Is there a max amount of hard drive space you can install into a computer?

Question

I got a emachine w3619 for christmas and I want to upgrade it since its super slow and has very little space on it, besides it was free for me so may as well make it run well.

runs on vista
Hard drive 120GB 720 rpm
celeron D 3.46gz
theres an 1 empty PCI express slot x16
1 empty PCI slot
and I'm already updating the 512mb to the 2gb max.

any tips on how to improve it. I never have had to upgrade a computer before.

Answer 1

THe Ram upgrade you mentioned should be all thats needed. Vista can't run well on anything less than 2GB.



To determine the RAM you need, run the online Scanner here - use java

http://www.memoryx.net/



You motherboard limits the number of internal hard drives you can install (as well as PSU requirements). You should have at least 2 SATA channels and one IDE channel (2 devices per channel). Hard Drives come in SATA (I or II) inteface and IDE inteface (SCSI is not common on regular Consumer Desktops).



Installing an internal Hard Drive is not always needed, sometimes an external drive will work. People usually only install an extra internal drive if there have a RAID array, or if their system drive is too small for programs (exclude pictures and media because those can go on a second drive).



If this is the case, buy a new internal 3.5" SATA (or SATA II) drive and clone your existing primary drive to the new drive, then swap them. You generally need no more than 300GB for a primary drive, an 120GB is sufficient. Clone your Drive with Acronis True Image (works the best).



500GB is usually under $100.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150014+1035915133+103530113&name=400GB+-+750GB



Most people just get a USB external drive and put their media and documents on it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150414+1035907839+131021357&name=400GB+-+750GB

Answer 2

I really doubt your harddrive space is a problem here. Especially with a 7200 rpm harddrive, which is fairly fast... I can almost promise that, assuming it doesn't have a defect, your problem lies elsewhere.



I think the RAM upgrade is going to be the best bang for your buck, and you should see a drastic increase in speed. Vista is made to run with 1gb+ of RAM, and is much happier with 2gb. I think it's a crime to consumers that manufacturers are selling them with 512mb.



The processor isn't the best, but hey, my computer has a slower one and it runs just fine!



To answer your question though, there IS a limit to the capacity of harddrives on a system, but let's just say it's pretty much impossible to reach at this point. You will sooner reach the power and connection limits of your motherboard than the capacity limits on the harddrive space.



Official recommendation: Upgrade your RAM, THEN figure out if you need something else to speed it up. I think you'll be happy after that alone.

Answer 3

The PC hardware itself does not have a hard drive capacity limit, but the format you use does, for example, anywhere from FAT(16?) to FAT32 requires you to partition the hard drive to a minimum size (I forgot how much), but of you use NTFS, which is compatible with Windows NT, 2K, XP, and Vista (2K=2000)



Since you are using Vista, you can use any hard drive size you want, but you MUST format it NTFS, and if you get a drive larger than 200GBs, you may want to partition it into 200GB segments anyway because a large drive will be a pain to format and defrag (could take up to 24 hours on some large drives to do a full format or defrag)

Answer 4

adding another hard drive is only one other aspect to it. In addition you could add an external USB hardrive, you can get a fairly large one for pretty cheap ($99). The next thing you would want to upgrade is your ram, that is where you will see the biggest improvement in speed. Just be sure that all the ram match in type and size (all 256mb or all 512mb or all 1gb) as well as make sure your mother board is compatible with it.

Answer 5

Runn a higher amount of ram and im surprised vista is running it ussaly doesnt runn unnless a 1gb of ram and there is no limit to hard drive space

Answer 6

Your hard disk space is fine.

It's just that Vista requires minimum 1 GB RAM!

Increase your RAM to 2 GB and it will be fine.

The hard disk space can be increased by buying a new one of high capacity like say 160GB or more . Maximum can be 1TB (1TB=1000GB, but this is not available for PC's if I am right)

Answer 7

Yes, there is a limit, check with the manufacturer website to find out what it is for yours.