Any idea what interface Maxtor N256 internal hard drive will have?

Question

The hard drive in my old PC has died & I want to replace it to prolong the life of PC - the hard drive is a Maxtor N256, model no 31536U2...I need to establish what interface it is to buy new compatible hard drive - any ideas what it is or how I can find out (other than asking Maxtor/Seagate)?

Answer 1

the maxtor n256 is a old drive(1998)so its going to use a parralel ata(pata) interface
these are a 20pin connector and the standard in most p.c,s,so when buying a new drive ask for a pata ide hard drive,they will then ask you what size ,then thats up to you,but pata drives are quite inexpensive for example the 160GB Maxtor STM3160215A DiamondMax 20, IDE (PATA(http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=534754)is a excellent pata drive with a capacity of 160gb for only £29
its just a case of fitting this were you previous drive was,formatting it,or if your going to install xp on the drive,just let windows xp format it and install windows xp
large hard drives have dropped in price lately and you can get a 400 Gb Samsung HD400LD Spinpoint T, IDE (PATA(http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=442829)for only £60,this would be more than enough for most p.c users and in terms of price per gigabyte its a bargain
good luck lisa!

Answer 2

If your not sure take along to your nearest computer shop they will know what to sell you. Seagate are a good choise and you will find that any hard drive would fit as long as it's not a SATA drive unless you have the ports onboard to install the sata drive.

Answer 3

Look on the drive itself. It should state whether it is IDE/ATA or SATA. If it has a wide gray cable is is IDE/ATA and if it has a small cable with a small connector it is SATA.

Hope this helps.