Hi,

Is it possible to 'mix & match" different makes/models of hard drives
(with different specifications) on the same system.

My current hard drive is a Seagate ST310211A which is briefly
deescribed as:

Capacity: 80.0 GB
Speed: 5400 rpm
Average Seek Time: 9.9 ms
Cylinders: 1023
Heads: 256
Sectors: 63

The above is taken from the drive's specification page at:

http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/...st380020a.html

I want to add a 2nd drive (for backup & stuff) - can I add something
which whirls around at 7200rpm, has a different ATA number (whatever
that means), and has altogether quite different characteristics?

Be tolerant of any naivety in my question - please!

Also, any links to tutorials would be welcome too!

Regards,

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 21:08:00 +0100, John Latter wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Is it possible to 'mix & match" different makes/models of hard drives
> (with different specifications) on the same system.
>
> My current hard drive is a Seagate ST310211A which is briefly
> deescribed as:
>
> Capacity: 80.0 GB
> Speed: 5400 rpm
> Average Seek Time: 9.9 ms
> Cylinders: 1023
> Heads: 256
> Sectors: 63
>
> The above is taken from the drive's specification page at:
>
> http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/...st380020a.html
>
> I want to add a 2nd drive (for backup & stuff) - can I add something
> which whirls around at 7200rpm, has a different ATA number (whatever
> that means), and has altogether quite different characteristics?
>
> Be tolerant of any naivety in my question - please!
>
> Also, any links to tutorials would be welcome too!
>
> Regards,

Maybe. How's that for an answer?

In the past some drives wouldn't work well (or at all) with drives that
were a different brand/type. This is not seen as often as it once was but
it still pops up once in a great while.

When first running XP, I had a 5400 Maxtor running with a 7200 Western
Digital and it worked. The motherboard was old enough that it was advisable
to keep each hard drive on a separate controller and use the faster one as
the workhorse drive. Newer system boards and controllers allow each drive
to operate at its own speed.

You may want to visit some forums dedicated to your system, system board or
drive controller card (if using one) for more exact details about what to
expect on your system. If you have any in depth manuals on your system
board handy, those should hold some answers as well.

--
Sharon F
MS-MVP ~ Windows XP Shell/User

On Sun, 8 Aug 2004 15:49:05 -0500, Sharon F <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 21:08:00 +0100, John Latter wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Is it possible to 'mix & match" different makes/models of hard drives
>> (with different specifications) on the same system.
>>
>> My current hard drive is a Seagate ST310211A which is briefly
>> deescribed as:
>>
>> Capacity: 80.0 GB
>> Speed: 5400 rpm
>> Average Seek Time: 9.9 ms
>> Cylinders: 1023
>> Heads: 256
>> Sectors: 63
>>
>> The above is taken from the drive's specification page at:
>>
>> http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/...st380020a.html
>>
>> I want to add a 2nd drive (for backup & stuff) - can I add something
>> which whirls around at 7200rpm, has a different ATA number (whatever
>> that means), and has altogether quite different characteristics?
>>
>> Be tolerant of any naivety in my question - please!
>>
>> Also, any links to tutorials would be welcome too!
>>
>> Regards,
>
>Maybe. How's that for an answer?
>
>In the past some drives wouldn't work well (or at all) with drives that
>were a different brand/type. This is not seen as often as it once was but
>it still pops up once in a great while.
>
>When first running XP, I had a 5400 Maxtor running with a 7200 Western
>Digital and it worked. The motherboard was old enough that it was advisable
>to keep each hard drive on a separate controller and use the faster one as
>the workhorse drive. Newer system boards and controllers allow each drive
>to operate at its own speed.
>
>You may want to visit some forums dedicated to your system, system board or
>drive controller card (if using one) for more exact details about what to
>expect on your system. If you have any in depth manuals on your system
>board handy, those should hold some answers as well.

Thankyou for the info Sharon

I'm having some difficulty finding out anything about my motherboard
(MS-6382) so I've emailed the manufacturers). In the meantime I'm
looking at eBay for secondhand Seagate HDDs.

Thanks again!

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

John Latter wrote:
> On Sun, 8 Aug 2004 15:49:05 -0500, Sharon F <(E-Mail Removed)>
> wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 08 Aug 2004 21:08:00 +0100, John Latter wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> Is it possible to 'mix & match" different makes/models of hard
>>> drives (with different specifications) on the same system.
>>>
>>> My current hard drive is a Seagate ST310211A which is briefly
>>> deescribed as:
>>>
>>> Capacity: 80.0 GB
>>> Speed: 5400 rpm
>>> Average Seek Time: 9.9 ms
>>> Cylinders: 1023
>>> Heads: 256
>>> Sectors: 63
>>>
>>> The above is taken from the drive's specification page at:
>>>
>>> http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/...st380020a.html
>>>
>>> I want to add a 2nd drive (for backup & stuff) - can I add something
>>> which whirls around at 7200rpm, has a different ATA number (whatever
>>> that means), and has altogether quite different characteristics?
>>>
>>> Be tolerant of any naivety in my question - please!
>>>
>>> Also, any links to tutorials would be welcome too!
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>
>> Maybe. How's that for an answer?
>>
>> In the past some drives wouldn't work well (or at all) with drives
>> that were a different brand/type. This is not seen as often as it
>> once was but it still pops up once in a great while.
>>
>> When first running XP, I had a 5400 Maxtor running with a 7200
>> Western Digital and it worked. The motherboard was old enough that
>> it was advisable to keep each hard drive on a separate controller
>> and use the faster one as the workhorse drive. Newer system boards
>> and controllers allow each drive to operate at its own speed.
>>
>> You may want to visit some forums dedicated to your system, system
>> board or drive controller card (if using one) for more exact details
>> about what to expect on your system. If you have any in depth
>> manuals on your system board handy, those should hold some answers
>> as well.
>
> Thankyou for the info Sharon
>
> I'm having some difficulty finding out anything about my motherboard
> (MS-6382) so I've emailed the manufacturers). In the meantime I'm
> looking at eBay for secondhand Seagate HDDs.
>
> Thanks again!

I'm currently using two different drives without problems.

Maxtor 6Y080L0 [Hard drive] (81.96 GB)

QUANTUM FIREBALLlct20 40 [Hard drive] (40.02 GB)

--
Kath Adams
MS MVP - Windows (IE/OE)