Terms 

How to install a hard drive on a computer? Rules for installing a hard drive on a computer. How to install a second hard drive

Modern technologies are developing more and more every year. The time has long come when one hard drive in a computer is indispensable. A huge number of people connect a second HDD to a personal computer. The connection procedure has nothing fantastic and even a beginner can figure it out. Let's look at everything in more detail and in more detail.

Connecting a second HDD to a laptop or PC

There are two options for adding an additional hard drive:

  • To the PC system unit. This method is great for standard desktop computers;
  • Addition, in the form of an external drive. This is a very easy way that is suitable for all devices.

Method 1: Adding to the system block

The process of adding additional media to the system unit can be divided into several small steps. Let's consider each of them in more detail.

Type definition

At the very first stage, it is necessary to determine the type of interface with which the hard drive interacts. It is worth noting the important fact that the vast majority of computers have a SATA interface, so it is desirable that the second hard drive be of the same type. The motherboard may not have an IDE bus, as it is considered to be very old, because of this, some problems may arise with installing obsolete hard drives.

The best way to determine the standard is to carefully consider the contacts.

SATA connector example


IDE connector example


Adding a second SATA drive to the system unit

Adding an additional drive is a simple process that goes like this:


SATA boot priority

By default, there are four holes on the motherboard for adding SATA drives. It should be understood that their numbering starts from zero. Namely, the priority of the hard drive directly depends on the slot number. You must use the BIOS to set the priority on your own. Each specific type of BIOS has its own special controls, as well as a special interface.

In the earliest version, you need to go to the "Advanced BIOS Features" menu and start working with items such as "First / Second Boot Device". In modern versions, the path looks like this: "Boot / Boot Sequence - 1st / 2nd Boot Priority".

Adding an additional IDE drive

There are also cases when you need to connect an old IDE disk. The step-by-step instruction of the process is as follows:


Connecting the second IDE to the first SATA

If you need to carry out this procedure, then you will need the appropriate IDE-SATA adapter. An example of an adapter can be seen below:

Step-by-step instruction:

  1. First you need to put the jumper in the Master position.
  2. The IDE plug is connected to the hard drive.
  3. A red SATA cable is taken and connected with one side to the motherboard and the other to the adapter.
  4. The power cable is connected to the PSU and the adapter.

About possible display problems

Sometimes it happens that after an additional hard drive has been connected, the system cannot recognize it. Do not panic, as most likely you did everything right. It's just that for the correct operation of the second hard drive, its initialization is necessary.

Method 2: Connecting an external hard drive

Connecting an external HDD is convenient if the stored files are needed not only at home, but also outside. In addition, this method is the only correct one for laptop owners, since they simply do not have a special additional connector for a new hard drive.

In fact, everything is easy here, because the external hard drive is connected via USB, just like any other devices (mouse, keyboard, flash drive, webcam and much, much more).


Hard drives that are installed in the system unit can also be connected via a USB connector. Here you will need an external hard drive case or a special adapter. The bottom line is this: the necessary voltage is supplied to the HDD through the adapter, and communication with the Personal Computer occurs via USB. Different hard drives have their own wires, so you should always pay special attention to the standard that sets the dimensions.

Many PC users are acutely aware of the lack of memory on their computer. Some throw off information on various drives, while others decide to connect an additional hard drive. In order not to call the master or not to go to the service center with the system unit, many people decide to connect the second hard drive on their own. And this is where the problems begin. The Country of Soviets will tell you how to connect a second hard drive to your computer.

You can connect not only a new hard drive, but also a hard drive from any other computer. The algorithm of work will be the same in both cases. But just not everyone knows how to properly connect a second hard drive so that the computer recognizes it immediately. For many, this does not work right away, so these people go to a store or service center, proving that the second hard does not work. But in fact, as it turns out, the computer simply did not see the hard drive. And there are reasons for that.

Before you connect the hard drive, you need to figure out how you want to do it. Some computers are equipped with a so-called "pocket" (it can be installed at the service center, after asking about it, or when manually assembling the computer). In order to connect a second hard drive to all other computers, you will have to climb into the middle of the system unit. The essence of connecting even to the “pocket”, even in the usual way, is the same. The second hard drive is connected to the cable, and the computer recognizes it as a built-in drive E or F.

2 hard drive for computer

So, now it's worth talking about what many people forget to do before connecting a hard drive - rearrange the jumper. A jumper is a jumper that is located on the contacts of the hard drive. What is the jumper for?

Jumpers are used to indicate on the hard drives themselves which one will work in master mode and which one will work as slave. The operating system is always loaded into the host hard drive. This means that when a second hard drive is connected in Slave mode, the OS will not boot from it. All hard drives that computers are equipped with have Master mode. Therefore, all additionally connected hard drives must work in Slave mode. This is what many PC users do not take into account and connect a second hard drive, which also works in Master mode.

So, having put the jumper in Slave mode on the connected hard drive, connect it to the cable inside the system unit. If you have a pocket, then the connection is made from the outside. Now you can just boot your computer. It should automatically detect the second hard drive. For reliability, when booting the computer, go to the BIOS (on different OSes, these are the F2 or Delete keys). In the "Boot" menu, select the correct options for each of the hard drives. To do this, put the connected hard drive in Second Boot Device mode.

In addition to Master and Slave modes, jumpers can be set to Cable Select. To connect a hard drive in this mode, you will need a Y-flex cable. The central connector of this cable connects to the motherboard. The extreme connectors of the loop are connected to the disks. These connectors are unequal, i.e. one disk automatically becomes the master, the second - the slave. This information is indicated on the cable connectors. Be warned that using such a cable, both hard drives must be put in Cable Select mode.

Where you need to put the jumpers to set this or that mode, it is written in detail on the sticker on the hard drive itself. Also, the same information is indicated on one side of the connector, which simplifies the search for the necessary contacts on which to put the jumper.

The above connection of an additional hard drive is used for IDE drives. There are also SATA drives. In this case, you will need a special cable to connect the drive to the motherboard. Only one device can be connected to one connector. If you use both IDE and SATA disks on your computer, go into the BIOS to designate the main disk from which the computer will boot.

Connecting an additional hard drive may seem complicated only in words. In practice, everything happens very quickly. We hope that now you know how to connect a hard drive to your computer.

Every year the amount of information stored on the computer increases. As a result, the computer starts to boot for a long time and periodically freezes. And this is natural, because all data is stored on a hard disk, the memory of which is limited.

Users solve this problem in different ways. Someone transfers information to various media, someone turns to the master and asks to increase the computer's memory, and someone decides to connect a second hard drive to the computer. Therefore, let's figure out how, without the help of a specialist - on our own - to connect a second hard drive to a computer.

To get started, you need to completely shut down the system unit: disconnect all cables and power cable. Now you need unscrew the side covers sistemnik. We unfold it with the back towards us and unscrew the four screws on the sides. Slightly pressing on the side parts, move them in the direction of the arrow and remove.

Hard drives in the system unit are installed in special bays or cells. Such bays can be located in the back of the system unit at the bottom or in the middle, some hard drives are installed turned on their side. If your system unit has several cells for hard drives, install the second not right next to the first - this will improve its cooling.

Depending on the method of connection to the motherboard, internal hard drives are divided into two types: with IDE and SATA interface. IDE is an older standard, now all system units are designed to connect hard drives with a SATA interface. It is not difficult to distinguish between them: IDE has wide ports for connecting a hard drive and power supply and a wide cable, while SATA has both ports and the cable is much narrower.



SATA power cable



This is what the SATA connector on the motherboard looks like for connecting a data cable.

For information:
If your motherboard has a SATA output, then it would be wiser to install this particular type of hard drive. SATA has more bandwidth than IDE. IDE is already harder to find in stores due to the fact that this interface is already out of active use, and it has been replaced by SATA, SATA-II, SATA-III (the larger the number, the higher the data exchange speed).

5. If your choice still fell on an IDE-type hard drive, then on the rear panel you need to rearrange the jumper to the Slave position. It is also necessary to check how the jumper is set on the first hard drive (it must be set to the Master position).

6. Now put your secondary hard drive back in place and connect to the motherboard and power it up.

7. Fasten the hard drives on both sides with the screws included in the kit.

8. Replace the system unit cover.

9. Connect the wires that were previously disconnected and apply power to it.

10. Turn on the computer, wait until it is fully loaded, then check if a new hard drive has appeared (to check, go to "My Computer")

11. If everything went well and the disk appeared in the computer, then you should format it before starting work.

Well, this is where the installation of the second hard drive is completed.

Hello! Please, tell a simple computer user to deal with hard drives and the possibility of their autonomous operation...
The point is the following. It became possible to install a second hard drive on your PC, so that the first was exclusively for the OS + necessary programs + frequently used files and (documents, technical diagrams, etc.), and the second for home archive (video, photos, films, rarely used files.
I successfully installed the second hard drive myself (the OS sees and maintains it well) ... But there is one problem here. This hard drive should be used from time to time, but it turns out that every time the computer is turned on and off, the OS starts it anyway - and this, after all, affects the resource!
How to make sure that this, let's call it an "archival" hard drive, does not start up unnecessarily? Is it possible?

Nicholas | April 29, 2015, 08:40
" YUM wrote: as a matter of discussion: why not go mechanically? Well, for example, extend the power cord. Take dad / mom out and out of use, just open the pads. The cable, however, will stick out all the same in the "mom", but , I think, beyond the show: "unknown device", OSka will not go ... "

In fact, it was this option that I considered first, and here's why. Now I have a system unit (wide side) close behind the monitor and the back (free) side (for certain reasons) without a cover (i.e. there is free access to the hardware). Cables of both HDDs are easily accessible . In general, everything is predisposed to removing / inserting connectors. But realizing that everything would quickly become unusable, so I asked myself not a mechanical, but a software switch on and off of the hard drive. Well, it turned out that this, unfortunately, is impossible.
So, YUM, I'll have to follow the path already discussed...

YUM | April 19, 2015, 03:32 pm
in the order of discussion: why not go the mechanical way? Well, for example, lengthen the power cord. Take out dad / mom outside and as unnecessary, just open the pads. The train, however, will stick out all the same in the "mother", but, I think, further than the show: "unknown device", Oska will not go. I remember sticking fans into free blocks on the PSU. For outdoor use. One to blow - on me, the second - in the body. For, it happened, both of us and the computer overheated ... :-)

Nicholas | April 8, 2015, 13:58
Nick Nick, thanks for the reply. From the answers, I realized that the second hard drive integrated into the PC will still be polled by the OS for any of its actions. And therefore, in order to eliminate "unproductive" inclusions and disconnections, it is necessary to exclude it from the direction of one OS. That is, it is either a PC with two motherboards (and different OS), or a second PC, or an external hard drive, or a NAS ...

Nick Nick | April 7, 2015, 14:47
I did it this way, in the system unit there is a 500 gb disk divided into two partitions on one partition, the system on the other, downloaded movies, etc. In a beautiful plastic case called an external HDD box, there is a second (standing right on the table) hard drive also for 500. Moreover, it has an autonomous power supply switch on the case. There are photos and archives on it, and it is connected with a switch when needed, and when not needed, it is turned off by a switch on the case. It is connected to a USB computer (comes with a box in the kit). The system sees the disk as a large flash. I took this box and watch photos and videos DVD or wherever there is USB.

Nicholas | April 7, 2015, 08:19
Nick, maybe you are right about something. But then again, I do not need a backup disk (did I name it correctly?), which will be stored in a cabinet.
There were 2 hard drives available (500 GB and 2 TB). On the first one, I placed the OS with accompanying programs (which are not yet installed all the necessary ones). By the way, as Dima Svinkin mentioned, the system disk was divided into two logical ones - for the OS itself and for different files needed in everyday work. And the second HDD (2 TB) is gradually filled with "house stuff" (photos, videos, films, music, rarely used documents, drawings, etc.).

As a result, after turning on the PC, after a while (as you mentioned, Nick) the "dvuhterrabyte" "falls asleep", I don't even know when this happens. On the one hand, this is good - the hard drive is not used, and on the other hand, the problem I describe arises.
Nick, I can’t buy an external drive yet (especially now they are very expensive, and there are already 2 TB available). It's just that I have the opportunity to get a small system unit - I'll probably have to "dance" from this option.
By the way, Nick, I'm certainly not an IT specialist, but all the same, everywhere it is said that the hard drive should be treated with care, including for him it's better to "spin" all day than to start and stop.

So, in summary, we can say the following:
1) separate management on one computer, with one OS, two physical hard drives (without good system knowledge and access to BIOS) is almost impossible.
2) to solve the problem I am describing, it is proposed to either physically turn off the second HDD (which is unrealistic), or use an external HDD, or you can use the second system unit of a small form factor.
Is everything right?

Nick | April 6, 2015, 22:47
For Nikolai: "professor" on one of the IT sites - advised you correctly. It is best to have 2 disks in the system. But they are used for something completely different. For example, only the system is on one disk. And if the system crashes or you need to restore it from a backup image six months ago, then your current documents will not be affected in any way, because. they are on a different drive. You won't lose anything. Or you need to check for errors or defragment the system disk - the operation will be performed much faster in time on a small system disk (where there is only a system) than on a huge shared disk, where in addition to the system there is a bunch of your documents, pictures, videos, etc. In short , 2 disks are used for data spacing - and this is necessary for the convenience of system maintenance.

I don't know what you are afraid of switching disks on and off. There is nothing to worry about, modern disks are designed for this, they can even turn off and fall asleep if they are not accessed for a long time.

Well, if you want to turn off the drive yourself, then buy an external drive. For example, I use an external USB-3 drive. It works quickly to turn it off - you just need to remove the connector with a cord from the computer's socket (it is inserted into the USB flash drive connector).

Nicholas | April 6, 2015, 20:54
Thanks to everyone who answered my question. A separate "curtsey" for Alek55sandr5 - it seems that you immediately "caught" the essence of the issue.
Now it becomes clear that if two (3.4) hard drives are connected to one OS (which the system "sees" as separate physical drives), then every time you turn it on, turn it off or reboot, the system will always start them all (which, of course, reduces their resource, because for a hard drive one of the most difficult modes is start-up, when the spindle spins "pancakes" Right?)
It is strange that at one time, some "professor" on one of the IT sites, "advised" to have two separate hard drives in his PC (and not in some kind of ride array, namely two separate physical ones - one for OS and related programs, and another for home videos, photos, books, document archives and other relatively rarely used files). So I "bought" this "call".
That is, for me it would be the right decision: a separate small-sized system unit, from which to make something like a NAS and connect it as needed? This is the only way I can save the second hard drive from unnecessary inclusions. Correctly?

Dmitry | April 6, 2015, 10:59 am
Put there a swap file and a folder for temporary files. The disc will give back.

Svinkin Dima | April 5, 2015, 04:43 PM
Strongly disagree with you! A home archive must be created and stored on an external hard drive. What size is your system (physical disk)? For OS + various programs, 100-150 GB is usually enough, and for many users the system (logical) one is even several times smaller than these sizes. If you had one physical disk in your computer with a nominal size of 320 GB or more, then it is unreasonable to define this entire volume under OS + programs. It needs to be divided into two partitions (two logical drives) C:\ and D:\. Drive C is the system drive, and on drive D:\ you should place folders for temporary files of all programs, folders for downloading from the Internet, folders for saving files created in different programs and a temporary archive of the most popular files. Any extra physical device in a computer can turn into a headache at any time - this is a practice.

Alek55sandr5 | April 5, 2015, 15:50
As far as I know, unfortunately it is impossible to completely turn off the hard drive if it is connected to a PC. Each time you start the operating system, the hard drive will boot with it and its resource will slowly wear out. You can copy some files to this hard drive and remove the connected cables from its connector. Thus, it will be completely disabled and its resource will be larger. But of course, if this option suits you.

This is not entirely true. First you need to know what interfaces your devices have. If they are both SATA, then it is enough for you to connect them, you may have to set in the BIOS the order in which the system accesses devices to boot from the disk on which you have the system installed, which is bootable for you. Otherwise, if the operating system was previously installed on the newly installed disk and it was active, then the download will start from it and most likely it will not work normally. If the disk is clean and the system accesses this disk first, then there will be no boot at all, the system will display the message No system disk. To manage this setting, you need to enter the BIOS. Further actions depend on which BIOS you have installed (AWARD, American Megatrends Inc (AMI), General Software Inc, Microid Research, Phoenix Technologies) You can find out exactly what you have installed when you turn on the computer, the BIOS manufacturer will be indicated on the screen. In general, you will find out who the manufacturer is, write, we will tell you in which section to look.
If your drives are with IDE interfaces, then you need to deal with device connections. If both drives are connected to the same cable, then you need to figure out the correct setting of the jumpers on the drive, if they are not set correctly, the system may not see your drives at all, despite the fact that everything was in order before connecting. (it’s worth mentioning right away that you shouldn’t hang the HDD and CD / DVD Rom on the same cable. With this connection, the data transfer rate will be noticeably lower. The IDE channel itself will set the exchange rate on both channels not exceeding the exchange rate of the least high-speed device, i.e. CD/DVD Rom and your HDD will be slow.
Let's get back to the loop. There are 3 identical connectors on the cable. the farthest from the other two is inserted into the motherboard is System. The middle one is the Slave connector, the third one is the Master. Some cables have inscriptions near the connectors. On the disks themselves there is a picture that shows which connection corresponds to the position of the jumper. So, we insert the System connector into the motherboard, insert the Master connector into one of the disks and put the jumper in the Master position, connect the second disk to the Slave connector, for the Slave we usually don’t put the jumper at all, so in order not to lose it, we put it in the Cable select position. By the way, one hundred all connections should be made with the power off. There is a switch on the back of the system unit. Turn it off and press the POWER button (the one you turn on the computer) this will remove the residual voltage from the charged capacitors of the power supply. At the same time, the lights may even blink and the fans start to rotate. We connect the power connectors to your drives and turn on the power of the computer. Now you need to enter the BIOS and see if your drives are visible. If everything is connected correctly and the disks are working and the disk detection parameter is set to AUTO, then you will see information about them on the main page. Displayed as SATA interface channels as well as IDE channels. If it is not visible, then use the arrows to go to the channel in which None is written instead of the disk and press Enter. Then press Enter again and the system will try to find and recognize your disk. If not found, press Esc and go to the next channel and so on until all your disks are found. When you find it, you will see it for yourself. If not found, then check the connection, the reliability of the contact. If everything is determined, fine. We save the settings (usually the F10 key and pressing the Y key to confirm). Now let's try to boot the computer. If everything went as it should, great. If the disks were determined but the download did not go, then the matter is again in the order in which the devices are accessed. To tell you exactly what to do next, you again need to know the manufacturer of your BIOS.
Here, the information is through the roof for those who do not know anything at all about this yet. It may be difficult to perceive everything at once, but do it once, then do it with your eyes closed, there is nothing complicated about it. The main criteria is accuracy and attentiveness.
If you have Skype, please contact me, maybe I can explain better in words.

PS
Fuck Gee Gee.

Every day in the modern world there are more and more laptops, which, in turn, are being improved and modernized. However, this does not mean at all that users are actively abandoning their usual desktop computers.

Undoubtedly, the main advantage of a laptop is its portability and small dimensions. However, even more important is the advantage of a desktop computer over a laptop - it is the ability to upgrade and upgrade.

Perhaps the most common form of improving the "iron horse" is to increase physical memory. That is why in this article we will try to figure out how to connect a second hard drive to a computer.

Types of hard drives

There are two main types of internal hard drives that differ in connection connectors, namely SATA and IDE.

The first connection interface is considered more modern and is used today on all motherboards. As for the IDE connector, this technology is somewhat outdated and, accordingly, hard drives and motherboards with these connectors can only be found on outdated desktop computers.

Laptop and additional hard drive

There are several ways to connect a second hard drive to a laptop. Of course, the easiest is to purchase an external drive connected via a USB port. Today in stores there is a huge selection of these devices. The size of memory on external hard drives is in no way inferior to internal hard drives. Having bought such a device, you can easily connect it to your laptop at any time without any problems.

The advantage of such a hard drive is that before connecting a second hard drive to a computer, Windows 7, like any other operating system, does not have to be turned off, since this device has a hot plug function.

In the event that it is not possible to purchase an external drive, then you can get a special adapter that allows you to connect an ordinary hard drive via a USB port. Also, for more convenient use of such an adapter, there are special containers that are used as a box for a disk.

Just plug this container into a USB port and put a hard drive in it, after which an additional device will appear on your laptop in the form of a hard drive.

Connecting an additional hard drive to a computer

Sometimes it happens that it is necessary to connect a second hard drive to a computer not in order to increase the size of the device's memory, but only in order to transfer any information from one computer to another. It would seem that it is much easier to do this using a flash drive, but when the size of this information exceeds 80-100 GB, it becomes much more convenient to transfer using two hard drives connected to one computer.

Before you connect a second hard drive to your computer, you need to make sure that the motherboard has free ports for connection. Be sure to turn off the power of the computer and disconnect it from the network before performing all these works.

Hard disk and IDE connector

In order to understand how to connect a second hard drive with an IDE connector to a computer, let's see what this type of connection is.

As a rule, this type of connection is less and less often installed on modern motherboards. The cable that is used to connect the hard drive and the motherboard is quite thin. Its main feature is the ability to connect multiple devices to one motherboard connector. That is, there are only 3 IDE connectors on such a cable, one of which is connected to the motherboard, and the other two are connected to devices - a hard drive and a CD-ROM.

Connect a second hard drive. SATA connector

If it becomes necessary to connect a second hard drive to a computer, first of all pay attention to the type of hard drive connector. If this is a SATA connector, then immediately make sure that your motherboard supports such interfaces.

Then prepare a wire with SATA connectors on both ends. Connect one side to the hard drive, and the other to a free SATA port on the motherboard. Even on the simplest boards of these interfaces, at least two pieces are installed.

When installing the cable into the connector, you don’t have to worry, since a special key has been developed on the plug, thanks to which the possibility of incorrect connection is excluded. That is why replacing a hard drive or adding it can be done independently.

Connecting the power connector

In addition to data cables, be it SATA or IDE, the hard drive needs power, which it receives through a separate connector and a separate wire.

When connecting an IDE hard drive, the power cable looks like this.

It has 4 pins. The connector also has a key so you can never go wrong with the connection position. This connector has a rectangular shape, and the key is 2 rounded corners on one longitudinal side.

The power bus for SATA hard drives looks a little different.

It has a flatter shape, but it is also equipped with a special key, so incorrect connection is completely excluded.

Hard disk selection

Today there are a huge number of manufacturers of computer equipment and components for it. The same applies to hard drives. In order to make the right choice in favor of a particular hard drive, you need to decide what you need it for.

There are several basic parameters of the hard drive that you should pay attention to. The first is definitely the volume of the carrier. To date, the most voluminous is a disk with a memory size of 4 TB. However, this figure is constantly growing, and in a year it can become 2 or even 3 times higher.

The second value is the speed of its work. Namely - the speed of access to the disk and writing to it. Today, hard drives have appeared that work on SSD technology, otherwise they are called "solid-state media". The speed of their work significantly exceeds the speed of conventional hard ones, but their volume is several times less. The price of such discs today is very high.

Based on these parameters and your personal preferences, you can competently and most importantly - practically choose the hard drive you need.

Many do not know how to connect a second hard drive to a computer, and therefore they hand over their system units to the service. However, after reading this article, it becomes clear that this is not at all difficult.

Often, the unstable operation of the computer is associated with a lack of free space on the hard drive. To solve this problem, you can delete unnecessary files, but if there are none, you need to install an additional HDD on the PC. This article provides instructions for connecting a second drive and describes some of the pitfalls that a user can expect when performing this operation.

Motherboard support

So how do you connect a second hard drive to your computer? "SATA or IDE ports soldered on the motherboard?" - the first question to be answered before installing the HDD. You need to find out which motherboard model is installed in the system unit. This can be done by installing the AIDA64 program on the computer. This utility shows complete information about the computer. On the left side of the main application window, just click on the text "Motherboard" to find out the model. After that, you need to find the documentation for the motherboard and find out which connection ports for drives are installed on it: SATA or IDE.

If you can’t find the documentation, you will need to study the inside of the computer yourself. To do this, you need to remove the left cover of the system unit, after unscrewing the fixing bolts on its back side. Hard drives are located in front of the PC case in special pockets. Pay attention to the cable that goes from the motherboard to the HDD. If it is wide, then the drive connection interface is IDE, narrow - SATA.

After a visual inspection, there are still doubts about what type of connection is used on the motherboard? In this case, disconnect the cables from the drive and pay attention to their shear. If there is a slot in the connector in the form of the letter "G". If IDE - the connector will look like a rectangle with two rows of holes.

Pay attention to the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe motherboard where the cable from the drive goes. Are all ports busy? If there are no free ports, you will not be able to connect the hard drive in the classical way. Also take a look at the cable itself if the HDD connection interface is IDE. Usually it has two connectors for drives, and one of them may be free.

Before you connect a second hard drive to your computer, see if there are free pockets in the equipment case for installing drives. If they are not there, the hard drive can be placed on the bottom of the system unit, but this is not safe for the equipment. When moving the computer, the hard drive will dangle, and there is a chance that it will damage the PC components or fail itself.

Hard drive selection

Before you can connect a second hard drive to your computer, you must first purchase it. After determining the connection interface, you can start selecting the drive. Remember that 3.5-inch hard drives are best for your computer. Smaller samples are designed for installation in laptops. Although, if there is a suitable 2.5-inch form factor HDD, you can install it in a special adapter case and use it in a desktop PC.

Also determine which one you need. If only documents will be stored on it, it is enough to purchase a 320 GB HDD. If you intend to store high-definition movies and computer games, it is better to choose a hard drive with a capacity of at least 1 TB.

It makes sense to pay attention to the characteristics of the speed of reading and writing data. There is only one rule: more is better. Although, if the computer is used only for work in office applications, it does not make sense to overpay for this feature.

Correct jumper position

Users whose motherboard is equipped with IDE ports only must configure the jumpers. How to connect a second hard drive to a computer, where to put the jumper? So, if only one HDD is connected to the cable, the jumper must be set to the Master position, and the drive itself must be connected to the outer cable connector. If two drives are connected to one wire, then the jumper on the additional hard drive must be in the slave position, and it must be connected to the connector that is located at a distance from the edge of the cable. You don't need to install jumpers on a SATA drive because each drive uses a separate cable.

How to connect a second hard drive to a computer?

The HDD installation procedure for drives with any interface is the same. Regardless of the type of hard drive, to mount it, follow these steps:

  1. Unplug the system unit.
  2. Loosen the screws holding the left housing cover and remove it. Usually you have to pull it back to do this.
  3. Install the drive in the pocket of the system unit. When installed correctly, the screw slots at the hard drive mounting location and the holes on the HDD will match.
  4. Tighten the fixing screws.
  5. Before connecting a second hard drive to a computer, pay attention to connecting cables to the first one. Connect the wires to the additional drive in the same way as to the main one.
  6. Replace the case cover and turn on the computer.

BIOS setup

After the second hard drive is connected to the computer, several changes should be made to the "BIOS", since sometimes the newly installed HDD is assigned as the first boot device. This makes it impossible to boot the OS. To configure "BIOS":

  1. Turn on the computer by pressing the power button.
  2. As soon as the screen lights up, immediately start pressing the DEL or F8 key. Different motherboards use different buttons to enter the BIOS setup utility. To understand which key to press, watch the messages on the screen or read the instructions that came with the motherboard.
  3. After entering the BIOS, go to the Boot tab.
  4. In it, select with arrows and press "ENTER".
  5. In the menu that opens, move the cursor to the First Drive item, press ENTER and select the hard drive on which the system is installed. If you are not sure which HDD to select, set the switch to a random position.
  6. Return to the previous menu by pressing ESC.
  7. Here, move to the First Boot Device line and press "ENTER". Sometimes, to see it, you should move to the Boot Devices Priority submenu.
  8. In the drop-down menu, select Hard Drive. Sometimes, instead of this inscription, the full name of the hard drive will be displayed.
  9. Press F10 to save your changes and then ESC to exit the configuration utility and restart your computer.

If after the manipulations the PC does not boot, go back to step 5 and select another drive.

External hard drive

How to connect a second hard drive to a computer if the SATA and IDE ports on the motherboard are busy? In this case, the best option would be to use an external drive. Typically, these devices are connected to a USB port. Less often - to FireWire. In the first case, the drive can be installed on any PC, in the second - only on a PC equipped with a special port. The main advantage of an external HDD is portability. It can be easily connected and disconnected without turning off or disassembling the computer. However, such devices are usually slower than those installed in a PC case.

Operating system settings

What system settings should be done after a second hard drive is connected to a computer on WIndows 7? SATA or IDE are drives that are often not detected by the system in the file manager after mounting.

To display the new HDD in Explorer, follow these steps:

  1. In the Start menu search bar, type "Manage".
  2. Click on the item with the text "Computer Management".
  3. On the left side of the snap-in window, select Disk Management.
  4. Right-click on the drive that does not appear in Explorer. You can find out which HDD you should work with by comparing the indicated volume with the real one and examining the partition labels.
  5. In the expanded list of actions, click on "Create a simple volume", then specify the file system and cluster size, and then click on "OK".
  6. After completing the operation, right-click on the HDD again, and select the "Change drive letter" line from the menu.
  7. In the window that opens, click on the "Add" button and set the desired letter.