Just some random questions about hard drives.

Hey, I thinking that I would need more space for my PC, I currently have 250GB (2x100GB partion with the rest unallocated) with Windows 7 & Windows XP (I could get rid of XP but I still use it because I can't get the microphone to work with Windows 7). Anyway I have purchased a Samsung 1.5TB internal hard drive (32MB cache, SATAII, 7200RPM), and I was wondering if there's anything I should do to be able to use it, I'm confident that I can install it myself (mainly done minor work eg. replacing the GPU, memory, a case fan, CPU fan & and GPU fan, and a hard drive cooler (basically 2 small fans that go on top of the HD) (which seem like they do nothing so I may as well take them out but that's another story).

Is the only things that I have to do is plug the 1.5TB drive in and then format it or is there more to it then it seems, I've just been doing light-reading and just come across RAID and stuff like that.

Motherboard
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...ry&lc=en&dlc=fi&cc=fi&product=3356779&lang=fi

Compaq Presario SR5060AN product specs
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...ry&lc=en&dlc=fi&cc=fi&lang=fi&product=3356779

The short story is that you shouldn't have any problems. Just plug it in and carry on. Look in the BIOS to make sure it is recognized as full capacity--it may show in Windows as about 1.39 TB.

No need to mess with RAID for a typical user.

There is some chance your motherboard won't support the drive and not make the entire capacity available.

If that happens you would probably have to hope there is an updated BIOS that would support the full capacity. Maybe HP has an updated BIOS and maybe they don't.

Only way to find out is to try. Your machine is from late 2006 or newer, so I'd say you have a pretty good shot.

ignatzatsonic said:

The short story is that you shouldn't have any problems. Just plug it in and carry on. Look in the BIOS to make sure it is recognized as full capacity--it may show in Windows as about 1.39 TB.

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Yeah I was expecting that 500GB only gets me 465GB on my external HD.

ignatzatsonic said:

No need to mess with RAID for a typical user.

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Awesome, after reading up on it that's what I want to hear

ignatzatsonic said:

There is some chance your motherboard won't support the drive and not make the entire capacity available.

Click to expand...

This could be a problem, my motherboard (or BIOS) is pretty much in lock-down mode, even though I got 4x2GB of 1033MHz RAM, it only recognises it as 4x2GB 400MHz.

ignatzatsonic said:

If that happens you would probably have to hope there is an updated BIOS that would support the full capacity. Maybe HP has an updated BIOS and maybe they don't.

Click to expand...

Couldn't find one when looking for my above problem with the RAM

ignatzatsonic said:

Only way to find out is to try. Your machine is from late 2006 or newer, so I'd say you have a pretty good shot.

Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking as well

Thanks for the quick reply, putting my mind to rest so far.