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.
Please note that you will need a 3.5-inch hard drive. There is no need to buy small disks designed for laptops.
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.
When connecting a drive with an IDE interface, it is recommended to pay attention to such a nuance as setting the operating mode:
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).
Unlike IDE, a SATA drive has 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. This completes the physical connection of the hard drive.
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:
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.
Since connecting the hard drive to the computer is not enough, you need to make the final setup directly from Windows. On some computers, this procedure is carried out automatically. To check this, you should open “My Computer”, and then see if a new disk has appeared.
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”).
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.
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 require additional BIOS settings, of course, if the disks are not installed in a completely new computer. Also, do not forget that how big the connected hard drive can be depends on the operating system.
The ability to connect additional hard drives will be very useful to you if there is a lack of free disk space on the ones already installed. You can connect the HDD to a personal computer:
This is interesting! PredecessorSATA was the interfaceATA (other name –IDE). The difference lies in the method of data transmission - serial transmissionSATA, parallelATA. It is generally accepted that serial transfer is faster, however, for the average user the difference is invisible.
Step 1. Remove the case cover of your system unit.
Step 2. Attach the data cable to the connector on the motherboard.
On a note! The connector number is not important. The bootable hard drive is determined by the software installed on it.
Step 3. Connect the data cable to the connector on the hard drive.
Step 4. Connect the power cable to the hard drive connector.
Important! When connecting the cable, the computer's power must be turned off. When connecting a cable with voltage applied to it, there is a high risk of damage to the hard drive controller, or the controllerSATA motherboard! In the event that your power supply has power connectors only for hard drivesIDE, use a special adapter.
Step 5. Secure the hard drive to the case with screws.
Important! Make sure that the cables do not come into contact with the cooler blades of the system unit.
If you are using a 2.5-inch drive, use special slides to secure the hard drive more tightly inside the system unit.
These connectors are backward compatible, that is, SATA can be connected to SAS, but SAS cannot be connected to SATA.
Step 1. Install the hard drive into a special structure (sled) of the appropriate size.
On a note! The designs are designed for certain form factors, that is, inserting a 2.5-inch drive into the controller cage of 3.5-inch hard drives will not work.
Step 2. Insert the slide into the controller basket and push until the slide handle locks in the desired position.
Important! Don't forget to check the cable connectionRAID to the motherboard and change your controller settings.
Step 1. Attach the adapter to the hard drive.
Step 2. Connect the adapter and the desired port on your computer using a USB cable.
Step 3. Connect the power cable to the adapter.
Step 4. Apply power to the adapter by switching the toggle switch to the working position.
Step 5. If necessary, install drivers for the connected equipment.
2.5" drives are commonly used in laptops. The connectors are no different from the connectors for 3.5 drives, but the laptop hard drive is attached to the case using a special basket (sled).
Step 1. Remove the slides or other structures from your hard drive.
Step 2. Follow the instructions for connecting a 3.5 hard drive using an adapter.
When using a special adapter for 2.5 hard drives, you do not need to remove the slide. As a rule, such adapters do not have external power and receive voltage from the computer’s USB port.
Step 1. Connect the adapter to the hard drive.
Step 2. Connect both ends of the USB adapter cable to the computer ports.
Important! Two ends of the cable are needed because one of them transmits information, and the other carries power to the adapter.
We looked at three different ways to connect hard drives with SATA connectors to a personal computer. Each of them requires the purchase of additional equipment, at least cables. If you decide to use a SATA drive as an external one (connected via a USB adapter), it is recommended to purchase a reliable protective case for the drive. When working with the device, the cover should be removed to avoid overheating. Some parameters of hard drives working with different technologies are presented in the summary table.
| Name | Data transfer rate, Mb/s | Number of devices per port |
|---|---|---|
| IDE (ATA) | 133,5 | 2 |
| SATA R.1 | 150 | 1 |
| SATA R.2 | 300 | Up to 15 |
| SATA R.3 | 600 | Up to 16 |
| SAS R.150 | 150 | Up to 4 |
| SAS R.300 | 300 | Up to 4 |
| SAS R.600 | 600 | Up to 4 |
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 a hard drive - it can be connected as an external device if there is a free USB port.
Options for connecting a second hard drive are as simple as possible:
HDD type determination
Before connecting, you need to determine the type of interface the hard drive works with - SATA or IDE. Almost all 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 present 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:
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.
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:
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 the new HDD is 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.
Often users choose to connect an 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 specifies the overall dimensions of 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.
To access the contents of your hard drive via USB from a PC or laptop, you will need a special device - an adapter.
The connection is not complicated, the main thing is the presence of a special device. There are several types of devices that allow you to connect the hard drive (hard drive, HDD) of a desktop computer or laptop to USB and open its contents. Here are the two most popular: a universal USB controller (for example, AGESTAR FUBCP) or a case adapter (SATA External case, ITEC MySafe Advance and others).
In China you can buy the following devices that are built-in instead of a laptop disk drive:
There are also combined options with a complete set (adapter, cord, power supply).
The advantages of the first one are that such a device is cheaper than a case adapter, and often supports several types of connections (SATA, IDE). However, using a regular hard drive as a portable drive with it is problematic, since it will not be protected by anything.
The second option is a case adapter, which is specifically designed to turn a hard drive into a portable memory device with a sufficiently large capacity, since the case will reliably protect it from dust and mechanical damage. But at the same time, the versatility of the device suffers: before purchasing, you will have to decide which connector the purchased adapter will support.
Using a hard drive in a cased version is a fairly simple procedure, so let’s look at how to connect and open a hard drive via USB using a universal adapter (using the example of AGESTAR FUBCP).
The first thing you need to do is determine the type of HDD connector that you plan to connect via USB. Plugs come in the following types:
SATA (a more modern connector, used in newly built PCs and laptops);
IDE (can be found mainly in “experienced” PCs).
We will consider the connection using the example of AGESTAR FUBCP, since it supports both “old” and modern HDDs. The average cost of such a device in Russian electronics stores is about 1,500 rubles.
The device is equipped with three interfaces (plugs):
Description of AGESTAR FUBCP connectors below.
So, we have determined the connector of the connected hard drive; now it needs to be connected to the corresponding connector on the device. After that, insert the USB connector for data transfer (black) into the USB port of your computer or laptop. If we are working with a laptop hard drive (2.5”), we can turn on the adapter, and the HDD should appear in the list of computer drives. Sometimes, with such a connection, the hard drive may not have enough power and will not be detected by the system. In this case, turn off and connect the red USB connector of the adapter to any of the computer ports and turn on the adapter again.
If the connected hard drive was previously installed in a PC (3.5” format), the power supply from your PC’s USB will not be enough for it. The AGESTAR FUBCP comes with a power supply for 3.5" hard drives. To open the hard drive via USB, first connect it to the appropriate connector (IDE/SATA), then insert the black USB cable into one of the USB ports of the computer, then connect a power supply that operates on 220 V to the adapter (plug it into a power outlet) .
After all cables are securely connected, turn on the adapter. The connection is complete, the hdd will be detected by the computer, and you can work with it.
A hard disk is a solid-state drive, which is so called in contrast to a floppy disk, which has not been used by users for a long time. The operation of connecting a hard drive is not so complicated and in many cases the user can do everything independently, without contacting computer specialists.
If a system unit with an IDE interface has more than one hard drive, then one of them on the bus is designated as the main one, and the second as the auxiliary one. The first one is called Master, and the other one is called Slave. Such a division is required so that when loading the operating system after turning on, the computer knows exactly which disk is the boot one.
In all cases, you can set the boot sequence from drives using the BIOS settings. And in IDE this is done by installing jumpers on the disk enclosures according to the diagram shown on the enclosure.
By type of interface, hard drives differ between IDE – the old model and SATA – in all new computers. If you have an older model of system unit and you are going to connect a new hard drive with a SATA interface, you will need to purchase a special adapter.
It happens that you pick up this old thing and can’t figure out what to connect and where. The old IDE interface (1986) is attached to a parallel cable. Usually there are either 2 or 4 connectors on the motherboard. Always an even number, because the Master/Slave rule works. Settings can be specified using jumpers (example):
The specified configuration may vary depending on the manufacturer, as well as the set of permissible functions specified by the connector. The IDE interface made it possible to conveniently connect a hard drive and a CD drive to the computer at the same time. This was enough for most users. The disadvantage of the parallel interface was the low transfer speed. In another way, IDE is referred to among professionals as parallel ATA or ATA-1. The transfer speed of such devices does not exceed 133 Mbit/s (for ATA-7). With the introduction of the serial SATA interface in 2003, the aging information transfer protocol began to be called parallel PATA.
The name ATA-1 was assigned to the IDE interface in 1994 when it was recognized by the ANSI organization. Formally, it was an extension of the 16-bit ISA bus (predecessor of PCI). It is curious that in the modern world there is a tendency to use video card interfaces to create ports for connecting hard drives. This was followed by accelerated ATA-2 and packet ATAPI. The IDE interface has not been officially supported since December 2013. Connecting such a hard drive to a new motherboard is only possible with an expansion card.
Using such devices, you can perform the exact opposite function: install previous generation hard drives on new motherboards. So, for example, on the old A7N8X-X there are only two IDE ports, but there are 5 PCI 2.2 slots for expansion cards. The universal adapter is just right for this case. And you can install a modern hard drive up to SATA3, but its operating speed will, of course, be several times lower than the maximum.
Hard drives for standard IDE interfaces are probably already mostly out of order. And there are not so many of them left in the world. It remains to add to this that the configuration of ATA devices can be changed using jumpers, and the explanatory drawing is located directly on the device body. Unscrupulous suppliers sometimes keep jumpers for themselves, and not every configuration in this case can be carried out by the user. There are usually not enough jumpers.
Today there is a new trend: traditional PCI cards, which were supplanted for some time by PCI Express cards, are reappearing on motherboards. This means that the “old” one can now be connected to a modern system unit using an adapter.
Experts generally distinguish three generations of SATA. The gradation is based on the speed of information transmission:
A standard SATA drive has two connectors, one of which is used for power supply, and the second serves as a data transfer cable. It is not recommended to swap hard drives by connecting them to different SATA ports. The plugs have keys that prevent the connector from being connected incorrectly.
Sometimes the hard drive can contain useful information that any advanced user can understand. But sometimes the designation tends to be so ornate that only a true professional can comprehend it. As, for example, in this case.
There is information about the brand, serial number, technical data and even measures of disk capacity. But its interface remains unknown. This is important when choosing hardware for a computer with limited capabilities. If the disk had a SATA3 interface, then it is useless to install one in an old system unit. There are many other similar examples. Let's say in advance that this drive has a SATA 2.6 interface. Consequently, its information exchange rate limit is 3 Mbit/s.
How to distinguish? First, you can look at the body. Here is an image of an old disk that supports two speeds, therefore, it is a SATA2 device.
When removed from the system unit, it was equipped with a jumper that reduced the speed.
The jumper was immediately removed, therefore, the device will now function twice as fast. On the SATA 2.0 bus of the GA-H61M-D2-B3 motherboard.
This once again suggests that it is not enough to buy a system unit; you also need to study its entire device in general and hard drives in particular. The drives inside were paired using a special hanging frame.
This achieves better maintainability of the structure. Both hard drives were quickly removed from the case. As an alternative, a bay installation option is used, where the housing is secured with screws on both sides, and two side covers must be removed for dismantling. Which is not very convenient, considering that each of them usually jams. It is rare to find system unit cases where the sidewalls are removed using simple methods.
Sometimes the hard drive may not have data transfer speed information. In this case, you can, of course, stock up on AIDA, but it’s even easier to look up the information on the Internet. The brand of the drive is determined by the price list or the appearance of the case.
Let's say we have WD5000AAJS in our hands. Only one thing is known - at lunchtime he will be a hundred years old. Therefore, you need to familiarize yourself with historical information on the Internet. Since models are constantly updated, you need to enter the code followed by a dash - 00YFA0. The search engine quickly provided an answer, and now there is every reason to claim that the channel bandwidth is 3 Gbit/s (SATA 2.5 generation).
We have already discussed above how to connect such equipment to an outdated motherboard that does not have a SATA interface. So let's move on to new products.
When engineers approached the problem of increasing SATA speeds to 12 Gbit/s and higher, it turned out that this was not economically viable. Energy efficiency drops sharply while prices rise. Someone noticed that the PCI Express graphics card bus works at high speeds without problems, and then it was decided to make some kind of hybrid between it and the now obsolete SATA. To do this, the connector was divided into two parts:
The figure shows a dual exSATA port. This can include 4 hard drives with a SATA interface, or 2 exSATA, or 1 exSATA and 2 SATA. Below is an example of connecting two SATA drives to one exSATA port.
Due to its large size, covering three exSATA slots at once, the plug is called a hub among professionals. You need to start by checking the BIOS. It turned out that some motherboards can turn off SATA support, completely switching to Express, which supports speeds of up to 16 Gbps.
At the same time, you can look at the BIOS capabilities regarding RAID arrays. Let us remember that in the latter case, several hard drives can duplicate their information for reliability, or turn on alternately, which significantly increases the speed of operation. The size of the article does not allow us to speak in more detail on this topic.
The selected AHCI mode is the default mode for most systems. It provides maximum compatibility with older equipment in a completely transparent manner for the user. To safely hot-plug drives, it is recommended to set the appropriate option in the BIOS settings.
When installing a new operating system, the sequence for connecting bootable media is specified. The hard drive is not put in first place. Instead, leadership is given to a flash drive or DVD drive.
On the motherboard, the IDE connector is visible from afar. You can recognize it by its characteristic slot with many contacts and a key located approximately in the center of the block.
A splitter cable is usually hung on each port, so that a master and a servant are on the channel at the same time.
Before connecting a drive, you need to correctly configure the jumpers on its case - Slave or Master. There will definitely be a diagram on the case on how to do this.
For drives from different manufacturers, the order in which jumpers are inserted will be unique (they seem to be competing in this). The disk must be a bus master, otherwise the operating system cannot be started from it (No IDE Master detected). Therefore, it is necessary to set the slave jumper on the CD drive.
After setting the jumpers, insert the hard drive into a suitable cage and secure it with four screws on both sides. Connect the single data cable connector to the corresponding header on the motherboard. Connect the power cables. The order doesn't matter here.
Now you can close the system unit covers and connect the computer. The system itself should detect new connections and configure everything. The user will only have to confirm operations in the Add New Equipment Wizard.
If the system is confused about where the Master is and where the Slave is, then it is necessary to make assignments in the BIOS. Immediately after turning on the power, press the F2 or Del key repeatedly (in different ways) to open the BIOS settings. Find the interface for describing the order of boot devices, set the parameters. The first is the CD drive from which the system is installed. Save the settings using the F10 key. After this, the operating system will begin loading.
To connect a SATA hard drive, use a PCI bus adapter. It may have one or another number of ports; accordingly, several hard drives are installed.
Insert the card into the slot, connect the hard drive, place it in the bay and secure it with screws on both sides - two or four screws in total. It is advisable to choose the location of the modules inside the system unit in such a way that, if possible, there is enough free space between them to ensure ventilation. Otherwise, if the computer overheats, it will automatically turn off.
Now connect the power cable to the hard drive. If the power supply is an old model for IDE, you will need an adapter to connect SATA. Now you can connect the data cable to the hard drive. After the system boots, you should install the driver from the included DVD, and the new drive will become visible through Explorer.
Sometimes there is no other drive other than SATA. And then you need to install Windows again via a PCI adapter. The bootloader will not see the drive, but will give you the opportunity to find it manually. This is where you will need to find the required driver for the current operating system on the DVD. The installer will then notice the disk and you can create partitions for the new operating system. This is absolutely accurate, because the authors installed the “seven” in this way on an old system unit.
