Installing a 2nd Hard Drive

Answer 1

Put both on the first IDE and set the HD with windows as master and the second one as slave. To do this you have to look on the back of the HD and set the jumpers (little clips) to the right setting. It usually says that on a sticker on the HD.

Answer 2

If you don't have enough room inside your laptop you'll need to find an external drive that will work with it. Check the back and sides of your laptop. Many have a bus connector that will allow you to plug in an external drive or other bus device.

Answer 3

To add another hard drive, Look at the jumper pins on the back of the new hard drive you wish to use as the secondary hard drive. Move the Jumper on those pins from MASTER to SLAVE to make the drive a slave drive and work under the primary hard drive. Now, open the computer after you have unplugged it and install the secondary hard drive, and make sure to hook it up to the IDE cable that is already hooked up to the primary hard drive, and hook it up only to the middle connector. The end connector of the IDE cable should already be in the primary hard drive so don't unplug it, just connect the middle connector of the cable that's already plugged into the primary drive to the secondary drive. Now, connect the power plug to the newly installed hard drive, plug in computer, and boot up. It should work just fine, and you'll gain more memory with that other hard drive!

Answer 4

Sometimes, the key to freeing up space on your computer is to just invest in a 2nd hard drive altogether. There's only so much cleaning up you can do on your computer until you know for a fact that it's time to invest in a second method for storage space. If you've decided to take the plunge and get a new hard drive, then this guide will take you through all the necessary steps of installing it. Stop worrying about"messing something up" and install it!

Chances are, you're installing an internal 2nd hard drive, but this may not be the case. If you're installing an external 2nd hard drive, all that you need to do is connect it via USB to your computer and either insert the CD that came with it or download the drivers for it. However, if it is internal, a little more work needs to be put into it.

Before doing anything to your computer flip the 2nd hard drive over so that you are looking at the back of it where the cords will plug in at. If you're going to be using your current hard drive as well as this new one on the same ribbon cable, you will need to remove the small plastic piece that's covering a set of pins to the section that is marked"slave." If you're using a second ribbon cable for your extra hard drive, then you can leave the jumper set to"master."

Next, open the computer up and locate the hard drive. You will need to connect the extra ribbon cable connector to your 2nd hard drive (this is the case if you are using it as a slave). If there is no extra connector for your second hard drive, you'll need to buy a second ribbon cable. Either way, connect it to the ribbon cable slot on the 2nd hard drive, and then connect the power supply. Once both of these connections have been made, you're finished.

Close the computer back up, and check your device manager to see if it has been detected. If there was no hard drive detected, check your connections as well as the manual. The manufacturer website can also provide a wealth of information on this topic. Once you're finished, you'll be able to enjoy lots more free space to store your important data and files.