Is it easy?

[pyrate83]

How easy would it be for me to install a second hard drive? I have never done it before and wondered if it something I can do without messing up my system. Once installed properly, will Windows recognize it immediately and how easy would it be to move all my music, games, videos to that drive so they will still work. Just thought someone in here might have done this before and could help but I will also check out HP's instructions for doing a second HDD.

[Conquest10]

its very easy. i just plugged it in and inserted the disc that came with it to format the drive. as soon as i rebooted windows recognized it.

[pyrate83]

Really...so there aren't going to be a lot of wires I have to work with then? And I won't have to disconnect anything that I currently have in there to get to my expansion bay?

[zodiac]

if its a new drive,like what was said it needs to be formated.the easiest way is with disk that comes with the drive.if its oem just download it from the website.
after you hook it up,check the bios to see if it sees it.
set the jumper to slave.i wouldn't put it on the same cable as the master is.it will be a lot slower if both drives are on the same cable when transfering files.
videos and music will work the same,but games and programs may have problems if you move them.you might have to reinstall them to that drive.if you format the c drive some games might not work even though its install on your slave.

[pyrate83]

So if I wanted to move my games to another drive other than the one they were installed on, they may not run? But if I burn the save game files and then just reinstall the game on the new drive and take it off the original then put the save files onto the new drive, the game would work right? But music wouldn't be a problem.

I still need to know if I will have to screw around with the things that are already installed in my system.(like disconnecting certain cables, etc.)

[Conquest10]

yeah, you would have to install them again. cuz it will be looking for it where you installed it originally.
you shouldn't have to disconnect any cables. most computers have a lot of spare cables inside that you use for upgrades.

[pyrate83]

Great, the less that I have to move around the better! I'm still new to computers but I think I should be able to do this install.

[tgpo]

I recently installed a new HD in my computer. The hardest part of the installation was finding a T-8 screwdriver to install it. Don't be too afraid of computers, the more you fiddle around with, the more you learn how everything works, and the more comfortable you become with it.

[zodiac]

Don't be too afraid of computers

be afraid,be very afraid

[g_shocker182]

Just remember to try to not staticly-shock your computer; this will put you in an undesirable situation

[hoyboy]

Might be worth a visit to Tom's Hardware guide to give you a guide on doing this. It has helped a lot of people, including me

[pyrate83]

You probably knew I would ask this but...what is Tom's Hardware guide and where can I get it.

[flaninacupboard]

well, next time you can try a google search, but as you asked so nicely

www.tomshardware.com

kinda obvious really

[rendalunit]

adjust the jumper setting on the drive before you install it. Make sure you align pin 1 on the drive to the stripe on the ribbon (won't work if reversed). You might need to set a partition with FDISK before you format. Unplug the system before you work on it and touch the chassis to get rid of static electricity.

[gmatov]

No one has mentioned it, but, if you get a drive in a box, you are going to get a BIG sheet of paper that shows you, with pictures, what to do.

If you are lucky in buying this drive, you might consider looking at the boxes. Specific Maxtor drives sometimes have an ATA133 expansion controller card in the box, which, if you have a free PCI slot, allows you not only 4 additional IDE devices, but, in your case, will allow you to put this drive on its own channel as a third master drive, not slaved to either the first drive, nor the CD-ROM.

As you probably have 2 Optical devices now, the new drive would take up your last IDE channel, and a future expansion would have you getting an ATA card, anyhow. Store price is 50 to 65 bucks, so if you deduct that from the price of the drive, you will be getting a bargain.

There is cloning software available to copy everything to the new drive, creating a "new" C:\ drive, which you can move onto the onboard IDE cable. Personally, I would take this as a good opportunity to do a fresh install, instead, as Windows does tend to clutter itself up over time.

You'd have to re-install everything, though. Your saved game stats should just be a copy/paste, as would stuff in any other folder, such as My Documents, cookies, mail, etc.

BTW, if you install then move this to IDE1 ( or 0, depending on what your board calls it ) you can always go to the Program Files on the "old C " and click to run a program that is installed on it. I do that with quite a few apps that I don't want to re-install. You can even create a shortcut on the desktop pointing to those programs..

After all, you have seen most installation programs tell you they will setup in a default folder on C:\, and give you a Browse button to let you pick someplace else. Windows itself, will sometimes tell you it wants to install on another drive. Just a few days ago, with a re-install, it said D:\, and when I corrected it to C:\, warned that I might have to re-install everything.

[pyrate83]

Hey thanks for the tip...I wil keep all this info. in mind when I decide to do this.....again thanks!