answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

Yes, a hard drive must be compatible with your computer and operating system for it to work. It must be physically and logically compatible.

The physical requirement is to have the same type of connector/bus as the computer. Modern hard drives are IDE (PATA), SATA, SAS, USB, and Firewire. You can often install a card or adapter to support types of drives for which you don't have connectors. If you have a SAS drive controller, whether on the motherboard or an add-in card, you can run either SATA or SAS hard drives in the computer. However, you cannot use a SAS drive with a regular SATA controller, despite using the same connectors. They are electrically the same, but use different commands.

The other requirement is logical. A hard drive must be 'formatted' with a filesystem supported by the operating system. The most common filesystems are HFS (Macintosh), FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS (Windows/PC). Other filesystems do exist, typically used in Unix, Linux, Solaris, and less popular OSs. Most OSs can reformat a hard drive to it's native filesystem. You can also install drivers that will allow your OS to read other types of filesystems, often by sacrificing speed. Those are usually intended for recovery or transferring data, not for daily use.

User Avatar

Wiki User

10y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: Is it important for a hard drive to be compatible with other components?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Related questions

What three components must be compatible with every other component in the computer?

Motherboard


What are the three components of Form Factor?

The component that must be compatible with every other component of the computer is the motherboard. Your computer will not function properly without them being compatible.


What other computer components is the hard drive connected to?

Usually, the hard drive connects to the motherboard.


What are some examples of other components that you can get with a computer but are not considered that are not considered major components?

CD/DVD Drive or Card Reader.


Are all blood types compatible?

When the body encounters types of blood it is not familiar with, it makes antibodies to attack it. That's why O- is the universal donor. O means it has neither A or B components, and the negative means it does not have specific receptor proteins on it. That's also why someone AB+ can have any type of blood, because the body is used to A components, B components, and receptor proteins.


What does compatiblity mean in computer hardware?

Components within a computer need to be able to work with each other. this is called compatability. Usually a system builder would start with a computer CPU (Central prosessing unit) and find the best compatible motherboard for the cpu. Then from there would find the best compatible Memory, and other components


Why do computer need towers?

Because, it holds the computers, hard drive, fan, disc drive, ram, other key components, that laptops don't have.


Why nonmetals important?

Nonmetals are important because they are often the main components of metals and other materials. Carbon is an extremely important nonmetal.


What is more efficient chain or belt drive?

They both have advantages and drawbacks. Most chain drive systems eliminate slip between components and work very much like a gear-to-gear mechanism. With larger components though, the chain drive can get too heavy. It can get to the point were it is not economical to produce the chain or (due to power loss in moving it) use it to drive components. With a belt drive system, there is greater possibility of slippage and the components are not linked ad securely. Energy is lost in the pulleys sliding around the belt as opposed to powering the other components on the wheel. On the other hand, belts are lighter and cheaper to produce, so after a certain point it is more efficient to use a belt.


What can you do if your dell desk top computer doesn't have a disk drive?

You can easy install a new hard drive into your Dell Desktop PC. The procedure for replacing/installing a hard drive varies based on the respective models and on the other hand it is critically important which generation of hard drives is actually compatible with your Dell desktop either an IDE or a SATA.


What component must be compatible with every other component of the computer motherboard?

The anwers is not avalible!!


Can you shift from reverse to drive without stopping?

Generally shifting from reverse to drive, while still rolling, is possible but not recommended. This places a lot of stress on the transmission and other components of the drive train.