Robert Stevenson

A: No, it doesn't sound right. Most motherboards support four EIDE devices. You only mentioned three EIDE devices in your system. So even if you have a Zip drive or some other EIDE device installed on your PC, you should be able to add that extra hard drive at minimal expense.

Most motherboards carry two built-in EIDE channels, each with its own connector on the motherboard. The connectors are located adjacent to each other and are easy to find. Just pop the cover off your PC and trace your current hard drive cable back to its motherboard connector.

Each channel supports two devices. Some cheap PCs use EIDE cables that have a single device connector. Because your PC came with three EIDE drives, at least one of your cables has two device connectors: one at the end and one near the middle. If the other cable lacks a middle device connector, you must replace it with an EIDE cable that has two device connectors. Either way, you'll wind up with one free connector for your drive. The only other system requirement is a free bay where you'll mount the new drive. (A configuration note: Put both hard drives on one cable and the DVD and CD-RW drives on the other cable so your hard disks will move data at peak speed.)

If you have a fourth EIDE device connected to your system, you can still attach your old drive if you have a free expansion slot. An EIDE expansion card such as the ULTRA ATA/66 PCI IDE controller card from Promise Technology will add the extra EIDE ports you need for about $80.