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Message |
    
Mayor McCheese
Supporter
Username: Mayor_mccheese
Post Number: 1088
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Monday, March 27, 2006 - 4:41 pm: | 
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Is there a limit to the number of internal hard drives I can run on a computer running windows XP?
If there isn't a limit, my question is do they sell cables that can hook up three or more drives on the same primary cable? Right now I have used all the cable slots on 2 CD drives, a 3.5 drive and two hard disks.
I guess in all the years of working on computers I have never had so many hard drives lying around just asking to be used. |
Rastro
Citizen
Username: Rastro
Post Number: 2680
Registered: 5-2004
| | Posted on Monday, March 27, 2006 - 4:44 pm: |
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An IDE interface can only support two devices. Most motherboards that handle IDE only have two interfaces, and therefore will control up to four devices. You can get controller cards for IDE drives, which would allow you two more drives per interface.
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Mayor McCheese
Supporter
Username: Mayor_mccheese
Post Number: 1089
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Monday, March 27, 2006 - 4:45 pm: |
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Oh, and I am talking about EIDE not SATA.
I have looked up cables and can only find ones with 3 connectors. 1 for the motherboard and 2 for drives. Do they make cables with more connections?
Also, if I could set up more hard drives what would the setting be for the third? 1. Master 2. Slave 3. Cable select?? what about 4.? |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 13243
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, March 27, 2006 - 4:45 pm: |
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The OS will support many disks, but the IDE controller supports only two. If you want to hook up a third disk, you need a second controller.
Check out the ATA controllers here: http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=CCD
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Mayor McCheese
Supporter
Username: Mayor_mccheese
Post Number: 1090
Registered: 7-2004
| | Posted on Monday, March 27, 2006 - 4:48 pm: |
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Thanks rastro. I will look into the controller card. I have a bunch of unused pci slots.
Also, while I am on here, I might as well ask a very unrelated question. Does anyone have any recommendations of TV tuner cards. I have been thinking about this for a while to set up a dvr style thing on the computer. I just don't want to throw down $100 on one that doesn't do the job right. |
Monster©
Supporter
Username: Monster
Post Number: 2646
Registered: 7-2002
| | Posted on Monday, March 27, 2006 - 6:09 pm: |
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Don't forget that you can have drives connected to the USB and or Firewire ports, Hauppage is coming out with a new card (sometime this year?) in conjunction with ReplayTV, that will offer all the same functions as a ReplayTV box (which the bastards stopped making to go this route), of course you have to pay for the service still.
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Eponymous
Citizen
Username: Eponymous
Post Number: 151
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Monday, March 27, 2006 - 6:34 pm: |
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Also be careful not to overload your power supply, especially on startup. Those drives will all be sucking juice at the same time and that may be too much for your power supply. This of course also means that they use more electicity and generate more waste heat.
Most home users won't really benefit from additional drives in most circumstances. I'd recommend getting a bigger one (100-200GB drives are available <$100) and a second to use as back-up. Since you're comfortable adding them to your box, leave the second in there but not hooked up, or in your closet or at work. Then hook it up occasionally for back-up. |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 13251
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, March 27, 2006 - 7:46 pm: |
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Good points, eponymous. So if you do want to hook up an IDE drive, you can get an enclosure that takes an IDE drive and connects to your USB bus. I think they cost about $15-25. Also available at http://www.geeks.com
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Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 13252
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Monday, March 27, 2006 - 7:46 pm: |
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Oh, and those enclosures have external power supplies, so it won't load down your PC's power supply.
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Newstead
Citizen
Username: Newstead77
Post Number: 40
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 - 4:43 pm: |
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Tom,
If you put an IDE drive into a USB external drive enclosure - does this effectively make the hard drive portable? Also can USB 2.0 devices be daisy chained?
Thanks |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 13289
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 - 4:49 pm: |
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1. Yes.
2. Not exactly daisy chained, but there is a theoretical limit of 127 devices on a USB bus. The way to do this is with a USB hub. There are unpowered and powered hubs. The powered ones cost only a little more and are more reliable.
Maybe I'm being nitpicky when I reject the word daisychained. Daisychaining is when you plug the first device into the original port and it has its own outbound port and you plug the second device into the outbound port of the first device. USB doesn't have that sort of wiring. SCSI does, if you remember that.
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Newstead
Citizen
Username: Newstead77
Post Number: 41
Registered: 9-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 - 4:54 pm: |
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Tom,
You picked up on exactly what I was referring to when I mentioned the word daisy chain. But a USB hub works nonetheless.
Thanks,
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Earlster
Supporter
Username: Earlster
Post Number: 1491
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 - 5:19 pm: |
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If you have fireWire (IEEE 1394), you could stick them in a fireWire enclosure, and those you can daisychain. |
Tom Reingold
Supporter
Username: Noglider
Post Number: 13294
Registered: 1-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 - 6:43 pm: |
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What's the advantage of chain wiring over star (hub) wiring? Your devices can be increasingly far from the computer, but is that good?
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Earlster
Supporter
Username: Earlster
Post Number: 1492
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, March 30, 2006 - 11:23 am: |
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No advantage, but he was asking.
However FireWire is faster (a tiny bit) then USB2.0 for external hard drives. |
Case
Citizen
Username: Case
Post Number: 1346
Registered: 2-2005
| | Posted on Friday, March 31, 2006 - 12:10 pm: |
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newegg.com sells a good firewire/usb enclosure for around $55. |
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