Want to use 2 HDDs

My 60gb HDD is getting a bit full now, which is going to be a major problemo when Age of Conan comes out, so I was thinking about putting another one in, just for games storage.

My question is, how? (Im using XP by the way).

Do I just connect the two together? Or do I need to put XP on the other one as well? Will it conflict? Will I need more RAM? Do they have to be the same make of HDD?

Heeeelp!

Ok is your current HDD IDE ( Uses WIDE cable) or SATA (Uses a very slim cable) and does your mobo support SATA (google it if you need more info, To tell the difference or to identify it; it's as easy as comparing and looking!).

EDIT: Check this Wiki out for SATA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SATA

Check this out for IDE http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integrated_Drive_Electronics

If you do have SATA onboard I highly recomend getting a SATA drive

If your Mobo does have a SATA port then you won't need to worry about conflicts. However if you're going through IDE for both drives then you have to make sure your jumpers (usually in-between the IDE connector slot and power slot on the HDD) are set correctly. IMO: Keep the 60GB as your windows boot drive and that jumper setting should be set to MASTER, as for your soon to be new drive the jumper setting should be set to SLAVE. After you set the correct jumper settings just plug the new guy on the same IDE cable then just start windows! No extra action is needed! If you have any problems we'll all be right here!

You won't have to reload WinXP.... typically you just plug it in and have windows format it, and your done. It'll be a new drive letter, and you'll have to choose that drive letter when installed games and junk. Install programs almost always default to the C drive... and the new drive will not be the C drive. The drive that has windows, will remain your C drive.... and remain full, most likely.

As for installation, that gets a bit tricky.... in the older days computers generally had only 2 IDE ports. Which meant you could install 4 devices on the PC. Each IDE port could handle 2 device. One device set to slave the other set to master (set via moving the little black slot things on the back side; usually labels on the device that showed you the different configurations), each plugged into the same ribbon. And by devices, I mean both the Harddrives and your CDrom drives. 4 was generally the limit.

Newer computers are moving to Sata type drives and generally only have 1 IDE port for the older devices (meaning only 2 can be plugged in of the older IDE type), whether it be a harddrive, CD-rom or DVD-rom. So answering your question without knowing what type of setup you have.... is impossible to say.

Sata ports, only handle one device, each, by the way. There is no worrying about slave/master settings with SATA. Much smaller cables, too; meaning better case airflow. Harddrives and CD-drives can be bought in both the older IDE cable, and the SATA cable.... and they are generally not compatible with one another. So... until you know what you have, no one here can really help you without a bunch of double talk.

As for ram, different sized Harddrives, and whatever else.... none of that effects anything. Only time you want equal Harddrive types is if you are dealing with a Raid type setup and I'm not even going to try in explaining that....

Now when you are talking about the cabels there where one is slim the other fat. I have 2 hdds in my pc and I believe they are hook up by a slim wire and that slime wire is is grey and there is another hdd hook up with a black thin wire.

Now by this it should be a sata hdd rigtht?\

Do the corlors matter or do they not?

One hdd is from my old pc the other from the new wich was already in here. They both run just fine.

If the corlor don't matter then I'm glat cause I have seen a thin strip inside of another pc that I'm working on and so I'm assuming that it should be a sata hdd wires and so there is already a 37. whay ever hdd in there and so I'm thinking down the road when this friend of my Mom's has enough money I would look around for her for another hdd.

Now when you are talking about the cabels there where one is slim the other fat. I have 2 hdds in my pc and I believe they are hook up by a slim wire and that slime wire is is grey and there is another hdd hook up with a black thin wire.

Now by this it should be a sata hdd rigtht?\

Do the corlors matter or do they not?

One hdd is from my old pc the other from the new wich was already in here. They both run just fine.

If the corlor don't matter then I'm glat cause I have seen a thin strip inside of another pc that I'm working on and so I'm assuming that it should be a sata hdd wires and so there is already a 37. whay ever hdd in there and so I'm thinking down the road when this friend of my Mom's has enough money I would look around for her for another hdd.

blackleather223

Nope color does not matter