Can extra HDD replace CD-RW?

Question

I have a DVD-RW and a CD-RW in my tower. Does anyone know if I can remove the CD-RW drive and put in another HDD?

I already have a 80gb HDD that I boot from (master) and another HDD that I have on the same ribbon (slave)

Answer 1

short answer, YES
any ATAPI device can replace another in the same configureation (master sec chan, slave sec chan, etc etc etc.)
A CD takes a 5.25 inch (five and a quarter inch) bay.
To put a hard disk in there if it's a 3 inch (3") drive requires a mounting kit, easily available.
It's just 2 metal brackets with ALL the screws you need.
The third drive can be master or slave on the secondary channel easily as master to another device (hard drive, cd, DVD, anything ATAPI) or slave to it, but I suggest all hard disks to NON- hard disks be master on their channel. I also suggest an 80 wire cable with 40 pin connectors.
Lets get specific.
if the DVD writer is master of the secondary chan, make it slave.
Make the CDR drive disappear, you are removing it.
Make the new hard disk (replacing the CDR) Master of the DVD.
That is the best configuration.
Making it master on the secondary ensures top speed on that channel (unlike making it slave to the dvd, which may , or almost certainly will slow it down)
There is your short best answer.

Answer 2

Yes. Each EIDE can handle two IDE devices, but it doesn't matter what type of IDE device.

In my PC, I have 3 HDD and a CD-RW. But, much of my HDD are smaller ones. a 10 GB, 40 GB and 80 GB. Games and music eat up a lot of space. And, XP eats up 2 GB.

Just make sure you place the HDD as Slave on the Secondary IDE cable.

And, the HDD on the Secondary IDE cable will be a bit slower than the ones one the Primary IDE. But, if you are using this additional HDD just for storage, it will not make that much of a difference.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

Your best bet if you're looking for a new Hard Drive is to go external, if you've run out of room inside the case. A 160GB external USB 2.0 Hard Drive goes for just about $100 these days.

Answer 5

Yes, you can replace the CDRW with a hard drive. A PATA (Parallel ATA - aka standard IDE/ATA drive will work just fine on the same line your CDRW used). At worst, you'll need a mounting kit to put a 3.5" drive in a 5.25" slot - typical cost online - $10 or less, excluding shipping. See http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817991002

Answer 6

Yep your pc will support 4 IDE devices. And hpoefully there is space for you to mount another HDD. If not mounting brackets are fairly cheap.

Answer 7

I'm with Matt D, I would go with an external HDD.

Answer 8

It will work, but H/d on cd channel may not work full performance,

Answer 9

Sure. Set it to slave or cable select.

Answer 10

i guess u should be able to do it...
if it is plug and play drive then i guess u should be otherwise u will need to chk the mother board.