My hard drive is nearly full and i need all of the stuff in it, so i need another storage drive, but ive only seen external ones...so i need 2 know if its possible to add another drive internaly, and if so how do u do it?
2006-09-25 09:47:36 · 11 answers · asked by 'Chuco Carlos 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
You should be able to connect a second hard drive as long as you have room in your case, an extra power connector and an extra data connection. Try this
http://www.ehow.com/how_6030_install-second-hard.html
2006-09-25 09:51:07 · answer #1 · answered by That Guy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes you can add an extra internal hard drive. To do it follow these steps:
1. Turn off the computer but leave the power cord plugged in.
2. Remove the computer cover.
3. Touch a metal part of the computer to ground yourself, or use a grounding strap.
4. Locate the ribbon cable connected to the existing hard drive.
5. Change the master/slave designation of the second hard drive (the little pins on the back that say C M S) make sure you set it to S or Slave.
6. Connect the second hard drive to the second connector on the cable (colored strip should be closest to the power cable). If the cable does not have a second connector, replace it with one that does, or use a second ribbon cable to attach the second hard drive to the motherboard (if a second drive port is available).
7. Connect an available power cable to the hard drive.
8. Insert the hard drive into an available drive bay and secure with screws.
9. Replace the computer cover.
That's it! You now have more storage space.
2006-09-25 16:51:26 · answer #2 · answered by PC Baby 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It is easy.
The one existing hard drive is on a flat ribbon cable that has two connectors but only one is in use. Get a second hard drive - as big a one as you can afford. Slip it into the computer case and plug it into an unused power plug that you woll find in there (they only fit one way so you can't mess it up). Now take the unused ribbon cable connector and plug it onto the new second drive. Look in the manual that came with the new drive to see if you have to pull any jumpers attached to its back to use it as a second disk.
Now power up the computer and the operating system will show one more drive and give it a drive letter automatically.
2006-09-25 16:53:20 · answer #3 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi. If there is a slot for it its easy. Buy a good brand with lots of capacity. On the back are slots for the power cable, the data cable, and a set of jumpers. The cables only go in one way. The jumpers are used to tell your PC which is the primary (master) drive and which is the secondary (slave) drive. The instructions will explain. Have fun!
2006-09-25 16:50:02 · answer #4 · answered by Cirric 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You didn't say what kind of hard drive your computer uses, but my 2nd SATA drive I purchased doesn't need to be set to slave or primary like many here are saying. That is for older drives mostly.
Also you have to go into bios F2 when the computer first boots, and enable the 2nd drive device, or even Windows XP won't know it's there. If possible, install the drive with the software that comes with it.
2006-09-25 17:24:07 · answer #5 · answered by fresh2 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A PC can have a number of hrrd drives installed.
On the hard drives, you will find a series of jumpers. You set your original hard drive as a master and the new hard drive as a slave. There is usually a chart or diagram shouing the jumper positions.
2006-09-25 16:57:47 · answer #6 · answered by Mad Jack 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most desktop machines can support 2 (or more) internal hard drives.
Get a drive (you need to know if you machine supports IDE or SATA drives), open the computer box, mount the drive, plug in the drive power, plug int he drive cable, power on the computer.
Format the drive, start putting stuff on it.
2006-09-25 16:50:35 · answer #7 · answered by Bors 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can and you need a hard-drive.
Once you open the case odds are is that you already have a slot and cable available for the additional drive.
Windows XP will automatically see the drive (hopefully) and you should just need to partition it with one of microsofts great gui wizards.
2006-09-25 16:50:34 · answer #8 · answered by Devnull 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Absolutely! Since ur asking, I suggest u get a tech to help u, maybe even recommend a drive type for u. Depending on ur system it could really range in capacity/price. To check out ur system & possibly answer some of ur ?'s check out http://www.pcpitstop.com Make sure u shop around to find the best deal for the $$ Good luck!
2006-09-25 16:59:11 · answer #9 · answered by Sheryl R 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if you have a slot you can do it, u have 2 take the hard drive and switch the jumper setting 2 slave and put it in the available IDE slot
2006-09-25 16:52:09 · answer #10 · answered by ftballplyr 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋