Mainboard & HDD.

[He28]

Hi all.
Please help me to find out which motherboard I am using. Is there any way or utility to find out which mainboard I am using in my Acer macine?
Its a second hand PC and I have no manuals/information about hardware. All I know is, it has P4 3.06 GHz with 512 MB RAM. 120GB SATA HDD.
I wish to know about mainboard and what is the maximum size of HDD it can accept. I am planning to buy a 250 GB drive. I am not sure if it will be accepted without any comaptibility issues.

Aplogies if it is repost.
Thank you for time.

[He28]

No body helping...
Is there no way to find what maximum size of HHD my system can accept?

[john_the_ultimate]

Use everest http://www.lavalys.com/products/down...?ps=UE&lang=en

[He28]

john_the_ultimate, thanks buddy.
I will try this and let you know. Will this application help me to find the maximum HDD size my system can accept?

[desiibond]

motherboard model number should flash during boot at POST (black background with grey text)

[He28]

Originally Posted by desiibond

motherboard model number should flash during boot at POST (black background with grey text)

Hi desiibond...
How is E6 thread going on??
How will I be able to find the max size of HDD for my system?
Thanks

[desiibond]

E6 thread??

current systems support huge size of HDD's, say it will be in terabytes.

post your mobo model number first.

[paroh]

i think it will support hard disk as ur computer have sata support. If there is a little dout u can buy ultra ata card. if u thinking of buying sata hard disk so go for ata card that supports sata other wise purchase ata card supporting ide

Note: U buy hard disk 99% it will work and for other 1% u can buy Ultra ata card later on. Card is cheap around Rs.600-700

[He28]

Hi all.
Thanks for your help.
Here is the data. I hope this is all info you need to help me.
Thanks again.


Motherboard Properties:
Motherboard ID = 09/26/2006-P4M800Pro-823-6A7L6M4AC-00
Motherboard Name = MSI PM8M3-V / PM8PM-IL
CPU Type = Intel Pentium 4 524, 3066 MHz (23 x 133)
Motherboard Chipset = VIA CN700 / P4M800 CE / P4M800 Pro / VN800

Front Side Bus Properties:
Bus Type Intel GTL+
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 133 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 533 MHz
Bandwidth 4266 MB/s
Memory Bus Properties:
Bus Type DDR2 SDRAM
Bus Width 64-bit
DRAM:FSB Ratio 8:4
Real Clock 267 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 533 MHz
Chipset Bus Properties:
Bus Type VIA V-Link
Bus Width 8-bit
Real Clock 67 MHz (ODR)
Effective Clock 533 MHz
Bandwidth 533 MB/s
Motherboard Manufacturer:
Company Name Micro-Star Int'l Co.,Ltd.
Product Information http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?f...=1&cat2_no=170
BIOS Download http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=downloadindex

BIOS Properties:
Vendor = Phoenix Technologies, LTD
Version = 6.00 PG
Release Date = 09/26/2006
Size = 512 KB
Boot Devices = Floppy Disk, Hard Disk, CD-ROM, ATAPI ZIP, LS-120
Capabilities = Flash BIOS, Shadow BIOS, Selectable Boot, EDD, BBS
Supported Standards = DMI, APM, ACPI, PnP
Expansion Capabilities = ISA, PCI, AGP, USB

[desiibond]

^^ you can use any HDD that is currently available in the market but you need to have Vista or XP with SP2 installed.

[He28]

Thanks desiibond
So you mean to say I can add a 250 GB SATA without any issues? So, why SP2 is needed for XP?
I will be really thankful if you can explain the use of SP2 for HDD compatibility. And is there any restriction for size of active partition?
Thanks.

[Zangetsu]

Originally Posted by He28

So, why SP2 is needed for XP?
I will be really thankful if you can explain the use of SP2 for HDD compatibility.

SP2 has many features....such as enhanced security,upgraded version of system drivers,bug fixes in XP initial version...etc

There is no question of SP2 4 HDD compatibility

[He28]

Thank you guys.
One last question....
Is it possible to find from above data how many SATA can be connected. If I am correct the boards usually support 4 parallel HDDs.
How many SATAs my mainboard can take.
Sorry, if I am bugging you with stupid questions.... I am 'Still Learning'.
Thanks again.

[m-jeri]

^^

Open the Cabby..check how many SATA ports in ur mobo... and look how many power cables left..

then calculate the no of HDD's that could be plugged...

Or get a HDD dock..so that single USB port and any no of HDD..just use it like OLD 8 bit video game catridges

Or use External cases...get a USB multiplier...

[He28]

Originally Posted by m-jeri

^^

Open the Cabby..check how many SATA ports in ur mobo... and look how many power cables left....

I checked... it has only 1 SATA port (red one)...
Is there any cable available that can accept 2 SATAs the way we use to connect old HDDs??

Originally Posted by m-jeri

^^

Or get a HDD dock..so that single USB port and any no of HDD..just use it like OLD 8 bit video game catridges

What's HDD dock? I am sorry again I am asking stupid questions.

Thanks you help.

[He28]

No help...??