[Mary Poppins]

Yeah, that is the mother board I have. So, I can put an extra hard drive above or below my CD-Rom drive? And, it will come with the necessary cables, etc. to plug it in? I lnly see one plug in that isn't being used and it is coming out of the back of the same plug that is in the back of the CD-Rom drive.

It looks like it would be a major job to get inside the casing where the CD-Rom or the 3.5 drives are. Guess it's easier than it looks?

could you recommend a Seagate Hard Drive...not over 50 GB. I don't think I need a huge one since I plan on replacing my computer in about 18 months.

Edited by Mary Poppins, 06 December 2009 - 08:53 PM.

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Yes it is not that difficult but to the first timer it can be scary. What you need to check is which way the little red striped side of the ribbon is facing that is hooked to the cdrom. The hd needs to be sitting so that that red side is closest to the power connector on the hd. This will make sure that the ribbon connects correctly. The other issue is the jumper on the back of the drive. It needs to be set so that the hd and the cdrom play together correctly. One has to be set for master and the other to a slave drive.
We can cross that bridge when you ahve the drive and ready to install.

[rshaffer61]

Yes it is not that difficult but to the first timer it can be scary. What you need to check is which way the little red striped side of the ribbon is facing that is hooked to the cdrom. The hd needs to be sitting so that that red side is closest to the power connector on the hd. This will make sure that the ribbon connects correctly. The other issue is the jumper on the back of the drive. It needs to be set so that the hd and the cdrom play together correctly. One has to be set for master and the other to a slave drive.
We can cross that bridge when you ahve the drive and ready to install.

[Mary Poppins]

I can see inside my computer - I have the side off from where I installed extra USB plug-ins. The red stripe is on the left side of the computer...meaning, if looking at the computer from the front where the CD loads, power button, etc. is located the red stripe is on the left.

Does the hard drive need to fit into a 3.5" drive slot, or above my CD-ROM in a 5" slot? I am assuming that there is an extra 5" space since I have a blank plate on the front and it looks like something the same size as the CD-ROM would fit right above it.

Edited by Mary Poppins, 06 December 2009 - 09:20 PM.

[rshaffer61]

The problem is you have to have the drive where that connection on the ribbon can reach the back of the drive.
If I am thinking clear the ribbon would be coming from the bottom of the cdrom so the center connector on the ribbon would be under the cdrom.

[Mary Poppins]

I hope I am understanding this correctly. I will have to take the ribbon out of the back of the CD Rom and plug it into the hard drive? IF so, what goes into the back of the CD Rom? There is a 4 pin plug that isn't being used - it also comes out of the back of the CD-Rom.

[Mary Poppins]

Which would be okay to add to my computer?

Seagate 20GB Ultra ATA / 100 IDE Hard Drive ST320014A

Capacity: 20GB
Spindle Speed: 5,400RPM
Interface Type: IDE / ATA (3.5")
Disk Size: 3.5"x1.0" (Low Profile Hard Drive)
Sustained Throughput (MBps):
Average Seek Time (read/write ms): 18.0 / 24.9
Electrical Interface Speed: EIDE / Ultra ATA/100 - 100MBps
On-Board Cache: 2MB

Hitachi/Seagate 80GB 7200RPM DESKSTAR IDE HARD DRIVE

Product Specifications:

Configuration
Interface ATA
Capacity (GB) 80
Sector size (bytes) 512
Recording zones 18
Data heads (physical) 6
Data disks 3
Max. areal density (Gbits/sq. inch) 15.3
Max. recording density (BPI) 449k
Track density (TPI) 34,000
Performance
Data buffer 2MB
Rotational speed (RPM) 7200
Latency (average ms) 4.17
Media transfer rate
(max Mbits/sec) 494
Interface transfer rate (max MB/sec) 100
Sustained data rate (MB/sec) 20.9 to 40.8
Seek time (read typical) Average (ms) 8.5
Track-to-track (ms) 1.2
Full-track (ms) 15.0
Reliability
Error rate (nonrecoverable) 1 in 10E13
Start stop cycles
(load/unload at 40° C) 40,000
Power
Requirement +5 VDC (+- 5%), +12 VDC (+10%/-8%)
Dissipation (typical)
Startup current
(max A) 2.0(12v)
Idle (W) 6.7(3,2,1 disks)
Physical size
Height (mm) 25.4
Width (mm) 101.6
Depth (mm) 146
Weight (max g) 590 (3 disks), 575 (2 disks), 560 (1 disk)
Environmental characteristics
Ambient temperature Operating 5 to 55%deg C
Nonoperating -40 to 65° C
Relative humidity (noncondensing) 8

Edited by Mary Poppins, 06 December 2009 - 09:51 PM.

[rshaffer61]

I hope I am understanding this correctly. I will have to take the ribbon out of the back of the CD Rom and plug it into the hard drive? IF so, what goes into the back of the CD Rom? There is a 4 pin plug that isn't being used - it also comes out of the back of the CD-Rom.

No on the ribbon that is plugged in to the cdrom there may be another black connector between the cdrom and the motherboard. If not then look at the one connected tot he hard drive. Is there one there?
Below you will see a picture of what I a talking about. There are three black connectors. One goes to the motherboard. One goes to the cdrom and one will go to the hd. Does this look like the ribbon connected to your cdrom?

[rshaffer61]

As far as what size hd can you use. Look HERE at Tigerdirect of the selection of IDE hard drives starting at 50.00 dollars.
I would say the very first one in the list should do you fine.
Western Digital WD1600AAJB Caviar Blue Hard Drive - 160GB, 7200rpm, 8MB, ATA-100 EIDE, OEM
This is 8 times more space then what you have now. That should hold you for awhile since you are use to the lower drive space.
There are others in the list but I think this would do you good. Click on the Blue Type and it will take you to a closeup picture of it and give you some specifications on the drive.

[Mary Poppins]

I hope I am understanding this correctly. I will have to take the ribbon out of the back of the CD Rom and plug it into the hard drive? IF so, what goes into the back of the CD Rom? There is a 4 pin plug that isn't being used - it also comes out of the back of the CD-Rom.

No on the ribbon that is plugged in to the cdrom there may be another black connector between the cdrom and the motherboard. If not then look at the one connected tot he hard drive. Is there one there?
Below you will see a picture of what I a talking about. There are three black connectors. One goes to the motherboard. One goes to the cdrom and one will go to the hd. Does this look like the ribbon connected to your cdrom?

Yes, I found it. The entire ribbon is not very long. The extra Pin-strip (whatever it's called) is below the one plugged into the Cd Rom. Looks like it would plug into the back of the 3.5" drive easily - not sure about it plugging into the slot ABOVE the CD-ROm. Guess I could always move the CD-Rom to the upper slot?

[Mary Poppins]

Forget about room for a 5" drive. The CD-ROM takes up all the space. There is nothing above the 3.5" drive. Guess I would have to get one to go there. The ribbon hook-up will reach there easily. Forgot about the part that holds the CD! Was just looking at the part with the open/close button and light. Sorry.

So, I would have to get one the one that fits there. Does a computer run faster with a bigger hard drive?

Edited by Mary Poppins, 06 December 2009 - 10:38 PM.

[rshaffer61]

The capacity of the drive does not matter on speed. What matters is the RPM's and the amount of buffer memory.
Your's
Data buffer 2MB
Rotational speed (RPM) 7200

New one
Data buffer 8MB
Rotational speed (RPM) 7200
Same RPM's but newer one has more BUFFER Memory. This should speed system up alittle.
If you are looking for more speed then we should look at your System Memory

[Mary Poppins]

I already upgraded to the most memory my computer will hold. Ordered 2 memory cards from CRUCIAL. Am I right about a hard drive fitting in a 4" slot, which would have to be a 3.5" hard drive?

[123Runner]

The idea is to get the extra ribbon cable plug in to the hard drive. Which ever way it can be done. Sometimes you need to move some components.
The stripe on the ribbon cable is pin 1. It needs to orientate the proper way. There is also notch removed from the drive and a ridge on the connector to help with that. I have seen people force the connector and receiver in the wrong way. That is why Rshaffer61 said it will face the power connector.

[Mary Poppins]

The red stripe does face the power connecter cord. So, this is how I need it to be? Will a hard drive fit into the empty 3.5" drive slot I have, which is actually 4", I think?

[123Runner]

The 3.5 inch drive is actually abt 4 inches wide. It is the same width as the CD drives.
Once the drive is in, you use a couple screws to hold it in position. Getting to the back screws is difficult so I only use a couple from the front.