This document may be informative: (I picked Seagate because WD's papers on the issue are PDF)
http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/disc/capacity/137/
You need WinXP SP1 or Win2K SP3 to do it right. WinME and Win98 can handle them once an OS is installed. You may need to use the WD software to set them up. You definitely need the bios update.