Max supported HDD size on Intel DQ45EK board (Q45 chipset)?

[sirhawkeye64]

I have an old Core 2 Duo (3.0 GHz) that has an Intel DQ45EK motherboard in it (which is obviously based on the Q45 chipset).

I was wondering if anyone knows what is the maximum hard drive capacity/size that these boards can handle? I have two 4TB drives sitting around I wanted to put into this thing and turn it into a small server. I would be running Windows 7 or Windows Home Server 2011 (haven't decided yet as I don't need the extra features of WHS 2011, just basic file sharing for my home network).

 

[Outlander_04]

64 bit windows?

 

[sirhawkeye64]

64 bit windows?

Yes I am probably going to be running Windows 7 64-bit on this. But I thought that this doesn't matter as much. I thought that the whole 64-bit vs 32-bit had more to do with computer memory (RAM) than hard disk space capacity/support. Furthermore, I thought it was also also on the OS version (regardless if it was 32-bit or 64-bit) that also affects HDD support...?

I haven't kept up on hardware tech for the past few years so I'm a bit behind in all the new technologies (hence why I'm trying to recycle an old dual core from 8+ years ago rather than just build a new home file server).

 

[Outlander_04]

Run Win 10 64 bit and you will not have a problem or any configuration issues

 

[sirhawkeye64]

This is only a Core 2 Duo E8400 with 4GB RAM (the system maxes out at 4GB). Plus it's an ITX board so no options for add-in video cards (only a PCI-E x1 slot), so I'm wondering how well this will work, even with all non-essential services turned off... Plus, I thought this all goes back to the BIOS, even though Windows does it's own detection of physical hardware and drives. it still has to use the drivers from the manufacturer (in this case, Intel) so I'm still wondering if even using Windows 10 will do it.