John Winker
December 8th 03, 06:16 AM
>1. Western Digital says I might need Service Pack 1a to
>ensure that my 160GB HD is supported as 1 partion. Is
>that true? I have SP1 with all of the critical updates
>(HotFixes) and Microsoft doesn't recommend installing
>SP1a. They say it only removes Microsoft Virtual
>Machine -- which I prefer not to lose -- and fixes some
>bugs that are already included in the HotFixes. How can
>I be sure that my new HD will be supported as 1
partition
>if I don't update to SP1a?
>
Try it and see. It won't take long to figure out.
Especially if this is going to be a slave drive to an
existing system, if I read correctly(?). Put it in and
give it a shot.
>2. Western Digital says that WindowsXP doesn't include
>native drivers for their PCI ATA100 controller card so I
>have to install it and their drivers prior to connecting
>the new HD. However, my ASUS A7N266 board came with two
>onboard Ultra DMA100 IDE channels that seem to work
>fine. My current HD runs at Ultra DMA Mode 5 -- so does
>that mean that I am alright to plug their ATA100
>controller card in without installing their drivers?
So do you want to use the onboard IDE controller or the
add-on card? If the onboard works and you have an IDE
position open, then for the love of god don't use the PCI
card!!! There is no need for it.
>ensure that my 160GB HD is supported as 1 partion. Is
>that true? I have SP1 with all of the critical updates
>(HotFixes) and Microsoft doesn't recommend installing
>SP1a. They say it only removes Microsoft Virtual
>Machine -- which I prefer not to lose -- and fixes some
>bugs that are already included in the HotFixes. How can
>I be sure that my new HD will be supported as 1
partition
>if I don't update to SP1a?
>
Try it and see. It won't take long to figure out.
Especially if this is going to be a slave drive to an
existing system, if I read correctly(?). Put it in and
give it a shot.
>2. Western Digital says that WindowsXP doesn't include
>native drivers for their PCI ATA100 controller card so I
>have to install it and their drivers prior to connecting
>the new HD. However, my ASUS A7N266 board came with two
>onboard Ultra DMA100 IDE channels that seem to work
>fine. My current HD runs at Ultra DMA Mode 5 -- so does
>that mean that I am alright to plug their ATA100
>controller card in without installing their drivers?
So do you want to use the onboard IDE controller or the
add-on card? If the onboard works and you have an IDE
position open, then for the love of god don't use the PCI
card!!! There is no need for it.