On Fri, 15 Mar 2002 20:50:25 -0800, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > 1) Will the kernel be able to see a 20-100 GB drive if the >BIOS > can't see it ? Last time I checked, the kernel >wasn't > bothered by the BIOS's limitations, but last time I >checked, > a ten GB drive was astronomically huge.
I've had mainly good but some bad experiences in putting 'huge' drives into old equipment. Usually, as you say, Linux won't care and will see the whole drive - you'll probably need to be aware of the 512MB limit problem with the bios however. Sometimes though Linux won't get a chance to see the drive because the box itself won't get past POST with the big drive. I had this happen to me recently with a 40GB IDE drive hanging off the onboard controller of an ASUS TX97-X motherboard. Nothing I did worked, the motherboard just wouldnt boot with this drive plugged in and set for full capacity. Luckily IBM drive allowed me to jumper it for 32GB and this worked (Linux sees only 32GB though of course). Your machine is probably significantly older than mine and you may have similar problems. Needless to say I've never ever come across a problem like this even with positively ancient computers using SCSI drives :) > 2) Should I be worried about the heat of a 7200 RPM drive >? [snip description of where drive will live] Yes, I'd be concerned. I use only IBM drives and the 7200RPM versions do get extremely hot. I think I know what you mean when you say the drives are closely packed (no air space between them) - I'd get a front mounted fan that sits in front of the drive stack if you can - this should make a difference. Be aware of course that most heat from the drive stack will be carried away from the drives via the steel mounting panels - its up to you then to make sure that air circulates around to help the heat sink action of the steel case itself. Best regards, Craig
