How do I add a second hard drive to my computer?

Question

I have an HP 7570n media center computer and I want to add a second internal hard drive. I have never done this before but I think I can hook it up and get it working ok. My question is how do I mount an new hard drive inside my computer? Do new hard drives come with screws and brackets to bolt them down solid? What it a good drive to buy? Is there way to look up and make sure a new drive will work with my model of computer? I heard some models of computers will not support some of the larger hard drives out there, is this true? If possible I would like to find a 500GB or larger drive.

Thanks for any comments

Answer 1

Here's how:
http://compreviews.about.com/od/tutorials/ss/DIYSecHD.htm
If SATA:
http://compreviews.about.com/od/tutorials/ss/DIYSATAHD.htm

Answer 2

More than likely the computer will support any drive up to about 750GB. Most HDD (Hard Disk Drives) will not come mounting brackets as all computer cases are different. (They will all come with screws). Take a look at how the other HDD is mounted and copy that. Also, look at the type of connection the HDD is. There are two types out right now. IDE or SATA. IDE is the 2 inch wide gray ribbon and SATA is usually a red or back 1/2 inch wide cable. Open your case and you will know what you have.

Buying Advice:

Brand: Seagate (5yr wrty) or Western Digital
Check out this link for drives to get an idea.
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Hard-drives/sem/rpsm/catOid/-12976/Ns/net_price|0||accm_grs_mgn_dllr|1/link/ref/N/20012961+20012973+20012976+5217+5222/link/ref/rpem/ccd/categorylist.do

*Just a note*
IDE is sometimes referred to as EIDE, ATA/100, Ultra ATA or PATA.

SATA is always just SATA.

Answer 3

You just plug in your second drive. When you start up the computer, go to My Computer >> Manage, and there is a section where you can see the drives and assign letters to them and so on. If it doesn't come up automatically. All of the data on your old drive will be accessible, but of course you will have to re-install any programs on your new Windows installation. If it does try to boot from your old drive, you will have to go into the BIOS at bootup and change the boot order. Are you sure you have a spare IDE connector? That's the only concern. SATA and IDE are not interchangeable.