[dizzle]

ok...I have a uniwill "desktop" pc. (mod.# L373N1) I say its odd because it has a desktop hd but notebook ram, grphx crd, etc. Originally it had 80 Gb hitachi desktar (mod. #HDS722580VLAT20) ATA/IDE hd w/7200 rpm. Unfortunately it has bad sectors and has been moved to the "recycle" pile.

here's the specs from there:

o/s: Windows XP sp2

processor: Intel Pent. 4 @ 1.3 Ghz

motherboard: OEM L373N1 1.0
bus clock: 1.0 mhz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. Vers. 07.00T 4/02/01

Memory: 512 Mb ram

I currently have it up and running on only 4.3 Gb of usuable disk space and I'm not concerned about losing any info from the current drive. My question is this-- is it more economical to replace the main board to adapt to SATA hd or just go with the depleting supply of ATA's? I'm looking to put at least 250-500Gb hd in the system but the whole project has become rather confusing.



Even after running belarc's pc audit I'm having a hard time determining the TRUE chipset of the board and therefore unable to determine compatible hd's. I am aware of the possibility that I'll have to do some serious editing in the BIOS to accompany the larger disk space, but I'll get to that later!!

I've been doing small hardware swaps and minor repairs for a few months now so I'm comfortable with disassembly/reassembly I just haven't quite got all the compatibility issues figured out. With a little guidance and lots of patience I think this'll work out well. I realize that the system really isn't worth the work and $$ that is going to go into it but I just like the "monitor only" style of it.

Again, here's the question...should I replace the mainboard and switch to SATA, or just throw a bigger, better ATA/IDE drive in and call it a day? Also, I'd appreciate any suggestions as to make/model of replacement parts, as well as any input as to why one is preferred over another. You guys/girls truly rock here and hopefully as my schooling continues I'll be able to contribute a bit more to the forum. If I've left out any necessary info feel free to email me-- Here!

Thanx 2 all....
Dizzle

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The computer is seven years old. I personally wouldn't spend any money on it. I'd put it towards new bits.

[Neil Jones]

The computer is seven years old. I personally wouldn't spend any money on it. I'd put it towards new bits.

[Tyger]

You would probably be safe with an ATA drive of 120gb or less. You might be able to use a bigger one. If you have one lying around why not just try it. If you have the CD that comes with the drive you can just use it to test even if you just temporarily borrowed the drive from another machine. I don't think I would bother with a SATA on that old a machine.

[dizzle]

Thanks for the input...one more question though. Does it make any significant difference if I get a HDD larger than the 120Gb or would I just be wasting $$...I know most see this whole project as a waste of money but the system is for my mom and I guess she likes it so much because of the compact design of the "monitor only" type system. It is basically just a flat screen monitor that needs only a keyboard and mouse plugged in and has a TV Tuner/MP3 player built in as well as IR sensor for remote and so on...Anyway, just was concerened about the small HDD because on my other media based PC I found myself eating away at the available memory extremely quickly, and it has 600+Gb. Of course, i guess restricting the amount of media stored would be an easy solution....