Just a quick question for all of you more tech savvy than myself. I have a Sager NP5660 laptop (2.4GHz P4, 256MB, 40 GB HD)that has 4 USB 2.0 ports integrated into it. I also have a 160GB maxtor drive on a Promise Ultra 133 controller in my wifes computer that I keep MP3's and movies on. I had to get the Promise controller for her machine so that I could use the full 160GB. I want to know if USB drives have the same 137GB limitation that most motherboards have for the IDE drives. Also does it being a laptop figure in at all? I am running Win XP Pro SP1. Thanks for the help.

In modern Operating Systems (such as Windows 2000/XP) drive size is limited only by the OS itself. If your BIOS only recognizes 137GB or smaller, then you just have to have the MBR (master boot record) on a partition that it can recognize. Once you are booted into your OS (win/linux) the drives will be configured and you will see the rest.

This is fine, since no one would have a 200GB "C: drive"

-myrkat

Do you by chance then know what the limitation of Windows Xp Pro is?

Well, Windows (and other modern OS's and most BIOS's for that matter) use something called "Interrupt 13" or "Int13" - this has a theoretical maximum of 9TB (that's TERABYTES!)

So there is no limit in sight, really.

-myrkat

PS: before you ask, a terabyte is:
1,024 gigabytes or One trillion bytes.

I appreciate the help, and yes I know what a TB is, I used to be stationed at Cheyenne Mountain and we had a 12 TB disk array, I mostly work on Sun equipment so I am familer with the limitations of Sun and Solaris. So if I have the 160GB drive as an external USB 2.0 drive and boot my system it will recognise the whole drive since the USB drivers are loaded after windows has started up, right?

Hey, I used to work at NSA...
We'll just leave it at that.
-myrkat

I work for NSA now, I am in an Intel unit in South Korea.

Heh, I was in Ft. Meade (HQ) but in "A Group" (AROF)

-myrkat

I'm here ina a AIA squadron, but only till the end of march and then I'm moving to the U.K.going to be in a Special Ops Group doing mobile comm. So will it work loading it as a external?

I bet I know where you're going

As for the drive, YES. It will load. I am not real partial to USB (it's more problematic than Firewire, and slower, IMHO). However, if you get a 3.5" external case, all you are doing is connecting the IDE drive via a bridge to USB/Firewire (BTW: there are combo versions of cases, too).

You should have no problems. Remember, if this is for a laptop computer, all 3.5" drive enclosures are powered by an AC adapter (read: extra plug/wall brick). I copy my mp3's on 2.5" external drives, so I can use a PS/2 power tap and not have to carry an extra plug (plus, the 2.5" is powered by the Firewire bus, so on my desktop, I do not need a power connection at all).

Good luck to ya, and "aim high"
-myrkat

I have to ship my computer to England so I will be without it for up to 2 1/2 months. This is why I want to take the 160GB drive with me, so I can have all my movies, MP3's and programs with me. I appreciate all your help.

Ah, Korea! Korean is the greatest language in the world (I speak over 10 languages.) Hangeul is brilliant. Ah well, had to get in some words!

-Gumpan

I went out and bought a USB enclosure, works great, Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it.

Hopefully a USB 2.0 enclosure... otherwise, you may be at it all night should you want to move stuff off of/on to the drive.

-myrkat

Its definatly USB 2.0, I started a ghost of it last night after I bought it and it is maintaining about 120MB a minute transfer rate to the CD-R, I'm up to Disk 73 and still have about 35GB's to go.