newer ata/100 drive in old pII machine?

[oron]

I'm trying to put my old 60gb ATA100 drive in this PII based "media PC" machine I'm building, but it doesn't seem to detect the drive at all. I noticed that the IDE cable in the computer is the older (read: fewer wires in the cable) type, although it plugs in fine (with pins matching up and such). Is this just a matter of using a newer cable, or will this mobo just not run anything faster than ata/66? (or 33??)

Thanks!

 

[Crashman]

Most Slot 1 boards had a BIOS limit of around 37GB. You'll want to find out if your board has a newer BIOS to overcome that limit. Then your drive will work, but it will feel a little sluggish.

Best thing to do is add an ATA100 or ATA133 PCI card to increase performance, but your board WILL support the drive at a slower speed with a simple BIOS update.

Many boards that were not updated by their manufacturer have been updated by enthusiast, you can find these home-brewed BIOS updates at various sites.

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[sparky853]

If the problem is the 37GB barrier as Crash noted, you could also try limiting the size of the HDD. Some HHDs have the ability to set the jumpers so that they only see it as a 37 GB HDD.

But definalty check for a BIOS upgrade. Most Slot 1 mobos have upgraded BIOSs that support up to 75GB.

Good Luck.

XP2800+, Abit NF7, 1GB Dual-Channel DDR333, ATI R9800PRO 128MB, SB Live! 5.1 Digital, TT PurePower 420W, Samsung 120GB, Maxtor 120GB, LG DVD+-R/RW, WIN2K PRO SP4

 

[oron]

I think it may be more hassle than it's worth.

I've debated what to do with this machine. It used to be in my car as a modded mp3-playing machine (it's a micro-atx desktop), but I'm getting tired of the cumbersome method of adding files and it takes up a fair amount of space in my car (read: I've got an itchin' for an ipod...)

I've debated whether to turn it into a media PC (due to its small size) to play divx movies, mp3's, etc in the home, but I'm not sure a P2-400 is up to this or if it's really worth it. My other option would be to give it to my parents (who still use an OOOLLLLDDD 486/pentiumOD machine!) In that case, a p2-400 and 6gb hdd (already working) would be plenty.

Any opinions/ideas?