New Hard Drive Help (1 Viewer)

[DeathStar1]

Hey all,

Is there anyway I can determin what brand and spec my current Hard Drive is set at? I've been getting some really weird problems with my old one that I'm on now, probably due to my upgrading to Windows XP Service Pack 1, and I think it's time for a new one anyway. For example, even though I have it set for the Windows XP Style menu, it's somehow reverted back to the classic Windows ME style menu....

Anyway, any help will be apprecaited. I'm looking to upgrade it to a Maxtor 80GB 7200 RPM drive, and finally ditch this 6 year old 10 GB thing.

Thanks!

 

[Jeff Peake]

The hard drive probably is not the cause of the problems you are having with XP.

Going in to Device Manage should tell you what drive you have. Otherwise, just open up your case and look at the sticker on the drive.

If you are going to get a new one, I highly recommend the Western Digital drives with the 8mb buffer. I have the 120GB model, and it flies. Model # WD1200JB. Newegg.com has them on sale for $162 now.


Jeff

 

[DeathStar1]

Hmm, I don't know where I got this into my head, but I always thought the Maxtor drives where the better ones, and Western Digital was a bit inferior?

 

[Brian E]

You can talk to ten different people and get ten different answers on what brand is best. When I was building computers for a living we used a lot of WD, Maxtor, Quantum (now Maxtor), IBM, & Seagate. They all were fine. The failure rate, which wasn't much, was virtually the same for all brands. We sold well over 1,000 machines a year and probably twice as many bare drives as OEM components and really reliability wise they were the same.

My current system has a 30GB Maxtor, 28.5GB Seagate and a 60GB WD and I haven't had any trouble with any of them. The 60gig I've had for over a year and the other two I've had for over three years. I don't personally care for the Seagate as it's a little noisy, although I've been told some of their new drives aren't.

Unless you're going to get real particular on every spec. either a WD or a Maxtor will be fine for you.

 

[DeathStar1]

http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/pro..._ata/index.htm
Seems I've found my old drive listed. Wonder how much of a difference I'll notice when I finally upgrade it?

 

[Jeff Peake]

You will notice a HUGE difference.

According to that URL, your drive has a 5400 RPM spindle speed, and only 256 KB of buffer.

It will be night and day.

Check storagereview.com for good drive reviews. The Western Digital drives with 8MB buffer are currently the fastest available IDE drives.

Jeff

 

[Gabriel_Lam]

What's your budget? The fastest ATA drive right now is the Western Digital Caviar SE. The 80gb version is $102.58 shipped right now. The 120gb version is $148.85 shipped. The reason for the speed difference is the high density and 8mb buffer.

 

[DeathStar1]

Well, I've found a deal on a Hard Drive from Best Buy. It's on sale at $69's, but I can't find a listing on it for the specs at Maxtor.com. Can anyone help me out here before I decide to pick it up?
It's a Maxtor 60GB 7200 U133 Internal Hard Drive. L01J060G. Any help will be appreciated. Don't want to buy something that'll be worse than my current drive. .

 

[Brian E]

Not the absolute best drive, but it's good. Should be a step up from what you have now.

 

[DeathStar1]

Hmm, Not really the enthusiastic response I was hoping for .
The only other drive I've been eyeing, is this one here
>http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=...t=511&scat=512> .
Hopefully some better reviews on this one?

 

[Ted Lee]

another vote for WD. i got the 80g (8mb buffer) for something like 90 bucks (after rebate) from fry's. last i checked it was still going on.

i can't remember which sites now, but when i was researching, all the sites i checked gave this unit very high ratings.

my real world tests are also excellent. i ran adaware - it smoked big-time. finished the whole hd in like two minutes or sommething.

 

[DeathStar1]

Another stupid question before I hopefully, finally get one tonight. How easy are these things to get up and running properly? H ooking it up to the computer is a no brainer for anyone who's seen the innards of one. However, setting it up might be a different problem..

Tankee..

 

[Ted Lee]

you are installing this as a replacement drive with xp right? so, essentially you're starting from scratch?

if so, with xp, it's totally easy. configure your pc to boot from the cd drive. xp will auto-start and run the setup. during the setup it'll detect your hd and ask if you want to create the partition and format.

totally easy....

 

[DeathStar1]

>you are installing this as a replacement drive with xp right? so, essentially you're starting from scratch? >

Yep, I havn't decided if I'm going to keep my original drive and use it for DVD Video Capturing or just selling it on ebay. But yeah, the new one will be my main drive with only Windows XP installed on it.

So, I'm assuming I need to create only one partition, the C: Drive, and say yes to a reformat when that is completed. How long would it take to reformat a 60GB Drive?

For my 10 GB one, the wait isn't too long..

 

[Ted Lee]

yep, how you want to partition the drive is up to you. personally, since i'm not dualbooting or anything, i like having just one partition. but some say having multiple partitions is easier...i guess it's just personal preference.

i think it took probably a good 20 minutes to format my 80g...but i'm not positive. at least 10-15 i think.

 

[DeathStar1]

Well, didn't get to go yesterday, probaly won't get to go today either. But, these two are the drives I'll have to decide on when I get there. Hows the noise factor on these things? I was reading the reviews on some of the others, and they claim the maxtor to be really noisy...
Ah well, here's hoping I get to go tonight..
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...lance&n=595046
and
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...lance&n=595046

 

[Ted Lee]

neil -

i don't know about the maxtor, but the wd you listed only has a 2mb buffer. most of them have 8mb now. plus, that's the same price i paid for my 80g (8mb) after rebate.

so, it's the same price, but smaller capacity and small buffer??? not sure it's a good deal.

do you have a fry's in your area? that's where i got mine from.

 

[DeathStar1]

I never heard of the store before I came to this board, but I just called my mother who pays more attention to this stuff than I do as far as store details go.

Seems we have a frys store down the Jersey shore. But, can you locate the Hard Drive on their website? I've been searching for it, and all I can find is the WD 2MB version for the same 99$ pricetag..

 

[Ted Lee]

try this link.
Link Removed
it shows the 120g, but there's a blurb that says "Boxed Hard Drives Kits - 80GB - 180GB..."
i suppose you can call the store. just ask them if they're still running the rebate on the 80g western digital w/8mb buffer - the fry's i went to had a whole floor area stacked with them.

 

[DeathStar1]

Aww Crap, states the rebate ends October 3rd, so if I want it, I guess I'm going to have to order it tonight. I only have $70's as of current, but my next batch of Ebay auctions should bring in the remaining $50's. Have to see if I can convince the old parents to cover it for me since they have a credit card for online orders and I don't.