Advice on upgrading HD in an old dell

  • Thread starter Thread starter Apollo
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A

Apollo

Hi there,

I have been offered an old dell optiplex, P3 600MHz slot 1 with a
small HD, 2GB from memory, maybe slightly bigger.

I'm after some advice on fitting a larger HD, to use as a media
server. The service tag is; IYA1T, shipped 7/4/2000, but I just
seem to be going around in circles on the dell site and can't find
any info on HD sizes. I don't have the box here yet, so I can't
give much more info at the moment.

I'm not after anything huge, around the 40GB mark will probably
do. Will I see all of a drive this size or am I looking at a 32GB
(or even lower) limit, bios is original and it's running NT4.

Thanks,

Ian
 
Apollo said:
Hi there,

I have been offered an old dell optiplex, P3 600MHz slot 1 with a
small HD, 2GB from memory, maybe slightly bigger.

I'm after some advice on fitting a larger HD, to use as a media
server. The service tag is; IYA1T, shipped 7/4/2000, but I just
seem to be going around in circles on the dell site and can't find
any info on HD sizes. I don't have the box here yet, so I can't
give much more info at the moment.

I'm not after anything huge, around the 40GB mark will probably
do. Will I see all of a drive this size or am I looking at a 32GB
(or even lower) limit, bios is original and it's running NT4.

Thanks,

Ian
Click to expand...
Well, you could "compress" the drive. My honest advice is to go for a new
machine, I guess you can keep your old monitor. That will be the most cost
effective way to get a fast, quality machine. BTW, I like Dell too.
=Pete
 
Apollo said:
Hi there,

I have been offered an old dell optiplex, P3 600MHz slot 1 with a small
HD, 2GB from memory, maybe slightly bigger.

I'm after some advice on fitting a larger HD, to use as a media server.
The service tag is; IYA1T, shipped 7/4/2000, but I just seem to be going
around in circles on the dell site and can't find any info on HD sizes. I
don't have the box here yet, so I can't give much more info at the moment.

I'm not after anything huge, around the 40GB mark will probably do. Will
I see all of a drive this size or am I looking at a 32GB (or even lower)
limit, bios is original and it's running NT4.

Thanks,

Ian
Click to expand...
Isn't coincidence a strange thing. I have just fitted a 40gb hard drive in
an identical machine and it works a treat. I only found one problem
throughout the entire job and that was down to the graphics adapter. It
seems to be fussy about which monitor it works with. All four were bog
standard SVGA, it worked with two but not with the other two. I also found
it one of the easiest machines in which to fit a drive. Undo one screw and
the drive holder lifts and swings right out.

Keith
(If you can't laugh at life, it ain't worth living!)
 
Pete said:
Well, you could "compress" the drive. My honest advice is to go
for a new
machine, I guess you can keep your old monitor. That will be the
most cost
effective way to get a fast, quality machine. BTW, I like Dell
too.
Click to expand...

I have a nice fast machine thanks ;-)

The dell box is to go under the stairs (headless) , purely as a
media server.

Thanks
 
Keith said:
Isn't coincidence a strange thing. I have just fitted a 40gb
hard drive in an identical machine and it works a treat. I
only found one problem throughout the entire job and that was
down to the graphics adapter. It seems to be fussy about which
monitor it works with. All four were bog standard SVGA, it
worked with two but not with the other two. I also found it
one of the easiest machines in which to fit a drive. Undo one
screw and the drive holder lifts and swings right out.
Click to expand...

Thanks Keith.

I want to leave NT4 on it for a while, do you happen to know if
I'll have any mbr or other issues from cloning to a new drive.
 
Thanks Keith.

I want to leave NT4 on it for a while, do you happen to know if
I'll have any mbr or other issues from cloning to a new drive.
Click to expand...

Isnt it possible to just leave the one already on there alone and add a
second drive? I dont know much about the innards of Dells but always
figured hardware-wise its pretty much the same as all the others. If yes,
for the time being buy the new drive (40GBs are dirt cheap... maybe go
for 80), use all of it for media, and let sleeping dogs lie.
 
Kev said:
Isnt it possible to just leave the one already on there alone
and add a
second drive? I dont know much about the innards of Dells but
always
figured hardware-wise its pretty much the same as all the
others. If yes,
for the time being buy the new drive (40GBs are dirt cheap...
maybe go
for 80), use all of it for media, and let sleeping dogs lie.
Click to expand...

Hi Kev,

It's one of those low profile cases, only takes one hd.
 
Hi Kev,

It's one of those low profile cases, only takes one hd.
Click to expand...

I hate those how many 5 inch bays? If you have an extra one you can use
one of those with the proper mount. Or... this might be a tight fit but
rig something put it where the floppy is. Or how about replace the CD if
you dont really need it. just get the proper mounts.

Hmm... now Im making it difficult. Probably in the long run replacing the
drive and reinstalling only what you need might be better...assuming you
have the NT disks. Otherwise, I wonder if you could use Linux for your
purposes, especially since most of those 'media center' appliances
recognize it as well if you decide to get one of those... whereas they
might not recognise NT (98, 2000, xp only).

I looked up your service tag on dell and its a GX110
 
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