the bios, IDE controler or otherwise.

JimKyle · 09-02-2002, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by kobe
i want to know if you can install a seagate barracuda (80Gb) ATA 4 into an old P2 350 motherboard??

You probably can, but you may need to update the flash BIOS so that it can recognize the whole drive. Older BIOSes often don't allow more than the first 8 GB to be accessed.

If you plan to use only Linux though, its HD drivers don't pay attention to BIOS limits once the system has booted. If you create a boot partition at the front of the drive, then the whole thing should be available.

I'm using two 20-GB drives in my Linux box, but I put the first one in when it was still running Win95 so I had to do the BIOS upgrade.

kobe · 09-02-2002, 08:45 AM

ok...cool...

one thing the old motherboard uses the old ide cables, where as the new seagate has this new funky cable......its has many more strands..

do i use the newer cable or the old ide cable from the old HDD??

cheers for ur help

lynch · 09-02-2002, 09:29 AM

It will work if you get a controller card,like a Promise ATA/100 for instance.Doing that will overcome any bios limitations of the PII motherboard as the card has it's own bios.You can use the 80-wire cables but the new cables won't make any difference while using the onboard ATA/33 controller.
HTH
lynch