Buy internal hard drive SATA. Do this if you don't already have such a disk.

• It's better to buy a hard drive made by the same company as the computer (such as HP).
• Some hard drives not compatible with some computers. Before purchasing a hard drive, find your computer model and hard drive model (for example, search for "HP Pavilion L3M56AA SATA Compatible") to see if they will work together.

Turn off your computer and unplug it from the electrical outlet. Do not work inside your computer while it is turned on, as you may damage the components or cause injury.

• Some desktop computers turn off within a couple of minutes. In this case, wait until the computer fans stop working.

Installation hard drive on a computer - it’s not a difficult task and there’s nothing to be afraid of if you have to do it yourself, even if you’ve never seen your computer open. I’ll explain everything to you now, and everything will work out for you.

Installing a hard drive on your computer will be required if you are going to update your device, are building a computer from scratch, or want a second HDD. This instruction will help you in the first two cases. But in case HDD replacement I won’t tell you how to remove the old one, I think there won’t be any problems with that, but I’ll just show you how to install the new one correctly. But I’ll tell you about connecting the second hard drive some other time.

Installing a new hard drive begins by screwing it to the case. This is done using bolts. There are threaded holes in the hard drive case, and grooves in the computer case. It is screwed through them.

Make sure installed device ventilation inside will not interfere system unit, and also that all wires and cables can easily reach it without tension.

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Connecting the hard drive to the motherboard

The bolts are fixed, and we move on to the wires and cables. Connect the HDD with which it will communicate with it.

Depending on the type of HDD, they will differ - ATA (IDE) and SATA. The first is older, the second is new, but both types are still on sale.

The IDE hard drive is connected to the motherboard using a cable, which has a large number of contacts, pins, and is therefore wide. The cable has a lock that prevents it from being connected incorrectly. Therefore, it is impossible to make a mistake. Connect the HDD and motherboard using an IDE cable.

Connecting a hard drive SATA drive occurs using a narrow train. It will be impossible to mix up the connection sockets on the motherboard, since SATA will only fit into the correct connector. Use a SATA cable to connect the HDD to the motherboard.

Connecting the hard drive to power

IDE and SATA hard drives also have different power cables. Most are for one or the other type or there are special adapters.

To connect hard drives IDE uses a 4-pin Peripheral Power Connector. SATA hard drives require a SATA Power Connector. In both cases, you can't mix up the connections, so don't worry about doing anything wrong.

Differences between connecting IDE and SATA hard drives

It would seem that the connection procedure is the same, but in fact IDE is slightly different from SATA in that it requires setting the position of the jumper, the so-called jumper.

The motherboard is usually equipped with a pair of connectors for IDE devices, and two devices can be connected to each. Each pair can have one master and one slave, and it is impossible for two to be identical. The hard drive must be in master position if Windows boots from it. The second device in the same connection branch must be a slave.

If all this is difficult to understand, then simply set the jumper to master if your computer only has one hard drive.

You can find the jumper connection card on the hard drive case itself.

When the first computers appeared, all programs, games and other files took up virtually no disk space. Now things are completely different, and it is often necessary to install additional storage media. Therefore, every user should know how to connect a second hard drive to a computer. In fact, this is not difficult to do, you just need to follow simple instructions.

First, the device must be purchased in a store. Please note that the hard drive has several connection interfaces. After purchasing the purchase, you can begin installing the device.

Preparing for installation

• How many hard drives are already connected to the motherboard? Most often, a computer has only one hard drive, so installing a second drive is not difficult. In most cases, the HDD is located directly under the DVD-ROM, so finding it will not be difficult;
• Is there additional space to install a second hard drive? If it is not possible to install a second or third disk, then you will have to purchase a USB drive;
• What type of cable is used to connect the hard drive to the computer? If the purchased device does not have the same interface as on a PC, it will be difficult to install it.

Please note that you will need a 3.5-inch hard drive. There is no need to buy small disks designed for laptops.

Physical disk connection

If the system unit has not yet been disassembled, disassemble it. Now it is recommended to get rid of static electricity. This is done by any means known to you. If you wish, you can purchase a special grounding bracelet in the store.

After some minor manipulations, the hard drive will be secured in the case; now all that remains is to connect the hard drive. Before plugging in the power cable and cable, it should be noted that the procedure is slightly different for the IDE and SATA interfaces.

IDE interface

When connecting a drive with an IDE interface, it is recommended to pay attention to such a nuance as setting the operating mode:

1. Master (main).
2. Slave (subordinate).

If you are installing an additional hard drive, then you must enable Slave mode. To do this, you need to use a jumper (jumper), which is installed in the second place. The first row includes Master mode. It is important to note that on modern computers, the jumper can be completely removed. The system will automatically determine which hard master is.

At the next step, you need to connect the second or third hard drive to the mother. To do this, the IDE interface is connected to a cable (wide, thin wire). The second end of the cable is connected to the IDE 1 Secondary socket (the main drive is connected to the zero socket).

The final connection step is power supply. To do this, a white chip with four wires is connected to the corresponding connector. The wires come directly from the power supply (a box with wires and a fan).

SATA interface

Unlike IDE, a disk with SATA interface equipped with two L-shaped connectors. One is for the power connection, and the second is for the data cable. It should be noted that such a hard drive does not have a jumper.

The data cable is connected to a narrow connector. The other end is connected to a special connector. Most often, the motherboard has 4 such ports, but there are exceptions and there are only 2 ports. One of the slots may be occupied by a DVD drive.

There are cases when a drive with a SATA interface was purchased, but no such connectors were found on the motherboard. In this case, it is recommended to additionally purchase a SATA controller that is installed in a PCI slot.

The next step is to connect the power. An L-shaped wide cable is connected to the corresponding connector. If the drive has an additional power connector (IDE interface), it is enough to use one of the connectors. On this physical connection hard drive is complete.

BIOS setup

When all manipulations with the hard drive are completed, you should turn on the computer and then enter the BIOS. It is important to note that launching the BIOS on each computer is carried out differently. To do this you need to use the key:

• Delete;

After entering the BIOS, you need to proceed to configuration settings. It is important to assign booting from the drive on which the operating system is installed. If the priority is set incorrectly, the system simply will not boot.

If one of the disks does not appear in the BIOS, it means that the hard drive was connected incorrectly or the cable was damaged. It is recommended to inspect all wires and reconnect (don't forget to turn off the computer).

Once the BIOS setup is completed, you can boot into the operating system. After this, all that remains is to assign a letter to the drive.

Final stage

Since connecting the hard drive to the computer is not enough, you need to make the final setup directly from Windows. On some computers, a similar procedure is carried out in automatic mode. To check this, you should open “My Computer”, and then see if the new disk.

If nothing happens, you need to launch the control panel. Then select “Administration”. Once a new window opens, you will need to select “Computer Management”. In the left column, you need to find the “Disk Management” tab (on some computers “Disk Manager”).

• At the bottom of the window, select disk 1 (if more than 2 hard drives are connected, select the disk with the highest number). This will be the new hard drive;
• You must assign a letter to the logical volume. To do this, right-click on the disk and then select “Assign letter”;
• As soon as the disk is assigned a new letter, it must be formatted. The procedure can take a long time, it all depends on the size of the hard drive. When formatting it is important to choose file system NTFS.

When the formatting process is complete, a new disk will appear in the My Computer root directory. If for some reason you cannot connect the HDD using the built-in manager, it is recommended to use third-party programs.

An excellent tool for working with hard drives is Partition Manager. In addition, such a utility allows you to split the disk into several logical volumes.

Conclusion

Connecting a hard drive takes no more than 15 minutes. If you follow the instructions, there shouldn't be any difficulties. Modern computers do not need additional settings BIOS, of course, if the disks are not installed in absolute new computer. Also do not forget that from operating system It depends on how big the connected hard drive can be.

Video review: connecting a hard drive

The time has come when one hard drive in a computer is no longer enough. More and more users decide to connect a second HDD to their PC, but not everyone knows how to do it correctly themselves to avoid mistakes. In fact, the procedure for adding a second disk is simple and does not require special skills. It is not even necessary to mount the hard drive - it can be connected as external device, if there is a free USB port.

Connecting a second HDD to a PC or laptop

Options for connecting a second hard drive are as simple as possible:

• Connecting the HDD to the computer system unit.

  Suitable for owners of regular desktop PCs who do not want to have external connected devices.



• Connecting a hard drive as an external drive.

  The easiest way to connect an HDD, and the only one possible for a laptop owner.

Option 1. Installation in the system unit

HDD type determination

Before connecting, you need to determine the type of interface the hard drive works with - SATA or IDE. Almost everything modern computers are equipped with a SATA interface, so it is best if the hard drive is of the same type. The IDE bus is considered obsolete and may simply not be on the motherboard. Therefore, connecting such a drive may cause some difficulties.

The easiest way to recognize the standard is by contacts. This is what they look like on SATA drives:

And this is how the IDE does it:

Connecting a second SATA drive in the system unit

The process of connecting a disk is very easy and takes place in several stages:

Boot priority for SATA drives

The motherboard usually has 4 connectors for connecting SATA drives. They are designated as SATA0 - the first, SATA1 - the second, etc. The priority of the hard drive is directly related to the numbering of the connector. If you need to manually set the priority, you will need to go into the BIOS. Depending on the BIOS type, the interface and controls will be different.

In older versions, go to the section Advanced BIOS Features and work with the parameters First Boot Device And Second Boot Device. In new BIOS versions, look for the section Boot or Boot Sequence and parameter 1st/2nd Boot Priority.

Connecting a second IDE drive

In rare cases, there is a need to install a disk with an outdated IDE interface. In this case, the connection process will be slightly different.

Connecting a second IDE drive to the first SATA drive

When you need to connect an IDE drive to an already working SATA HDD, use a special IDE-SATA adapter.

The connection diagram is as follows:

1. The jumper on the adapter is set to Master mode.


2. The IDE plug connects to the hard drive itself.


3. The red SATA cable is connected on one side to the adapter, and the other to the motherboard.


4. The power cable is connected on one side to the adapter, and on the other to the power supply.

You may need to purchase a 4-pin to SATA adapter.

Initializing the disk in the OS

In both cases, after connecting, the system may not see the connected disk. This does not mean that you did something wrong, on the contrary, it is normal when new HDD not visible in the system. The hard drive must be initialized before it can be used. Read about how this is done in our other article.

Option 2. Connecting an external hard drive

Often users choose to connect external HDD. This is much simpler and more convenient if some files stored on the disk are sometimes needed outside the home. And in the situation with laptops, this method will be especially relevant, since there is no separate slot for a second HDD.

An external hard drive is connected via USB in exactly the same way as another device with the same interface (flash drive, mouse, keyboard).

A hard drive designed for installation in the system unit can also be connected via USB. To do this, you need to use either an adapter/adapter or a special external case for the hard drive. The essence of the operation of such devices is similar - the required voltage is supplied to the HDD through the adapter, and the connection to the PC is made via USB. Hard drives of different form factors have their own cables, so when purchasing you should always pay attention to the standard that sets overall dimensions your HDD.

If you decide to connect the drive using the second method, then literally follow 2 rules: do not neglect to safely remove the device and do not disconnect the drive while working with the PC to avoid errors.

We talked about ways to connect a second hard drive to a computer or laptop. As you can see, there is nothing complicated in this procedure and it is absolutely not necessary to use the services of computer specialists.

Often unstable work computer problem is due to insufficient free space on the hard drive. To solve this problem, you can remove unnecessary files, but if there are none, you need to install an additional HDD on your PC. This article provides instructions for connecting a second drive and describes some 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 are soldered to system board" - the first question that should be answered before installing the HDD. You need to find out what model of motherboard is installed in the system unit. This can be done by installing the AIDA64 program on your computer. This utility shows full 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 this, 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 cannot find the documentation, you will need to study the hardware of the computer yourself. To do this, you need to remove the left cover of the system unit, having first unscrewed the mounting bolts on its back side. Hard drives are located at the 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, it means the drive connection interface is IDE; if it is narrow, it means SATA.

After a visual inspection, you still have 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 cut. If there is a slot in the shape of the letter "G" in the connector. If the IDE connector will look like a rectangle with two rows of holes.

Pay attention to the area of ​​the motherboard where the cable from the drive goes. Are all ports busy? If there are no free ports, connecting a hard drive in the classic way will not work. 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 connecting 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 unsafe for the equipment. When moving computer hard the disk will dangle, and there is a possibility that it will damage the PC components or fail itself.

Selecting a hard drive

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

Also determine which one you will need. If only documents will be stored on it, it is enough to purchase a HDD with a capacity of 320 GB. If you plan to store high-definition films 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 makes no sense to overpay for this feature.

Correct jumper position

Users whose motherboard only has IDE ports must make jumper adjustments. 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 outermost connector of the cable. If two drives are connected to one wire, then the jumper on the additional hard drive should be in the slave position, and it should be connected to the connector that is located at a distance from the edge of the cable. There is no need to install jumpers on a SATA drive, since each drive uses 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, follow these steps to install it:

1. Disconnect power from the system unit.
2. Unscrew the bolts holding the left housing cover and remove it. This usually involves pulling it back.
3. Place the drive in the pocket of the system unit. At correct installation the slots for screws at the place where the hard drive is mounted and the holes on the HDD will coincide.
4. Tighten the mounting screws.
5. Before connecting the second hard drive to the computer, pay attention to connecting the 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 a 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 results in the OS being unable to boot. 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. On different motherboards different buttons are used to enter the utility BIOS settings. To figure out which key to press, watch the messages on the screen or read the instructions that came with your motherboard.
3. After entering the BIOS, go to the Boot tab.
4. Use the arrows to select 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 should be selected, 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 need to move to the Boot Devices Priority submenu.
8. Select Hard Drive from the drop-down menu. Sometimes the full name of the hard drive will be displayed instead of this message.
9. Press F10 to save your changes, then press ESC to exit the setup utility and restart your computer.

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

External hard drive

How can I connect a second hard drive to my computer if the SATA and IDE ports on the motherboard are busy? In this case the best option will be used external storage. Typically, such 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 one 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 usually work slower than those installed in a PC case.

Operating system settings

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

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 is not displayed 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 “OK”.
6. After completing the operation, right-click on the HDD again, and select “Change drive letter” from the menu.
7. In the window that opens, click on the “Add” button and specify the desired letter.