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gnr2bernstein
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June 21st, 2006 15:00
Maximum Hard Drive Capacity for a Dimension 4500
I'm thinking of adding a new EIDE Ultra ATA/100 hard drive to my Dimension 4500. I currently have a 40 GB Hard drive that will remain the primary. Is there a maximum additional capactity that the computer will support?The new one will be the d:\ drive.
Thanks in advance.
Your computer can support any size IDE hard drive through overlay software provided with the hard drive you purchase or by connecting it to a PCI Ultra ATA card. However, I would suggest getting a 120GB hard drive though to make installation simple.
Why not get an external USB drive for storage?
gnr2bernstein
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Posted June 22nd, 2006 13:00
Thanks for the information. Making a slipstreamed disk right now. We are having the new hard drive installed along with some other things. I guess I'll need to give this new CD to the computer repair man or will he be able to do anything with the computer before this is installed?Thanks again.gnr2bernstein
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Posted June 22nd, 2006 16:00
I can't create the slipstream because I can't perform the update command (no admin rights). So I'll be stuck with a max 137 GB then? SP2 can't be installed after the fact for it to work?Thanks.gnr2bernstein
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Posted June 22nd, 2006 18:00
The computer is currently at the repair shop waiting for a new motherboard. When the motherboard comes, we are having the new hard drive installed at the same time. Therefore, I have no access to the old hard drive and would need to "slipstream" from somewhere else. I can't do it at work. So, the question is, can the new hard drive be installed with the original XP and have SP2 updated later to get the additional capacity? If not, I can see if I can do it at a neighbor's house. I have all the files I can burn them to CD and continue the process elsewhere.Also, the only version of SP2 that was online is for network computers (you have to "buy" a CD for single computers if you don't use Windows Update). Will I be able to use this version (for networks) or I do I need to get the CD for single computers?Thanks.Message Edited by gnr2bernstein on 06-22-200602:33 PM
Ok, a few things. Unless you are replacing your motherboard with a Dell replacement, you'll need to buy a new OS.
Second, you can install a non-SP2 operating system, but the partition will be limited to 137-GB. After you update with SP2, you can partition the extra space but it will be another drive letter. It's not such a bad situation.
Third, there is no such thing as a "network" versus single system XP. There is XP Pro, which is the better OS for a managed network environment and XP Home, which is fine for single systems. But you could use either and you'd probably never notice the difference. There is no reason to buy another license, though, unless your new motherboard is a non-Dell board.
gnr2bernstein
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Posted June 21st, 2006 16:00
Thanks for the responses. I realized when reading network's question about the external USB, that we actually want the NEW drive to be our boot drive and the old one to be our additional drive.
Is that possible? We have Windows XP SP2. (I have the XP reinstall disk - the service packs etc. would have to be redownloaded.)
~gnr~