I have a 4 year old branded computer from HCL with 80 GB hard disk. Is there any way I can find out if it's SATA or PATA, by software or any other means? If it is a PATA hard disk,can I team it up with a new SATA one or will there be compatibility issues?
Open the cabinet
And see wheather it's connected using IDE cable if yes then its PATA
If not then its SATA. SATA drives r connected using SATA cables to SATA ports(usually red coloured cables)
Otherwise go 2 ur BIOS........u can know wheather u r using SATA/PATA HDD 4m thr.....
U can also use TuneUp Utilities(Machine information) to know this
If u r using PATA HDD u can go for SATA HDD.......thr will b no campatibility issue with tat........
BTW 4 years old machine denotes its PATA HDD probably......!!
Yes, most probably it will have PATA HD only.
It will most be PATA or IDE HDD.
Thanks friends, I just find out about my hard disk using Tune Up Utilities and surprisingly,it is a SATA hard disk.The model number is WDC WD800BD-22LRA0. I will be buying a 250 GB SATA this weekend, preferably from WD. Can I format or partition the hard disk myself? Please guide me about how to do it.
By the way,is 7800 gtx a better card in terms of game performance than 9600 gt, without taking into account the DirectX 9 or 10 factor?
Yes you can format it yourself. Right click on My Computer>Manage>Disk Management> Right Click & Start making partitions as per your requirements.
Or you can boot via G-Parted CD & do the partition.
@swaroop123
Yes, 9600GT is ofcourse a better card, compared to 7800.
