Deskpro EP hard disk replacement

The hard disk on my DeskPro EP (300Mhz Celeron) died and I would like to
replace it. I'll probably look for something off of eBay, but I'm not sure
what to look for in terms of specs. The original drive was 4.3GB, although
I wouldn't mind something larger. Would any 4.3 GB drive work? Could I put
in a larger size without any problems? Any advice would be greatly
appreciated (this is my first time through this).

Thanks for the help. -Pat

Any 4.3GB ATAPI/IDE drive would work in the DespPro EP. Compaq has never been
quite forthcoming about technical limitations, such as BIOS limits, of its
systems. For sure, the system will accept a drive up to 8.4GB in capacity
without problems. It may well accept drives up to 32GB. Both of these are
typical of the BIOS hard disk limits of computers of the same vintage. A
Celeron 300 falls right in the middle of the time when BIOS designers had to
consider handling larger drives than 8.4GB... Ben Myers

On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 04:41:23 GMT, "Pat" wrote:

The hard disk on my DeskPro EP (300Mhz Celeron) died and I would like to
replace it. I'll probably look for something off of eBay, but I'm not sure
what to look for in terms of specs. The original drive was 4.3GB, although
I wouldn't mind something larger. Would any 4.3 GB drive work? Could I put
in a larger size without any problems? Any advice would be greatly
appreciated (this is my first time through this).

Thanks for the help. -Pat

Thanks for the reply.

Is there anyway I can tell (say, by looking at the bios name) how large I
could go?

Also, there are quite a few different drive manufacturers (Western Digital,
Seagate, Quantum, Maxtor, Samsung, etc.). Any recommendations on who's
better (or who to avoid)?

Thanks again. -Pat


ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote in message
...
Any 4.3GB ATAPI/IDE drive would work in the DespPro EP. Compaq has never
been
quite forthcoming about technical limitations, such as BIOS limits, of its
systems. For sure, the system will accept a drive up to 8.4GB in capacity
without problems. It may well accept drives up to 32GB. Both of these
are
typical of the BIOS hard disk limits of computers of the same vintage. A
Celeron 300 falls right in the middle of the time when BIOS designers had
to
consider handling larger drives than 8.4GB... Ben Myers

On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 04:41:23 GMT, "Pat"
wrote:

The hard disk on my DeskPro EP (300Mhz Celeron) died and I would like to
replace it. I'll probably look for something off of eBay, but I'm not
sure
what to look for in terms of specs. The original drive was 4.3GB,
although
I wouldn't mind something larger. Would any 4.3 GB drive work? Could I
put
in a larger size without any problems? Any advice would be greatly
appreciated (this is my first time through this).

Thanks for the help. -Pat

The best way to find out how large of a drive the system will take is to attempt
to install a drive. If the BIOS recognizes the drive with its full capacity,
then it will work OK.

The next best way would be for a person steeped in Compaq lore to tell us all
what the BIOS limitations are. Or maybe someone who has attempted and succeeded
or failed in installing a larger capacity drive?

As far as brands of drives go, my own personal favorites are Fujitsu (very few,
if any, 3.5" drives made any more), Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital. Quantum
is now owned by Maxtor, so they are more or less the same. I've had less than
favorable experiences with Samsung. By all means, do NOT, under any
circumstances, get a used Quantum Bigfoot 5.25" drive. The reliability record
of Bigfoot drives is pretty awful... Ben Myers

On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 15:04:12 GMT, "Pat" wrote:

Thanks for the reply.

Is there anyway I can tell (say, by looking at the bios name) how large I
could go?

Also, there are quite a few different drive manufacturers (Western Digital,
Seagate, Quantum, Maxtor, Samsung, etc.). Any recommendations on who's
better (or who to avoid)?

Thanks again. -Pat


ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote in message
...
Any 4.3GB ATAPI/IDE drive would work in the DespPro EP. Compaq has never
been
quite forthcoming about technical limitations, such as BIOS limits, of its
systems. For sure, the system will accept a drive up to 8.4GB in capacity
without problems. It may well accept drives up to 32GB. Both of these
are
typical of the BIOS hard disk limits of computers of the same vintage. A
Celeron 300 falls right in the middle of the time when BIOS designers had
to
consider handling larger drives than 8.4GB... Ben Myers

On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 04:41:23 GMT, "Pat"
wrote:

The hard disk on my DeskPro EP (300Mhz Celeron) died and I would like to
replace it. I'll probably look for something off of eBay, but I'm not
sure
what to look for in terms of specs. The original drive was 4.3GB,
although
I wouldn't mind something larger. Would any 4.3 GB drive work? Could I
put
in a larger size without any problems? Any advice would be greatly
appreciated (this is my first time through this).

Thanks for the help. -Pat

Thanks. I appreciate the help.

I don't really need a lot of disk space (since I have a file server ) but
would like a little more than 4.3GB, so I'll probably look for a 6 or 8 GB
unit (and hope that works).

Thanks again, -Pat



ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote in message
...
The best way to find out how large of a drive the system will take is to
attempt
to install a drive. If the BIOS recognizes the drive with its full
capacity,
then it will work OK.

The next best way would be for a person steeped in Compaq lore to tell us
all
what the BIOS limitations are. Or maybe someone who has attempted and
succeeded
or failed in installing a larger capacity drive?

As far as brands of drives go, my own personal favorites are Fujitsu (very
few,
if any, 3.5" drives made any more), Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital.
Quantum
is now owned by Maxtor, so they are more or less the same. I've had less
than
favorable experiences with Samsung. By all means, do NOT, under any
circumstances, get a used Quantum Bigfoot 5.25" drive. The reliability
record
of Bigfoot drives is pretty awful... Ben Myers

On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 15:04:12 GMT, "Pat"
wrote:

Thanks for the reply.

Is there anyway I can tell (say, by looking at the bios name) how large I
could go?

Also, there are quite a few different drive manufacturers (Western
Digital,
Seagate, Quantum, Maxtor, Samsung, etc.). Any recommendations on who's
better (or who to avoid)?

Thanks again. -Pat


ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote in message
...
Any 4.3GB ATAPI/IDE drive would work in the DespPro EP. Compaq has
never
been
quite forthcoming about technical limitations, such as BIOS limits, of
its
systems. For sure, the system will accept a drive up to 8.4GB in
capacity
without problems. It may well accept drives up to 32GB. Both of
these
are
typical of the BIOS hard disk limits of computers of the same vintage.
A
Celeron 300 falls right in the middle of the time when BIOS designers
had
to
consider handling larger drives than 8.4GB... Ben Myers

On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 04:41:23 GMT, "Pat"

wrote:

The hard disk on my DeskPro EP (300Mhz Celeron) died and I would like
to
replace it. I'll probably look for something off of eBay, but I'm not
sure
what to look for in terms of specs. The original drive was 4.3GB,
although
I wouldn't mind something larger. Would any 4.3 GB drive work? Could
I
put
in a larger size without any problems? Any advice would be greatly
appreciated (this is my first time through this).

Thanks for the help. -Pat

"Pat" schreef in bericht
news:M%__c.118319$9d6.59675@attbi_s54...
Is there anyway I can tell (say, by looking at the bios name) how large I
could go?

Also, there are quite a few different drive manufacturers (Western
Digital,
Seagate, Quantum, Maxtor, Samsung, etc.). Any recommendations on who's
better (or who to avoid)?

Thanks again. -Pat

I can not reply to your initial message, for some reason it is not on my
ISP's server. I have read the other replies with your initial message quoted

First some info about my system. I think it resembles yours.
I have a compaq EP/EB series, 300 MHz celeron, original biosdate 25 of july
1998, updated by me to 18 august 1999, rom-family 686T1, systemboardrevision
01. All this info is in the bios info-screen.It had a 4.3 gig western
digital hd.

I replaced the hd with a 120 gig western digital hd, _without_ using
disktools or overlays. The bios sees it as 120 minus 64 = 56 gig.

Use microsofts new fdisk to avoid confusion.
Maybe fdisk'íng the hd is only succesfull as primary master, I don't
remember. In that case: prepare a bootfloppy which has also the
fdisk-program on it. But after installation the drive works fine as
prim-master, prim-slave, sec-master. sec-slave.

Grtz,

TR

Don't buy a hard drive on ebay.
You have no way of knowing the condition of the drive and you get no
warranty.

Check for best prices at www.pricegrabber.com.
Good prices usually at www.provantage.com, www.buy.com, etc.

--
http://www.standards.com/; See Howard Kaikow's web site.
"Pat" wrote in message
news:TTR_c.113477$9d6.20992@attbi_s54...
The hard disk on my DeskPro EP (300Mhz Celeron) died and I would like to
replace it. I'll probably look for something off of eBay, but I'm not
sure
what to look for in terms of specs. The original drive was 4.3GB,
although
I wouldn't mind something larger. Would any 4.3 GB drive work? Could I
put
in a larger size without any problems? Any advice would be greatly
appreciated (this is my first time through this).

Thanks for the help. -Pat

These daze prices of drives are so low, it makes sense to buy no less than
40GB.
A good 40GB drive is less than $60 and, if new, will have a warranty.

I doubt that you will be able to find a very small new drive, 6-8GB does not
go far these daze.

--
http://www.standards.com/; See Howard Kaikow's web site.
"Pat" wrote in message
news:AY3%c.136050$Fg5.9616@attbi_s53...
Thanks. I appreciate the help.

I don't really need a lot of disk space (since I have a file server ) but
would like a little more than 4.3GB, so I'll probably look for a 6 or 8 GB
unit (and hope that works).

Thanks again, -Pat



ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote in message
...
The best way to find out how large of a drive the system will take is to
attempt
to install a drive. If the BIOS recognizes the drive with its full
capacity,
then it will work OK.

The next best way would be for a person steeped in Compaq lore to tell
us
all
what the BIOS limitations are. Or maybe someone who has attempted and
succeeded
or failed in installing a larger capacity drive?

As far as brands of drives go, my own personal favorites are Fujitsu
(very
few,
if any, 3.5" drives made any more), Seagate, Hitachi, Western Digital.
Quantum
is now owned by Maxtor, so they are more or less the same. I've had
less
than
favorable experiences with Samsung. By all means, do NOT, under any
circumstances, get a used Quantum Bigfoot 5.25" drive. The reliability
record
of Bigfoot drives is pretty awful... Ben Myers

On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 15:04:12 GMT, "Pat"
wrote:

Thanks for the reply.

Is there anyway I can tell (say, by looking at the bios name) how large
I
could go?

Also, there are quite a few different drive manufacturers (Western
Digital,
Seagate, Quantum, Maxtor, Samsung, etc.). Any recommendations on who's
better (or who to avoid)?

Thanks again. -Pat


ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote in message
...
Any 4.3GB ATAPI/IDE drive would work in the DespPro EP. Compaq has
never
been
quite forthcoming about technical limitations, such as BIOS limits,
of
its
systems. For sure, the system will accept a drive up to 8.4GB in
capacity
without problems. It may well accept drives up to 32GB. Both of
these
are
typical of the BIOS hard disk limits of computers of the same
vintage.
A
Celeron 300 falls right in the middle of the time when BIOS designers
had
to
consider handling larger drives than 8.4GB... Ben Myers

On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 04:41:23 GMT, "Pat"

wrote:

The hard disk on my DeskPro EP (300Mhz Celeron) died and I would
like
to
replace it. I'll probably look for something off of eBay, but I'm
not
sure
what to look for in terms of specs. The original drive was 4.3GB,
although
I wouldn't mind something larger. Would any 4.3 GB drive work?
Could
I
put
in a larger size without any problems? Any advice would be greatly
appreciated (this is my first time through this).

Thanks for the help. -Pat

I don't mind buying something new. I just wasn't sure if a new drive would
work in my old computer. But based on the responses I've received, I'm
starting to think it will as long as the capacity isn't too large.

Thanks for the response. -Pat



"Howard Kaikow" wrote in message
...
Don't buy a hard drive on ebay.
You have no way of knowing the condition of the drive and you get no
warranty.

Check for best prices at www.pricegrabber.com.
Good prices usually at www.provantage.com, www.buy.com, etc.

--
http://www.standards.com/; See Howard Kaikow's web site.
"Pat" wrote in message
news:TTR_c.113477$9d6.20992@attbi_s54...
The hard disk on my DeskPro EP (300Mhz Celeron) died and I would like to
replace it. I'll probably look for something off of eBay, but I'm not
sure
what to look for in terms of specs. The original drive was 4.3GB,
although
I wouldn't mind something larger. Would any 4.3 GB drive work? Could I
put
in a larger size without any problems? Any advice would be greatly
appreciated (this is my first time through this).

Thanks for the help. -Pat

Best way to confirm is to call the tech support for the drive manufacturer.

--
http://www.standards.com/; See Howard Kaikow's web site.
"Pat" wrote in message
news:gX7%c.14352$vy.10821@attbi_s52...
I don't mind buying something new. I just wasn't sure if a new drive
would
work in my old computer. But based on the responses I've received, I'm
starting to think it will as long as the capacity isn't too large.

Thanks for the response. -Pat



"Howard Kaikow" wrote in message
...
Don't buy a hard drive on ebay.
You have no way of knowing the condition of the drive and you get no
warranty.

Check for best prices at www.pricegrabber.com.
Good prices usually at www.provantage.com, www.buy.com, etc.

--
http://www.standards.com/; See Howard Kaikow's web site.
"Pat" wrote in message
news:TTR_c.113477$9d6.20992@attbi_s54...
The hard disk on my DeskPro EP (300Mhz Celeron) died and I would like
to
replace it. I'll probably look for something off of eBay, but I'm not
sure
what to look for in terms of specs. The original drive was 4.3GB,
although
I wouldn't mind something larger. Would any 4.3 GB drive work? Could
I
put
in a larger size without any problems? Any advice would be greatly
appreciated (this is my first time through this).

Thanks for the help. -Pat