Upgrading. About a second internal drive...

[ncpaladin]

I'm a novice with computers. So here is what I've got- Piece-made tower from the spring of 2001. ASUS A7M266 motherboard, 256M RAM, WD400BB-32AUA1 hard drive, Windows XP with all updates, just added an A OPEN DVD-RW and a StarTech USB 2.0 PCI card. I did some research and found out I can upgrade my memory to 2 gigs, I'll settle for using dual 512 sticks, I'm thinking about the Kingston HyperX pack... The other question is, my current 40gig hard drive is an AT-IDE? type. I would like to add a second internal HD with at least 250gig for my music collection (Then I can finally buy an ipod.) Can I add a second internal to this kind of system? If yes, what are my restrictions? Am I just better off with an external HD pushed through one of the USB 2.0 ports? Thanx.

[Shinma]

... ASUS A7M266 ... I'm thinking about the Kingston HyperX pack...
The other question is, my current 40gig hard drive is an AT-IDE? type...
I would like to add a second internal HD with at least 250gig ...
Can I add a second internal to this kind of system? If yes, what are my restrictions? ...

If you have a preference for the Kingston brand,
Supported memory modules listed at Kingston Technology
Alternative,

• Crucial Technology

Mobo stated has two ATA/IDE connectors.

You can use standard ATA/IDE hard disc drives.

Note the following posted at ASUS:
A7M266 BIOS 1006
Add HDD LBA48bit mode support...

Advised to update the mobo BIOS prior to installation of the 250 GB HDD.
The last BIOS update listed is 1008.02b
b: Reference to beta.
Last standard BIOS listed is 1007.
Downloads available from ASUS.

If unfamiliar with the BIOS update process,
Have someone with experiences deal with it
Since incorrectly flashing the mobo will leave you with a doorstop/non-functioning mobo.