How many HDs?

[knuckledragger]

Howdy all.

How many HDs can one run in a single system? I have a MSI 694T with a C1000, 256mb memory running W98SE and want to run multiple hard drives for the extra storage of MP3s and MPEG files.

Why? I have a CDR and CDRW drive and two 8.4GB HDs on the two IDE cables. I have about a half dozen free HDs (anywhere from 6.4 to 8.4GB) that I would like to be able to use versus spending money on a single larger capacity new HD.

How can I do this? Is it doable at all?

Thanks in advance.

Knuckledragger

[gsxr750]

That pertty much the most could could get.
only if u decide to change that CDR or RW to external.
:) :beer:

[Monaco]

most motherboards have only 4 IDE connectors-that's a total of 4 drives, be they hard drives or CD-ROMS. To add more, you can buy a (relatively) inexpensive PCI card with another IDE channel on it, for 2 more drives.

Or, buy a more recent motherboard that has a RAID controller- that will let you use up to 8 drives.

[Ridenow]

An IDE controller can control 2 IDE drives, a master and a slave. Most motherboards have a primary and a secondary controller, for a total of 4 drives. Some motherboards like my KT7a-RAID have more controllers and can run more drives. You can buy an IDE controller card that will let you have more drives. I had a Promise brand card that cost $40. It worked well and had 2 controllers on it so the computer could have 8 drives.

FYI, a SCSI controller can run 15 drives :cool: I have one of those as well.