[lug] linear mode question

[McIllece, Matthew W]

The RH6.1 manual states:

"If your computer accesses a hard drive in LBA mode, check Use linear mode.
This is most often used in
situations where the drive is an SCSI and you are getting errors accessing
the drive."
(this is from
http://www.redhat.com/support/manuals/RHL-6.1-Manual/install-guide/s1-cd-rom
-gui-lilo-conf.html)

How do you know "if your computer accesses a hard drive in LBA mode"?

Does the "Use linear mode" setting have any affect on a system using only
IDE drives?