Can a HD be too large for Win XP?

and the drive would be in addition to the origianl so I think the term is slave.

Just make sure you buy the right drive type (IDE or SATA), there is a place to mount it in the case and you have the right cables.

VAPCMD

I have an extra cable in my computer that's not being used and the website lists it as an IDE, so I should be OK.

probably won't get it until next week with the holiday and all.

The HD I was looking at is a Caviar with an 8 meg cache, but for $20 more there's a Caviar Blue with a 16 meg cache. I know they always seem to say more is better, but is it really that important?

higher rotation speed, longer warranty, etc., so exactly what drives are you looking at ?

VAPCMD

PS...for a link, use Newegg.com ... they have good selection and good product info

but they seem to only have sata drives for the most part. Here's the one I was looking at http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-7200RPM-Buffer-3-5INCH/dp/B000O9T5IA/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top and for the one with a 16 meg cache just scroll down a little to find the link.

system ?

VAPCMD

there's no sata cables in it, just ide. As for the drives, would one be better than the other or just go for the better price?

Very little difference if any in performance between the drives. However the retail boxed drive indicates a one year warranty and the other drive with the 16MB Cache appears to have a 3 year warranty. Please double check.

VAPCMD

about the warranties:
I have checked and found that the Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer Ultra ATA/100, 3.5INCH, 8.9MS Seek, Caviar Series Se Re has 1 year warranty and the Western Digital 500 GB Caviar Blue PATA 7200 RPM 16 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD5000AAKB has 3 year limited warranty as yo have seen in our website. Many of the items listed on our website are covered by a manufacturer's warranty. This information should be listed in the owner's manual for the product.

It's not exactly what I was hoping for since I don't have the manuals. I recall being told once by a tech person where I work that if something is going to fail on some equipment it generally happens early on, which is why he never bought extended warraties that are optional.

about the warranties:
I have checked and found that the Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer Ultra ATA/100, 3.5INCH, 8.9MS Seek, Caviar Series Se Re has 1 year warranty and the Western Digital 500 GB Caviar Blue PATA 7200 RPM 16 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD5000AAKB has 3 year limited warranty as yo have seen in our website. Many of the items listed on our website are covered by a manufacturer's warranty. This information should be listed in the owner's manual for the product.

It's not exactly what I was hoping for since I don't have the manuals. I recall being told once by a tech person where I work that if something is going to fail on some equipment it generally happens early on, which is why he never bought extended warraties that are optional.

My best advice, double check the mfg's site re the warranties on the drives before purchasing. Whenever there's any question, I always go to the mfg's site to verify warranties....link below.

http://support.wdc.com/warranty/policy.asp?custtype=end&lang=en

Based on the retail kit product number "WD5000JBRTL" looks like it may be a 3 year warranty.

WD Caviar Blue (WD Caviar, WD Caviar SE, WD Caviar SE16)........ Bulk ..... Retail ......................................................................................................................3-year ......3-year3

Product Designator: BB, LB, JB, PB, JD, JS, KS, KD, KS, ABKS, AABS, AAJS, AAKS, AABB, AAJB, AAKB

Frequently Asked Questions
1 Any Non-Kitted Hard Drive sold to Authorized WD Distributors.
2 Effective for products purchased since March 1st, 2007.
3 Effective for products purchased since August 1st, 2007. Drives purchased previously have 1 year warranty.
4 Effective for products purchased since March 1st, 2007. Drives purchased previously have 2 year warranty.
5 Effective for products purchased since October 1st, 2007. Drives purchased previously have 1 year warranty.

VAPCMD

"Here's the answer I got from Amazon about the warranties:
I have checked and found that the Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM 8MB Buffer Ultra ATA/100, 3.5INCH, 8.9MS Seek, Caviar Series Se Re has 1 year warranty and the Western Digital 500 GB Caviar Blue PATA 7200 RPM 16 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD5000AAKB has 3 year limited warranty as yo have seen in our website. Many of the items listed on our website are covered by a manufacturer's warranty. This information should be listed in the owner's manual for the product.

It's not exactly what I was hoping for since I don't have the manuals. I recall being told once by a tech person where I work that if something is going to fail on some equipment it generally happens early on, which is why he never bought extended warraties that are optional.

I wrote back to Amazon letting them know their answer didn't quite cut it and they replied with:

After researching I found that the item "Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM...." is covered by only 1 year warranty. However, the item "Western Digital 500 GB Caviar Blue PATA 7200 RPM...." is covered under 3-years limited warranty.

I looked at the warranty page for WD, it says at the top:

No limited warranty is provided by WD unless your WD Product ("Product") was purchased from an authorized distributor or authorized reseller. Distributors may sell Products to resellers who then sell Products to end users.

A few inches lower it reads:

For WD authorized distributors and resellers, please see our Frequently Ask Questions (FAQ) section for internal hard drive warranty information.

Western Digital Branded retail kits and internal hard drives (not purchased as part of a retail hard drive kit), come with various limited warranties. Please refer to the following warranty tables for specific warranty periods.

But in the FAQ it says this:

Q: To which products do the new warranty periods apply?
A: The new warranty periods will apply to bulk desktop hard drives shipped to our authorized distributors. WD Scorpio

so I called them a few minutes ago. If I can believe what I was told by the rep, what the word limited means is that the warranty is limited to 3 years, but if anything goes wrong within that time it'll be replaced. I'm almost tempted to call back and see if I get a diffrent answer.