Hard Drive Upgrade?

[frenchyinpaddyl]

I have a Dell Dimension 2300 with a very low GB hard drive (40 GB)and it is getting very full.I thaught I could install another one , unfortunatly I have only one bay..which mean cloning this one to install another one.I have my eyes on a 300 Gb hard drive at a very interesting price but would my Dell take it
Here my Dell specs:
Microprocessor:Intel Pentium 4
L1 cache :8 GB first-level(pentium 4):32 KG(16-KB data cache:16-KB instruction cache)
L2 cache :256-or512-=KB(displayed in the system setup program) pipelined-burst, eight-way set associate, write-back SRAM (pentium 4)
System chip set : Intel 845GL
DMA channels :seven
Interrupt levels: 24 APIC mode
System BIOS chip: 2MB(256KB)
System clock: 400-MHz data rate
Bus typeCI
Bus speed: PCI:33MHZ
PCI connectors:4
PCI Connector size 120 pins
PCI connector data width:32 bits (maximum)
Memory:
-Architecture :SDRAM
-Memory connectors:2
-Memory capcities :128-,256-, or 512-MB
-Minimum memory: 128MB
maximum memory: 1GB
Memory type: PCI133SDRAM(non-EEC)
Drives:
-Externally accessible:two 5.25 -inch bay
one 3.5-inch bay
Intenally accessible: one bay for 1-inch-high IDE hard drive
Port and connectors:
-internally accessible
--Primary IDE channel:40 pin connectors on PCI local bus
--Secondary IDE channnel:40 pin connector on PCI local bus
I must add that my memory has bee upgrade .I have a 256MB card and added 512MB card two years ago
NOW WILL SOME BODY WILL HAVE ANANSWER FOR ME.WILL I HAVE PROBLEM IF I GO FROM 40GB TO 300GB?
THANK YOU ALL FOR AN ANSWER

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Those hard disks are all 3.5", so it should fit in that 3.5" slot, unless there is a floppy or ZIP drive in it. You could remove that and put the new HD in there.
If one of your 5.25" bays is available, you can get a cheap adapter, that will accomodate a 3.5" drive.
You may need to buy a 40-pin (with 80 wires) IDE cable if there is no connector free on the cable to your existing hard disk.
When you buy, make sure it is an IDE (also called P-ATA) disk, NOT a S-ATA.
Get a Seagate or Western Digital HD, Maxtor is not so good currently.

 

[mikescorpio81]

Cloning will not sort you out. When you restore the image on the 300GB HDD you will see in as a 40GB HDD. the rest will be unused but available in Disk Management.

Go for a re-build (back-up your data first) of Windows on your 40GB HDD, then fit your 300GB HDD with brackets so it can be screwed into the bays where your DVD sits.

 

[DelJo63]

with a 400mhz clock and 33mb bus, you would be well advised to consider
another system purchase. Moving to a higher capacity HD will extend the
life of this system and a minimum expense, but you will soon be in the darkages
for software upgrades and your performance will only get S L O W E R

as always, it's your choice.

 

[frenchyinpaddyl]

I have a Dell Dimension 2300 with a very low GB hard drive (40 GB)and it is getting very full.I thaught I could install another one , unfortunatly I have only one bay..which mean cloning this one to install another one.I have my eyes on a 300 Gb hard drive at a very interesting price but would my Dell take it
Here my Dell specs:
Microprocessor:Intel Pentium 4
L1 cache :8 GB first-level(pentium 4):32 KG(16-KB data cache:16-KB instruction cache)
L2 cache :256-or512-=KB(displayed in the system setup program) pipelined-burst, eight-way set associate, write-back SRAM (pentium 4)
System chip set : Intel 845GL
DMA channels :seven
Interrupt levels: 24 APIC mode
System BIOS chip: 2MB(256KB)
System clock: 400-MHz data rate
Bus typeCI
Bus speed: PCI:33MHZ
PCI connectors:4
PCI Connector size 120 pins
PCI connector data width:32 bits (maximum)
Memory:
-Architecture :SDRAM
-Memory connectors:2
-Memory capcities :128-,256-, or 512-MB
-Minimum memory: 128MB
maximum memory: 1GB
Memory type: PCI133SDRAM(non-EEC)
Drives:
-Externally accessible:two 5.25 -inch bay
one 3.5-inch bay
Intenally accessible: one bay for 1-inch-high IDE hard drive
Port and connectors:
-internally accessible
--Primary IDE channel:40 pin connectors on PCI local bus
--Secondary IDE channnel:40 pin connector on PCI local bus
I must add that my memory has bee upgrade .I have a 256MB card and added 512MB card two years ago
NOW WILL SOME BODY WILL HAVE ANANSWER FOR ME.WILL I HAVE PROBLEM IF I GO FROM 40GB TO 300GB?
THANK YOU ALL FOR AN ANSWER

still nobody has answerered my wuestion:CAN i FIT A 300GB HARD DRIVE IN THIS SYSTEM INSTEAD OF MY 40GB......WILL I GET IN TROUBLE???????????

Cloning will not sort you out. When you restore the image on the 300GB HDD you will see in as a 40GB HDD. the rest will be unused but available in Disk Management.

Go for a re-build (back-up your data first) of Windows on your 40GB HDD, then fit your 300GB HDD with brackets so it can be screwed into the bays where your DVD sits.

mY TWO dvd BAY ARE ALREADY TAKEN WITH dvd WRITERS ...ANY OTHER SUGGESTION????????????

 

[RealBlackStuff]

When you install the new HD (initially as Slave), you can temporarily just let it 'hang' loose, or put it on top of e.g. a box or a pile of books next to the PC. Transfer/clone the data from old to new, remove old, make new Master and insert in the place of the old one.
Once you have booted up, go into Disk Management to partition/format the rest of the hard disk.

So the answer is: YES