Want to add New HD.. NEEP HELP!!

I'm not really into computers that much so I need some Help. I have a P133 with 2.4GB HD. My friend bought a Western Digital 7200RPM 30.0Gig HD (Ultra ATA/100) and wnats to get rid of it. Its really cheap so I wanted to see if it would be compatible with my system. Anyone out there know if my motherboard would be able to support such a HD?? I have my motherboard tech manual but it only says supports 4 IDE hard drives..but how would it know (5 years later) that it couldn't support more advanced stuff?? And if this HD can't work...Is there one out there I can buy?? everything seems to be 20Gig or more and the stores tell me it wont work. THANKS FOR ANY HELP!

1. RE: Want to add New HD.. NEEP HELP!!
lbyard Jun-25-01 05:39 PM
In response to message 0

First see if you can identify the motherboard (or computer)... http://duxcw.com/digest/Fromshop/mb/det.htm. Post whatever info you can obtain if it becomes a problem. Larry

2. RE: Want to add New HD.. NEEP HELP!!
Passat4me Jul-01-01 03:10 AM
In response to message 1

Here's what i got from my computers technical manual. its an MB-8500TUC
here is some info on it.. not sure whats really relevant. i just wanna make sure the 30 gig HD will work. My friend is reluctant to let me open it up and try unless its worth it.
-supports 2 USB ports
-supports cpu bus clock from 50mhz to 66 mhz
-supports 25/30/33 mhz pci bus speed
-supports dram memory up to 128mb on board
PCI Enhanced IDE Built In on Board
-supports 4 IDE hard disk drives
-supports mode 4, Master Mode, high performance hard disk drives
-supports IDE interface with CD-rom
-supports high capacity hard disk drives
-supports LBA mode
i took these lines straight from the motherboards manual. hopefully this helps. thanks a lot.

3. RE: Want to add New HD.. NEEP HELP!!
lbyard Jul-01-01 04:57 PM
In response to message 2

The motherboard is made by Biostar. The latest BIOS is at http://www.biostar.com.tw/support/8500tuc.htm. Judging from the age of the BIOS, 1997, Mode 4, probably means PIO Mode 4 and not UDMA Mode 4 = ATA/66. PIO mode 4 is about half the speed of an ATA/33 drive interface. The current BIOS probably does not directly support hard disks greater than 8.4 GBytes. However, the full capacity of the drive can probably be realized by installing EZ with WD’s Data Lifeguard Tools http://www.wdc.com/service/ftp/drives.html. A 7,200 RPM drive will certainly be faster, but the old interface will noticeably slow-it-down. Also, see http://duxcw.com/dcforum/DCForumID6/164.html. Larry