I have an old Gateway ATX Tower Bro Essential 667C built back in 2000 which I am looking to upgrade. The computer runs just fine, and I just upgraded it to XP (from ME) today, which also works just fine.
I would like to use this computer as a home network storage device, but to do this I will need to add more storage space as it only has about 5 GB free once the operating system is installed.
I opened the computer up and there is only 1 place to install a hard drive rather than there being the existing drive and an empty spot and there are no available power ribbons either, so I will have to replace the existing drive with a new one. I'm kind of on a budget with this project, so I think I'm looking in the range of 80-160 GB of space or so. I'd like to stay under $100 and that much space should cover the back-ups and network file storage for my 2 laptops and additional PC.
I did some looking online to see what I could figure out about how to determine what would be compatible with the rest of my hardware, but I did not get any really clear answers. I also contacted Gateway customer service, but I was told that they could not assist me since my computer was a "legacy model".
What I currently have in the computer is as follows:
Floppy Drives - Mitsumi 3.5-inch Floppy Disk Drive Revision 1 [Part #5501205]
CD Drive - Yamaha RW Drive (Not sure of futher informaton)
Hard Drives - Quantum lct15 7.5-GB 4400-RPM Ultra ATA/66 Hard Disk Drive [Part #5501574]
Memory - 128-MB 133/100/66-MHz 64-Bit 4-Clock SDRAM DIMM [Part #5000528]
AND
64-MB 133/100/66-MHz 72-Bit 4-Clock 8x8 SDRAM DIMM [Part #5000526]
Microsoft Software - XP Home Edition
Motherboards - MSI Motherboard Pentium III - 667-MHz [Part #2511083]
Optical Drives - LG 20X/48X IDE CD-ROM [Part #5501485]
So I understand that I currently have an ATA/66 hard drive (also know as IDE for Western Digital products?) But what I need to know if what I can upgrade to and still have it work with the rest of my hardware.
Also, and this seems wierd as my husband (who the computer originally belonged to) swears that he had this hooked up to an ethernet line in college, in the back there does not seem to be an ethernet port. What I see appears to be a phone port, and my ethernet cable does not fit into it. I'm not sure when ethernet ports became common practice, but assuming this is not an ethernet port, I can install one fairly easily (and inexpensivly) can't ? It would be just the same as putting in a wireless network card (which I have done), correct?
Also, as far as turning this computer in a NAS goes, I have read that a lot of people suggested partitioning off a small section of the hard drive for the OS (min. operating requirment plus 1 GB), and then using the rest for storage. I don't know how this will effect my ability to access the files via my home network. I plan on simply making the computer visible and the files modifiable on my network and putting all shared documents into the "shared" folder. I was also planning on using the Windows Remote Desktop Connection software to eliminate the need for a monitor, keyboard and mouse at the NAS location. Does this sound like it would work?
All of this is moot of course if I can't get a compatable hard drive into this puppy which would give it enough usable storage space to be effective in this function.
Thank you all in advance for your assistance!
I would like to use this computer as a home network storage device, but to do this I will need to add more storage space as it only has about 5 GB free once the operating system is installed.
I opened the computer up and there is only 1 place to install a hard drive rather than there being the existing drive and an empty spot and there are no available power ribbons either, so I will have to replace the existing drive with a new one. I'm kind of on a budget with this project, so I think I'm looking in the range of 80-160 GB of space or so. I'd like to stay under $100 and that much space should cover the back-ups and network file storage for my 2 laptops and additional PC.
I did some looking online to see what I could figure out about how to determine what would be compatible with the rest of my hardware, but I did not get any really clear answers. I also contacted Gateway customer service, but I was told that they could not assist me since my computer was a "legacy model".
What I currently have in the computer is as follows:
Floppy Drives - Mitsumi 3.5-inch Floppy Disk Drive Revision 1 [Part #5501205]
CD Drive - Yamaha RW Drive (Not sure of futher informaton)
Hard Drives - Quantum lct15 7.5-GB 4400-RPM Ultra ATA/66 Hard Disk Drive [Part #5501574]
Memory - 128-MB 133/100/66-MHz 64-Bit 4-Clock SDRAM DIMM [Part #5000528]
AND
64-MB 133/100/66-MHz 72-Bit 4-Clock 8x8 SDRAM DIMM [Part #5000526]
Microsoft Software - XP Home Edition
Motherboards - MSI Motherboard Pentium III - 667-MHz [Part #2511083]
Optical Drives - LG 20X/48X IDE CD-ROM [Part #5501485]
So I understand that I currently have an ATA/66 hard drive (also know as IDE for Western Digital products?) But what I need to know if what I can upgrade to and still have it work with the rest of my hardware.
Also, and this seems wierd as my husband (who the computer originally belonged to) swears that he had this hooked up to an ethernet line in college, in the back there does not seem to be an ethernet port. What I see appears to be a phone port, and my ethernet cable does not fit into it. I'm not sure when ethernet ports became common practice, but assuming this is not an ethernet port, I can install one fairly easily (and inexpensivly) can't ? It would be just the same as putting in a wireless network card (which I have done), correct?
Also, as far as turning this computer in a NAS goes, I have read that a lot of people suggested partitioning off a small section of the hard drive for the OS (min. operating requirment plus 1 GB), and then using the rest for storage. I don't know how this will effect my ability to access the files via my home network. I plan on simply making the computer visible and the files modifiable on my network and putting all shared documents into the "shared" folder. I was also planning on using the Windows Remote Desktop Connection software to eliminate the need for a monitor, keyboard and mouse at the NAS location. Does this sound like it would work?
All of this is moot of course if I can't get a compatable hard drive into this puppy which would give it enough usable storage space to be effective in this function.
Thank you all in advance for your assistance!