On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 15:48:12 +0000, Tony Sivori wrote:
> My motherboard (Abit BE7 [non SATA, non-RAID]) currently has no available
> EIDE connectors. On the Primary channel, I have two hard drives. hda holds
> Windows 98SE, Windows 2000 (yes I know it is a waste and I look forward to
> the happy day when I can put the space to better use) and a few extra
> storage partitions. hdb holds Mandrake Linux and several storage
> partitions. On the secondary channel I have a CD burner as master, and a
> DVD reader as slave.

> I'd like to get a large HD and use it to install more versions of Linux,
> and for additional storage. I just got SuSE 9.1 Professional in the mail
> with the Novel free technical resource kit and I'm eager to install it.
> Also, I'd like to try a permanent HD install of Knoppix.

> So my questions are, if I buy a retail box HD (Western Digital, most
> likely) that is larger than 137 GB, shouldn't a drive that size come with
> a PCI IDE card in the box that will work even though my current IDE
> connectors are all in use?

> Will I be able to install additional Linux versions to hdc and continue
> multi boot with Lilo? Or would I need to use the new drive for storage
> only and will I need to contain my additional Linux installs to hdb (or
> hda)?

> I know I could solve this problem and free up an IDE connection by buying
> a new DVD burner / CD burner combo and a new hard drive, but buying a DVD
> burner and a new hard drive is a little more than I want to spend right
> now.