Just want to make sure I got the right drive for my computer and when I installed one before I rember it asked me ATA33-66-100 ? which one do I do or does it ask me? Will be backing my stuff up, so have not put the install disk in yet, just would like to know before I do it.

Sue You want it to run in the 'best' mode which is ATA/100. Just as long as you have the correct 40 PIN 80 Conductor, IDE Interface cable, the BIOS should identify this Disk Drive correctly and manage the installation. What do you need to run in Ultra ATA/100 Mode? Similar to Ultra ATA/66, there are basically four requirements: 1. An Ultra ATA/100-capable system board and BIOS. (Ultra ATA/100 expansion cards are also available.) 2. An Ultra ATA-capable 40 pin, 80 conductor cable. 3. An operating system capable of DMA transfers, such as Windows 95 (OSR2), 98, and Windows Millennium Edition. 4. An Ultra ATA/100-capable device. Don;t forget that you may need to perform an FDISK and then FORMAT on this new HDD. See the HOWTOS section on the left for advice on that. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I should have put this information forward instead of ATA 100: For Ultra-ATA/133 operation you need [as was for Ultra-ATA/66 and /100] an 80-core ribbon cable. Tech stuff: Each signal line and data line is assigned to an own mass line here. That is necessary to reduce "crosstalk" between the signal lines during high frequencies. In case you have an older 40-core IDE cable the interface will automatically switch over to the much slower Ultra-ATA/33 operation mode. Performace reference for the different ATA modes: Mode Transfer Rate Cycle Time Cable ATA/133 133 MBytes/s 30 ns 80-core ATA/100 100 MBytes/s 40 ns 80-core ATA/66 66 MBytes/s 60 ns 80-core ATA/33 33 MBytes/s 120 ns 40-core

The Drive came with a ribbon cable to hook hard drive with, so I will use this, I do not have a expansion card installed but pretty sure its got one to begin with? do not know, I think mine is ATA/100 already? Where do I look to see that inside case or can I see it in the computer before I start.

I've installed 3 Maxtor 7200 RPMs. For most motherboards you have at least 2 if not 4 ATA plug ins. You should see that your first hard drive is already connected to the Primary or MASTER which is the end of the ribbon. All you have to do to install your second hard drive is to mount it physically. Ensure that you leave adequate room to ensure proper cooling. While not bad at first, over time it may damage your drive. Secondly, connect the middle part of the ribbon (that was already connected to your other hard drive) to your newly installed hard drive. DO NOT ADJUST jumper settings. Maxtor drives already come with the jumper in the auto detect mode. and Lastly plug in the 4 pin power connector to your drive. If you have run out of power connectors from your power supply, you can purchase one at COMPUSA, a Y 4 pin power splitter for 2 bucks. Do NOT use the software that came with your hard drive for XP. You can go under control panel, administrative tools, computer management, storage, disk management. Your new drive should be recognized as installed already so you just have to right click on your new drive and format. If this is going to be your second drive without an operating system, ensure you format as a single partition. Also use NTFS formats for your hard drives since it is the most efficient for hard drive space.