[dancingbear5]

um i have a 12gig hardrive and just recently have only about 2 left. now i have really not alota knowledge about hardware but can i have two hardrives or atleast sum how transfer my data curentlly on this one to my new one once i buy it wich i plan to do in a few hours so help soon is very apershated.

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Howdy:

You can have 8 IDE hdd's if you don't mind doing without any sort of cd-rom..

2 on the Primary IDE cable, 2 on the secondary IDE cable and 4 on a separate PCI-IDE card!! Just make sure they are jumpered correctly!!

Murray

[Murray S.]

Howdy:

You can have 8 IDE hdd's if you don't mind doing without any sort of cd-rom..

2 on the Primary IDE cable, 2 on the secondary IDE cable and 4 on a separate PCI-IDE card!! Just make sure they are jumpered correctly!!

Murray

[lionelhutz5]

First, yes you can have more than one hard drive. But you will need to know if your computer supports it. What type of computer do you have? And since you say that you do not have a lot of knowledge, I recommend that you do not get an internal one and open your computer. Thus, I say that you get an external hard drive, although they are a bit more expensive, but there is basically no installation. All you need is a firewire port or a USB 2.0 port, preferred to 1.1. These are standard on newer computer models. You can see if you have USB 2.0 (which is better because the transfer speeds are much, and I mean much faster than 1.1) by going to device manager on your computer. Right click my computer, then click properties. Click the tab "hardware" Then click "device manager" Next expand the "universal serial Bus controllers" part. If one of these has an "enhanced" controller, then you have USB 2.0. If not then you have 1.1. You can upgrade for about 15 bucks by buying a PCI card that has USB 2.0 ports which is easy to install. It is a good idea to get USB 2.0 ports even if you don;t need it for a hard drive because other peripherals need it like digital cameras and CD drives.

Peace,
Jared

[Tyger]

lionelhutz5 is gaiving you some good advice. But what vintage is your PC? Some older models are limited in the size of hard drive they can see, even with the software supplied by the external hdd manufacturer. computer. Do you happen to know what version of BIOS your computer has?

[Murray S.]

lionelhutz5 is gaiving you some good advice. But what vintage is your PC? Some older models are limited in the size of hard drive they can see, even with the software supplied by the external hdd manufacturer. computer. Do you happen to know what version of BIOS your computer has?

Tyger:

Most any system I've seen will handle the PCI-IDE expansion card... As to the mobo limitations, that's what the disk overlay programs supplied by the hdd manufacturer are for.. They by-pass those limitations !!

Murray

[dancingbear5]

um,is there a way for me to check for multi hard drive compatiblity w/ out openin my cpu and i have sum knowledge i have installed a graphics card and a cdburner.

[UV_Power]

Hello dancingbear5,

Just to be sure, is anything that these guys are talking about confusing to you? We basically just want to make sure you are running a fast enough computer to support multiple hard drives. Can you start by telling us where you got it and when?


(my apoligies to anyone who feels I am undermining them. I don't mean any disrespect. My opinion from the first post is that this guy just wants simple answers without alot of technical stuff)

[Tyger]

Tyger:

Most any system I've seen will handle the PCI-IDE expansion card...  As to the mobo limitations, that's what the disk overlay programs supplied by the hdd manufacturer are for..  They by-pass those limitations !!

Murray

This is true, but some older CPUs are pretty limited on IRQs, and yes I'm writig this on an older HP that I put an 80gb drive in thanks to drive overlay. And it works very well too, but not everyone may be up to doing that. And he may be fine with a good used 30gb drive which he can put in a USB box, or just connect to the IDE cable with the right jumper settings. I'm just trying to take into account the fact that he has limited hardware experience.

[lionelhutz5]

To check for multi hard drive capability, without opening it, (although I apologize for sounding mean, but you did say, "now i have really not alota knowledge about hardware" - so I want by that), is to see what motherboard you have. Your manual should be able to at least show you this, if not show you how to install a second one. If it doesn't, and you do not know what motherboard, please let us know what type of computer it is, exact model so that some of us may be able to tell you. But if you want an internal one, you will have to open it sometime.

[dancingbear5]

well its a compaq celeron im really not shure but prob about 4 nothin over 5 years.
697mhz,320mb of ram
tell me if u need more specs.

[dancingbear5]

omg im not a retard jeezus im srry i sed i new nothin i just dont wana sound like i no wat im talkin about cuz i dont really but i have basic knoledge GOD.

[lionelhutz5]

Sorry for giving small steps to someone that said they knew nothing. I should have known what you were thinking instead of writing. BTW, it is spelled "sure," not "shure."

[dancingbear5]

watever this is y i never post topics but can sum one help me out. spellin wots tat im SURE i no im book lernidid

[Doby]

dancingbear5,

Feel free to post anytime you need help.

You will have to open the case but installing a additional drive is no harder than a video card. First open the case and make sure there is a avliable 3.5 inch bay to install the drive in if so then

Get your self a 40 or 80 gig Maxtor or western digital, try and get a retail one not oem this way you will get a manual,ide cable, mounting screws and software to format the drive. Retail drives can be harder to find at online stores such as newegg.com so if you get a oem drive you will have to purchase mounting screws and ide cable separately but you can download the manual and software for free at the manufactuers website

Then follow the instructions in the manual to install, its very clear. You can go to either manufactuers website and download a manual ahead of time to see if you are comfortable with the instalation and post back if you have any questions.

Rick

[dancingbear5]

thank very much i was pretty SHURE thats all i had to do but i just wanted to 100% clear. im goin later to today to get one.well thanks agin ~~BEAR5~~ just as a though isnt weird that my current hd is 12gigs i meen thats nothing..