I have my hard drive and dvd rom on one ide cable and my cd-rw and dvd-rw on the other ide cable but I want to add another hard drive for backup purposes. I would rather keep it internal (Oooh missus..!) Isn't there a card that slots into a spare pci slot that makes this possible? Or is there a better way of doing it?
Yes, you can buy a PCI ATA100/133 Controller Card, which plugs into PCI port, then gives you up to 4 more IDE Devices. They are fairly cheap, about $40AUD. CJC
Hey! If you have a dvd player and a dvd writer you dont need a cd r/wr. All dvd players and writers work on the principle of backward compatibiliy--they will also play and write cds!!!! I would ditch the cd and save money on the pci hd controller--they are expensive!! ianski7
agent-k, I know you are in the UK, just like moi....... I had a simialr dilema, and purchased a PCI ATA100/133 Controller Card from Ebay for £13.00 (new) It contains 2 extra IDE channels = 4 IDE Devices capable and operates with DMA and is ripping. This is what I bought http://www.winic.com.tw/680.htm Upgraded my PSU to 550Watts just in case the extra IDE devices caused an issue, but my old 400Watt was more than capable................(any excuse to buy something new). But like ianski7 suggested you could ditch the cdrw and use your dvdrw (I am sure you know this already). But if you burn a lot of cd's, you probably do not want to screw your dvdrw up......... I also purchased an external USB 2.0 Hard drive, this works well and is capable oif burning to dvd from.
Thanks for the advice lads, I need a PCI controller card. I need all three of the drives for different reasons. I use my dvd rom and my dvd writer for copying dvds 'on the fly', and my cd-rw is a 2-sheep burner for copying pc games. So you see, I cant lose any of them.
agent-k, get the PCI controller card, and get that DVD-ROM off of the IDE cable that your hard drive is on. You are taking a big performance hit, having it connected the way that your have it now. Connect the new hard drive onto the cable where your other hard drive is now. Also, it would not be a bad idea to make your DVD-RW the master on your Secondary.
GrandpaBW, Cheers for the advice. The dvd writer is the master on the secondary. The dvd rom is on the same cable as the hard drive to prevent a data collision when copying. As you know they should be on different cables and as I only have two cables at the moment it's the only way I can do it.
agent-k. That PCI card I have and my pc specs, enabled me to connect my dvd burner to the PCI card and burn flawlessly. 'on the fly', from HD's on the Primary, and from the dvdrom on the secondary.............all at maximum speeds.......... Also managed to burn from an external HD over USB to it on the PCI card and no data collisions and good speed................ All dependent on the PCI card and your current PC specs, I think with your specs, you will have no problems connecting your burner to the PCI card or even your new HD.................
