Is it gonna mess up my computer if I hook up another IDE hard drive to it while it is on?

Question

Cos I am trying to hook up this secondary drive as a slave, but when I do it, the computer does not want to boot up. I've tried cable select, as well as manual jumper select. Nothing works. (there are things on that drive that I want to recover)

Answer 1

Normaly, it will freeze. You also should check in your BIOS settings if: both IDE interfaces are enabled; both drives are detected at boot time (try AUTOdetect). If your secondary drive is not detected, try to move it (with an additonal cable) to the second IDE interface, where it will not count anymore what kind of drive it is (master/slave/cable select). Use an old (classic) ATA33 cable (40 wires).

If you don't want to totaly mess up the drive, don't plug it while PC is powered!

The only devices that are hot pluggable are USB devices (like flashdrives) and some (special) SCSI drives. Which gives me another ideea: you could buy an USB portable hard drive rack; put your HDD in it and then you can do whatever you want! (install it's drivers first, though!)

Answer 2

I think what you did was right to install the hard disk, the only problem that most people dont realise is that they need to configure XP after the installation. Sometimes it just dont automatically install for you for some reason. Well i got this manual for proper way to setup the secondary slave hard disk ! Hope help!



How to Install a Second Hard Drive

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Difficulty: Moderately challenging

When you need more disk space, it is easier to add a second hard drive than it is to replace the existing drive. This procedure is for installing an ATA hard drive in a PC-compatible computer.
Install Hard Drive
Instructions
STEP 1: Turn off the computer but leave the power cord plugged in.

STEP 2: Remove the computer cover.

STEP 3: Touch a metal part of the computer to ground yourself, or use a grounding strap.

STEP 4: Locate the ribbon cable connected to the existing hard drive.

STEP 5: Change the master/slave designation of the second hard drive (see Related eHows).

STEP 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).

STEP 7: Connect an available power cable to the hard drive.

STEP 8: Insert the hard drive into an available drive bay and secure with screws.

STEP 9: Replace the computer cover.

Add Hard Drive to CMOS Setup
Instructions
STEP 1: Start the computer.

STEP 2: Enter the CMOS setup program (the system generally indicates which key to press), immediately after memory check.

STEP 3: Use arrow keys to select Autodetect option (or comparable option for your computer) if it is available, and press Enter. If this option is not available, see step 5 to manually enter the drive parameters.

STEP 4: In the Autodetect screen, enter Y to select the default settings for each drive that is installed and bypass settings for uninstalled drives. The screen will return to the main setup screen. Continue to step 8.

STEP 5: To manually enter drive parameters, select the setup screen that displays hard drive parameters (usually Standard or Main screen).

STEP 6: Use the arrow keys to scroll through the list of drive parameters.

STEP 7: Select the set of parameters that most closely represents your drive and does not exceed the drive volume (such as 2 GB) and press Enter.

STEP 8: Press Enter or OK (or Esc if the other keys are not available) to accept the new setting.

STEP 9: Use arrow keys to select Save and Exit setup and press Enter. The computer restarts, indicating the presence of the second drive. Your drive is ready.

Overall Things You'll Need
Drive Cables
Hard Disks
Overall Tips & Warnings
Always ground yourself and your tools by touching a safe metal surface (such as the computer cover or frame) before handling the hard drive to prevent damage to the electrical components.
Don't mess around inside the computer, especially near the power supply (there should be warning labels), if you don't know what you're poking, to avoid the risk of electric shock.
Handle the hard drive carefully to avoid damaging the circuit board.
Handle the drive cables carefully to keep from bending the cable or pins.

Answer 3

BAD idea, that has a better chance of ruining the data than recovering it.
Is there an operating system on the drive you're trying to connect? If there is, there's a chance that the computer would freak out. Disconnect the main (primary master) drive and hook this one up as a primary master.
If you want this one as a secondary slave, make sure you have a secondary master. Don't bother with CS. Just master or slave.
And once you turn on the computer, go straight to the BIOS (F1 or DEL keys) before the operating system comes up, to configure the new drive.

Answer 4

You cant hook it up while your system is powered up for one thing because the bios wouldnt see it anyway! Secondly, if your PC isnt booting up after plugging in the hard drive, the disk is faulty! You wont be able to retrieve anything from it short of having a pro remove the physical disk from the unit and digging these files out! You better have some ablsolutely needed files on it because its gonna cost about 80 bucks an hr to do this and it is a gamble that he will even be able to get them!

Answer 5

Dont hook up while its on, it could damage the hard drive. Its electricity that we're dealing with this. Electronics are very sensitive to it.

Attach your secondary hard drive in the Secondary IDE. This is where your CD-ROM is attached. You could replace the cdrom with your second hdd. or it depends on the jumper you've set.

Some hard disk cannot be detected in the Primary IDE, its best in Secondary IDE.

Answer 6

you need to find out who makes the IDE hard drive.
Look on the web site and you might have to down load a driver for it.
It needs to be installed when it is off.
When you turn on the computer, go to the boot menu which is by pressing either the F8 or F12 key.
You will find a boot up sequence. Make sure that the irignal hard drive is the one that it boots from.
After that it should work.

Answer 7

ok well if u want to make it a slave there is a certain connection in the plug to switch it from a master to a slave but i dont know exactly which one..... you can try putting the secondary in the position as the primary (without making it a slave)some times there is problems with the cables

Answer 8

i bet its a samsung hard drive this is what i did shut down your computer and only connect the power up to the hard drive turn computer on and once every thing is up connect the ide cable that's what i did then get what you want out of the drive and reformat it that's what i did

Answer 9

It shouldn't hurt anything, but I doubt the machine will be able to "see" the new drive until you reboot. You might try creating a "rescue" disk and booting from that; if you're running XP, you might also try going back to a recovery point.

Answer 10

IT WILL NOT MESS IT UP DIRECTLY. THE COMPUTER JUST WILL NOT DETECT IT CAUSE IT HAS TO DO A post BEFORE IT WILL DETECT THE NEW HARD DRIVE. BUT YOU COULD DAMAGE THE COMPUTER BY WORKING ON IT WHILE IT IS ON DUE TO STATIC ELECTRICITY OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.