by >I'm considering a WD 850 MB EIDE drive.
>How can I be sure that I will be able to use the full 850 MB?
No.Quote:>Do I need a specific BIOS,
Version 1.1.37 or newer (current is 1.1.81).Quote:>a kernel version
But you will want to read linux/drivers/block/README.ide
from the 1.1.81 distribution before you partition anything.
No.Quote:>or a VLB EIDE controller?
<I'm willing to hand the lower 400 MB to DOS, but I want to be pretty sure
<that I can put Linux into the higher 450 MB....
Sounds fine.
--