How to: Determine type of hard drive.
Solution:
Refer to the hard drive user manual.
CAUTION 1: This task should be performed by a qualified computer technician.
CAUTION 2: Please observe steps to reduce the potential damage to computer components from electrostatic discharge.
NOTE: Refer to the hard drive user manual for technical specifications of the hard disk.
1) Determine the hard drive type.
NOTE 1: There are several drive types that are used in personal computers. One type cannot be directly substituted for the other type. The drive types are:
MFM
RLL
ESDI
SCSI
IDE/EIDE
NOTE 2: There is quite a bit of variation among SCSI, IDE, and EIDE hard drives. Not all hard drives of the same type are always compatible with one another. Before purchasing a second hard drive, contact next-level support or a hard drive manufacturer, to make sure that any new drives you purchase are compatible with existing drives already installed in your computer.
2) Determine the type of cluster addressing that the hard drive supports.
NOTE 1: Cluster addressing include:
Logical Block Addressing (LBA)
Extended Cylinder, Head, Sector Addressing (CHS/ECHS)
Large Addressing
Normal Addressing
Big IDE Addressing
NOTE 2: BIOS issues listed below will also effect the type of cluster addressing that can be used on a hard drive:
Plug-and-Play (PnP) BIOS
BIOS - Auto Detect
BIOS - User Definable
