Installing new hard drive on older system

Hi guys

I'm new on the site and very confused about a lot of the information I've been getting on replacing a hard drive.

I have an old HP Pavilion with 256MB RAM, an AMD 366/mhz processor, and a 9GB hard drive. Sad, but true.

I know it's not as good as alot of the stuff out there, but I just wanted to add a little more internal hard drive space until I can get a new system.

I am running Windows XP upgraded from the original 98. Original HD runs good but is very low on space.

I got a new 160GB Western Digital Caviar SE internal EIDE 7200 RPM hard drive as a gift. Is there any way to make it work without burning out my computer? Everyone I've asked says something different, and when I tried to install the drive myself the computer froze at the welcome screen and wouldn't boot.

Does anyone out there have any words of wisdom? (besides the obvious,since I can't buy new right now)

 

The problem is your computer does NOT support BIG HD.

Over 40G.

The thing is you need a program that will accept the 160G WD.
I don't remember the name there is a program that the OS will boot first and your HD will work, Or you could partition your harddisk to 4 part 40G each.

 

I suggest you spend some time browsing through the Knowledge Base articles on drive size limitations on Western Digital's website. I'm sure they have helpful info there. This is a common issue, especially for older systems.