Dead Hard Drive

Question

I've a Dell Dimension 8300 bought 2004 in which the hard drive has just died. It's been clunking for months so I knew 'the end was nigh'. I'm now looking to install a new hard drive and would appreciate advice. The operating system is XP Home Edition 01.07.2004 Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3

1 What I'd like is a new drive with much greater capacity than the old one. Is there a drive available at say 1T compatible with the PC?

2 Can you let me know the maximum memory I can install using memory cards please? From what I can gather the amount is presently just over 2MB.

3 I've got the original OS disc, also one for Vista 32 bit and also have Windows 7 on my laptop although this came without a re-installation disc. Ideally I'd like to install Windows 7. Are there any issues which might prevent this?

4 I've read that there might be problems with graphics and sound but guess that I can get new cards to install fairly easily. Am I being too optimistic?

5 I've always had to use a Getnet USB wireless device in order to connect wirelessly to my router and home network. Is there a suitable card I can install in the body of the PC?

You will have gathered from my questions that I know little about PC's so really need help on a step by step and basic level. If I've omitted any vital information please let me know. I really would appreciate some help.

Cheers.

Steve

I

rdunnill · Accepted Answer

Ideally I'd like to install Windows 7. Are there any issues which might prevent this?

You need a video card with Windows 7 drivers. I recommend the GT 610 PCI. You will need the latest BIOS to use this card. (I walked someone through the process last Christmas.)

You can download a generic retail Windows 7 ISO here and burn it DVD; it will need to be activated with 30 days, and you can use the product key from an OEM disc purchased from Newegg.

If you really want to speed up your PC, I suggest using an SSD as an OS drive and a traditional hard drive for applications and data. In that configuration, the 8300 should support even large hard drives of 3tb and 4tb capacities.

osprey4 · Accepted Answer

Steve, I've got limited experience with wireless cards in desktops. Linksys, despite being bounced from one corporate partner to another, still seems to make good stuff.

osprey4 · Answer

Hi Steve,

A 1TB SATA hard drive should work fine. Your system can take 4GB of RAM but obviously your 32-bit OS limits the usable amount of memory.

For upgrading to Windows 7, I strongly recommend running the MS upgrade adviser.

You cannot use another Dell OS disc. It won't work on your older model. You need to buy a full or upgrade license.

Finding an internal wireless card is easy. They're all pretty much the same.

draftbass · Answer

Thanks Osprey, this is helpful.  Can I ask if you have a view in which wireless card I might install? Steve

rdunnill · Answer

Can I ask if you have a view in which wireless card I might install?

This USB wireless adapter is amazing: I've used it with Windows, Linux, and even MacOS. Just plug it into a spare USB 2.0 port and install the drivers.

osprey4 · Answer

Steve, Good to hear. Let us know how the upgrades go.

draftbass · Answer

Thanks.  I've already got a Netgear USB but had in mind to install an internal card this time. Steve

draftbass · Answer

Thanks for the reply.  A couple of suggestions have come in from other forum members.  I'm well on the way now to getting to grips what's needed. Steve

draftbass · Answer

I'll do some research.  Many thanks for the reply it's very helpful. Steve

Locked Topics – Desktops General

Dead Hard Drive

Was this post helpful?