Many PC users are acutely aware of the lack of memory on their computer. Some people transfer information to various drives, while others decide to connect an additional HDD. 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 second hard disk to the 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" (you can install it in service center, after asking for 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 at least to the "pocket", at least 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 connecting a second hard drive 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 mode boot device.

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 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 drives, go into the BIOS to designate the main drive 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.

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 one was exclusively under OS + necessary programs+ frequently used files and (documents, technical diagrams etc.), and the second for the home archive (videos, photos, movies, 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 won't go..."

In fact, it was this option that I considered first, and here's why. Now I have system unit stands (with the wide side) close behind the monitor and the back (free) side (for certain reasons) without a cover (that is, there is free access to the hardware). The 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 (it stands right on the table) hard drive also for 500. And it has autonomous power supply switch on the body. 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 with USB computer(comes with a box included) 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 needs to be restored from 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. Either you need to check for errors or defragment 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 to spread data - and this 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 downloads from the Internet, folders for saving files created in different programs and a temporary archive of the most requested 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. At each start of the operating system hard the disk 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.

Hello.

Almost all new laptops (and computers, too) come with one partition (local disk) on which Windows is installed. In my opinion, this is not the best option, because. it is more convenient to split the disk into 2 local disks (into two partitions): install Windows on one, and store documents and files on the other. In this case, in case of problems with the OS, it can be easily reinstalled without fear of losing data on another partition of the disk.

If earlier this would have required formatting the disk and partitioning it again, now the operation is quite simple and easy in Windows itself (note: I will show you using Windows 7 as an example). At the same time, the files and data on the disk will remain safe and sound (at least if you do everything right, who is not confident in their abilities - do backup data).

1) Open the disk management window

The first action is to open a window disk management. This can be done in different ways: for example, through panel Windows controls , or you can through the line "Run".

To do this, press the button combination Win and R- a small window with one line should appear, where you need to enter commands (see screenshots below).

Win-R buttons

Enter the diskmgmt.msc command and press Enter (as in the screenshot below).

2) Volume compression: i.e. from one section - we make two!

The next step is to decide from which disk (more precisely, a partition on a disk) you want to take free space for a new partition.

Free space - not in vain underlined! The fact is that you can create an additional partition only from free space: let's say you have a 120 GB disk, 50 GB is free on it, which means you can create a second local disk for 50 GB. It is logical that on the first partition you will have 0 GB of free space.

To find out how much free space you have, go to "My Computer" / "This Computer". Another example below: 38.9 GB is free on the disk, which means the maximum partition we can create is 38.9 GB.

Local drive "C:"

In the Disk Management window, select the disk partition that you want to use to create another partition. I chose the system drive "C:" with Windows (Note: if you "split" space from the system drive, be sure to leave 10-20 GB of free space on it for the system to work and for further installation of programs).

On the selected partition: click right click mouse and popup context menu select the option "" (screen below).

Request space for compression.

In the next window you will see:

1. The space available for compression (it is usually equal to free space on the hard drive);
2. The size of the compressible space is the size of the future second (third ...) partition on the HDD.

After entering the partition size (by the way, the size is entered in MB) - click the "Compress".

If everything was done correctly, then in a few seconds you will see that another partition has appeared on your disk (which, by the way, will not be distributed, it looks like in the screenshot below).

In fact, this is the section, but you will not see it in " My computer"And the explorer, because. it is not formatted. By the way, such an unallocated area on the disk can only be seen in specialized programs and utilities. ("Disk Management" is one of them, built into Windows 7) .

3) Formatting the resulting partition

To format this partition - select it in the disk management window (see screenshot below), right-click on it and select the "" option.

In the next step, you can simply click “Next” right away (because you already decided on the size of the partition at the stage of creating an additional partition, a couple of steps above).

The next window will ask you to assign a drive letter. Typically, the second drive is the local drive "D:". If the letter "D:" is occupied, you can choose any free one at this stage, and later change the letters of drives and drives in a way that is more convenient for you.

Next step: choice file system and setting the volume label. In most cases, I recommend choosing:

• file system- NTFS. Firstly, it supports files larger than 4 GB, and secondly, it is not subject to fragmentation, as, say, FAT 32 (more on this here:);
• cluster size : default;
• Volume label: enter the name of the disk that you want to see in Explorer, which will allow you to quickly sort out what you have on this disk (especially if you have 3-5 or more disks in the system);
• Quick Format: It is recommended to check the box.

Finishing touch: confirmation of the changes that will be made to the disk partition. Just press the "Done" button.

Actually, now you can use the second disk partition in normal mode. The screenshot below shows the local drive (F:) that we created a few steps earlier.

The second drive is the local drive (F:)

PS

By the way, if "Disk Management" does not solve your aspirations for disk expansion, I recommend using these programs: (with the help of them you can: merge, split, compress, clone hard drives. In general, everything that may be needed in everyday work with the HDD). That's all for me. Good luck to everyone and a quick breakdown of disks!

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 right on their own in order 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

The options for connecting a second hard drive are as simple as possible:

• Connecting the HDD to the computer system unit.

  Suitable for owners of conventional stationary PCs who do not want to have external connected devices.



• Connecting a hard drive as an external drive.

  The easiest way HDD connections, and the only one possible for a laptop owner.

Option 1. Installation in the system unit

Determining the type of HDD

Before connecting, you need to determine the type of interface with which the hard drive works - SATA or IDE. Almost all modern computers are equipped with a SATA interface, respectively, 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, with the connection of such a disk, some difficulties may arise.

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

And like this in the IDE:

Connecting a second SATA drive in the system unit

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

SATA boot priority

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 slot numbering. If you need to manually set the priority, you will need to go into the BIOS. Depending on the type of BIOS, the interface and management will be different.

In older versions, go to the section Advanced BIOS Features and work with 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 is connected to the hard drive itself.


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


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

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

OS disk initialization

In both cases, after connecting, the system may not see the connected drive. 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. To be able to use it, initialization of the hard disk is required. Read about how to do this in our other article.

Option 2: Connecting an external hard drive

Often users choose to connect external HDD. It is much easier and more convenient if some of the 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 a 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 - through the adapter, the HDD is fed the right voltage, and the connection to the PC is via USB. Hard drives of different form factors have their own cables, so when buying, you should always pay attention to the standard that sets the overall dimensions of your HDD.

If you decide to connect the disk by the second method, then follow literally 2 rules: do not neglect safe extraction device and do not remove the drive while using 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 optional to use the services of computer masters.

Question from user

Hello.

Tell me, how can I connect another disk to the laptop (or is it impossible)? It's just that my 500 GB disk is no longer enough, now I'm thinking about increasing the space ...

Svetlana.

Good day!

Yes, these questions are not uncommon. In general, recently laptops have gained great popularity and are slowly replacing ordinary PCs. Laptops have a lot of advantages, but upgrading is a tricky business. Add another disk or change the memory - in some cases it is not possible at all...

It is a pity that the author of the question did not paint more specifically the essence of the problem. In this article, I will consider several ways to connect another drive to a laptop (in some cases, you may have 3 of them at once!). Many connect another disk not only for the sake of increasing space, but for the sake of increasing the speed of the system (they install an SSD drive and transfer Windows from the HDD to it).

Ways to connect 2 drives to a laptop

Option number 1: install the disk in the second slot in the laptop

Some laptops have two slots for hard drives (however, I want to say right away that the configuration of such laptops is quite rare). Basically, these laptops are classified as gaming and are quite expensive.

To find out how many slots you have - just look at those. laptop characteristics (if you do not have documents for the device, you can look on the Internet), or simply remove the protective cover from the back of the laptop and take a look for yourself (Important! Do not open the lid if the laptop is under warranty - this may be the reason for the refusal of warranty service).

Because the chance that you have two slots is small, I don’t focus on this option. An example of such a device, by the way, is in the photo below.

Toshiba Satellite X205-SLi3 - inside view (2 hard drives installed)

If you want to buy a disk for a laptop, but don’t know where to stop, then I recommend that you read this article:

Option number 2: install the SSD in special. connector (M.2)

If you have a new modern laptop, it is possible that you have an M.2 connector (connector for SSD connections, present in many new products (usually the more expensive ones ☺)). Created as a replacement for mSATA. Allows you to get maximum performance from SSD installations drive.

In order to find out if you have such a connector, you can:

1. knowing the laptop model (about), look at its tech. characteristics (the Internet is full of sites with all models of mobile devices ☺);
2. you can simply open the back cover of the laptop and look for the right connector with your own eyes.

Important!

By the way, this M.2 connector is rather "insidious" (even many advanced users) ... The fact is that it has a lot of varieties. Therefore, even if you have a similar connector, before ordering new disk check out this article here:

Option number 3: connect an external HDD / SSD drive to a USB port

Significantly expand the place can help external hard disk. It is a small box, the size of regular phone. Connects to regular USB port. Such a disk, on average today, is capable of holding about 1000-4000 GB (i.e. 1-4 TB).

If you are considering models with additional power (the adapter is usually included with some drives), then the capacity can reach up to 8 TB! I think that over time it will be even higher.

Note! You can buy external hard drives cheaper than in a regular store on AliExpress - .

There is truth in this option, certain disadvantages: extra wires on the table, more low speed disk interactions (if HDD - then on average up to 60 MB / s via USB 3.0), and inconvenience when carrying a laptop (it's one thing to take a laptop in one hand and go, and another thing to additionally fiddle with an external drive ...).

True, there is undeniable advantages: such a disk can be connected to any laptop or PC, you can transfer information from one PC to another on it (it won’t take up much space in your pocket), you can buy several of these disks and use them one by one.

Option number 4: install another disk instead of a CD / DVD drive

Well, the most popular option is to remove the CD / DVD drive from the laptop (available in the vast majority of models) and instead insert a special adapter (some call it a "pocket") with another disk (HDD or SSD). I'll elaborate on this one a little more...

What adapter is needed? Deciding...

First you need to correctly find and select this adapter. It is rarely found in our ordinary computer stores (you need to order it in some Chinese online store, for example, in AliExpress -).

Note: in English, such an adapter is called "caddy for laptop" (that's how you ask a query in the search line of stores).

Universal adapter for installing a second disk in a laptop instead of a CD drive (2nd HDD Caddy 12.7 mm 2.5 SATA 3.0)

There are 2 important points:

• adapters are available in different thicknesses! Actually, as well as discs and CD / DVD drives. The most common are 12.7 mm and 9.5 mm. Those. before buying an adapter - you need to measure the thickness of the CD / DVD drive(best with a compass rod, at worst - with a ruler)!
• discs and CD/DVD drive may come with different ports (SATA, IDE). Those. it is necessary, again, to look live at the installed CD / DVD drive. Most often, modern laptops have drives that support SATA (they are most popular in Chinese stores).

How to remove the CD / DVD drive from a laptop

In general, of course, a lot depends on the design of your laptop. The most common case: there is a special protective cover on the back of the laptop, removing which you can see the fixing screw that fixes the drive in the laptop slot. Accordingly, by unscrewing this screw, you can freely remove the drive.

Some laptop models do not have a protective cover - and in order to get to the insides, you need to completely disassemble the device.

Note: before removing the protective cover (and indeed, carrying out any manipulations with the laptop), unplug it from the mains and remove the battery.

Most often, the drive is fixed with one screw (see photo below). To remove it, in most cases, you need a Phillips screwdriver.

After the screw is removed, it is enough to slightly pull on the drive tray - it should “come out” of the tray with a little effort (see photo below).

Installing an SSD / HDD drive in an adapter, and an adapter in a laptop

Installing an SSD / HDD drive into the adapter is not difficult. It is enough to put it in special. "pocket", then insert into the internal port and fix with screws (the screws are included with the adapter).

The photo below shows an installed SSD drive in a similar adapter.

If the thickness of the adapter and the disk was chosen correctly (no more than the thickness of the CD / DVD drive), then it can also be easily pushed into the slot and fixed with a screw (if the adapter has a similar mount).

If the thickness of the disk/adapter is chosen correctly, but there are problems with insertion into the slot, pay attention to the compensating screws on the adapter: some models are equipped with them (located on the side walls of the adapter). Just take them off (or drown).

After the adapter with the drive is installed in the drive slot, place a neat socket on the adapter so that it looks like a real drive and does not spoil appearance laptop. Such sockets, as a rule, always come with adapters in the kit (in addition, you can remove it from the removed CD drive).

Checking if the drive is visible in the BIOS

After installing the second disk, I recommend that after turning on the laptop, immediately go into the BIOS and see if the disk is detected, if it is visible. Most often, the determined disks can be found in the main menu: main , information etc. (see photo below).

Note!

1) If you don’t know how to enter BIOS, I recommend this material:

2) You may find the article on how to transfer Windows from a hard disk (HDD) to an SSD drive (without reinstalling the system) useful -

Results (which is important)

1. first, check if you have another hard drive slot in your laptop, or a new M.2 SSD slot;
2. There are many for sale now. external drives connected to the USB port - maybe this best way out to expand free space;
3. before buying an adapter to install a disc instead of a CD drive - find out how thick your CD / DVD drive is and what ports are used (the most popular thicknesses are 9.5 and 12.7 mm);
4. do not open the protective cover if your laptop is under warranty (this may be the reason for refusing warranty service);
5. it is possible that after installing a new disk, your Windows will refuse to boot. In this case, you need to check BIOS settings(whether a new disk has been identified and put it in the correct boot queue), and in some cases it may be necessary to restore the bootloader. About it here:

That's all, for the corrections and additions - I thank you separately.

All the best!