Tragicpsycho
12-10-2001, 05:14 AM
Hey guys, a question.
Is there a definitive standard or limitation on any of the newer boards in proprietary systems (Compaq, Emachines, etc.)? Or any board in general when it comes to hard disk size?
I have had instances at work where I try to install hard drive upgrades for customers, and they usually pick very large drives. Currently one customer had a 20 GB in their Compaq, and he was running a P3 550Mhz, but I don't know what kind of board he had; We attempted to install a 40 GB as a slave since he wanted extra space. No matter how we positioned the jumpers, or even tried the dreaded cable select, we could not get the PC to recognize both drives, it would default boot off the master drive. In the BIOS it would only recognize whichever drive was configured to master and ignore the fact that there was a slave. I don't like opening proprietary cases, they're difficult to get back together, and if I can't at least get the job done, there is no sense in me wasting my time opening these PCs and not being able to perform the work.
Any advice so not to keep taking in these computers where it seems futile to add more HD space?
Is there a definitive standard or limitation on any of the newer boards in proprietary systems (Compaq, Emachines, etc.)? Or any board in general when it comes to hard disk size?
I have had instances at work where I try to install hard drive upgrades for customers, and they usually pick very large drives. Currently one customer had a 20 GB in their Compaq, and he was running a P3 550Mhz, but I don't know what kind of board he had; We attempted to install a 40 GB as a slave since he wanted extra space. No matter how we positioned the jumpers, or even tried the dreaded cable select, we could not get the PC to recognize both drives, it would default boot off the master drive. In the BIOS it would only recognize whichever drive was configured to master and ignore the fact that there was a slave. I don't like opening proprietary cases, they're difficult to get back together, and if I can't at least get the job done, there is no sense in me wasting my time opening these PCs and not being able to perform the work.
Any advice so not to keep taking in these computers where it seems futile to add more HD space?