Is it possible to have an extra hard drive as memory for a computer, and if so how is it done?

Question

I have an spare 300gb hard drive that I could use as extra memory if that were possible. Thank you.

Answer 1

YES, just follow step by step:
http://compreviews.about.com/od/tutorials/ss/DIYSecHD.htm

Answer 2

Yes it is very possible and most wise. You could mount it internally using one of the vacant bays in your computer case. Then it would be simply a matter of hooking it up to the motherboard using one of the HDD connectors. After that you'd have to "mount" the drive to the system. This would allow you to use it. To mount it you'd have to "Add New Hardware" via the Control Panel.

However, I was using this method and my system crashed. For whatever the reason, my new system would not recognize the old files and I lost a lot of data.

So, the best approach I can recommend is buying an USB enclosure for hard drives. This way will ensure that if your main system crashes, your data will be protected as it will be isolated from the main drive. Also, this type of setup is totally portable, you can carry it with you in case you need to make a presentation some place else or carry it to work.

A USB enclosure can be found at most larger electronics stores like Circuit City, Best Buy and online stores such as NewEgg, ZipZoomFly. They range in price from $40 for USB 2.0 connections. Firewire will run considerably more at around $200.

Answer 3

If you are using Windows, you can use the extra hard drive for your virtual memory page file if your primary drive is getting full.

However, using virtual memory paging is much slower than physical memory and puts more strain on the hard disk drive. As has been stated above, it would be better to add more physical RAM and use the second hard drive for archival/storage purposes.

Prior to installing the second drive, however, you need to be sure that you change the jumper connectors on that drive to the "Slave" position so that the BIOS and operating system know what to do with it.

Install the spare drive in your case, connect it to the secondary EIDE/ATA controller connector socket and connect the power to drive using the appropriate cables.

I would also recommend reformatting and partitioning the 300 GB drive into two or three smaller logical drives (partitions). This makes them easier to manage than one huge partition; especially when it comes to defragging.

You can also use the secondary drive to install software programs by selecting it when installing.

To set up the virtual memory page file:

1. Open System in Control Panel.

2. On the Advanced tab, under Performance, click Settings.

3. On the Advanced tab, under Virtual memory, click Change.

4. Under Drive [Volume Label], click the drive that contains the paging file you want to change.

5. Under Paging file size for selected drive, click Custom size, and type a new paging file size in megabytes in the Initial size (MB) or Maximum size (MB) box, and then click Set.

If you decrease the size of either the initial or maximum page file settings, you must restart your computer to see the effects of those changes. Increases typically do not require a restart.

Answer 4

The external hard drive case is a much better choice than using it as a secondary/slave drive. If you every have the computer crash it can sometimes take the hard drive with it.(Power supplies and motherboards can both take out a hard drive when they die.) But with an external hard drive connected with a USB it wouldn't die like the others could.

Just be sure that you get the correct hard drive enclosure for your type of hard drive. SATA and IDE are different. You can find that information by looking on the sticker. Basically the plugs are different.

Memory as you are thinking of it would be RAM.
Storage is Hard drive.

Answer 5

PC type computers have 4 connections for IDE devices. One of these is the hard drive you already have. One is probably your CD drive. That means you can add two extra drives. They install in your case, and are connected with a cable to your motherboard. Also you have to set jumpers on the drive to make them 'master' or 'slave'. It's very easy to do. Anyone who's ever done this can show you how to do it.

Or you can buy an enclosure for your drive to use it on the USB port. These cost about $30-40 these days. You install the drive in the enclosure, plug in the power supply and then connect it to the USB port. The nice thing about this option is that you can move it from computer to computer if you want to transfer a lot of files or something like that.

Answer 6

it is possible to use a spare drive as extra storage.
the simplest way would be to purchase an external USB case and put the drive in it, then just plug it into a USB port on your computer.
depending on the type of computer you have, you also may be able to install it internally as a slave/secondary drive.

Answer 7

you cant use it as "memory" but you could use it as storage. without the operating system installed, you can store your music,movies,documents etc on it, so you wont have to waste space on your main hard drive, and slow it down. you have to open up your computer plug it into the motherboard, and hook up a power supply cable to it. When you fire up your computer, go to My Computer, you should see that drive there, right click and format. Then you could load all sorts of stuff on it.

Answer 8

Hard drives and memory are two different things.

Adding another hard drive only increases the amount of file storage space.

To increase memory, you need to buy additional or bigger memory cards (chips).

Answer 9

yup totaly possible.what u do is take out your floppy drive (no one uses that anyways) and plug your extra hard drive right on in .

pay attention to the settings on the floppy,if it was set on master, set the hard drive on master and vice versa

that worked fine for me
good luck

Answer 10

Listen carefully what oddjob says and learn something you will hmmm? ;-)