questions about adding a new hard drive...

ok...

i have a dell dimension 4600 with one regular cd drive and one cd / dvd burner...

i want to add another hard drive to my computer because the one i have now is getting full...

if i buy one, do i just plug it in into the wires that are connected to my PSU (power supply unit)???

or do i need to take out one of my drives (i guess the question should be: where does the extra hard drive go)???

can a computer run with two hard drives in it???

any issues i did not mention just tell me...

thanks...

First of all, make sure your computer is OFF. Look at the cover of your HDD, it should say something about the jumpers, this diagram will show you what it looks like on most HDDs covers. It wont be exact like yours looks, but just showing you what to look for. You want to set the jumper to slave, it should tell you on the cover how you should set the pins.

Take the cover off your Dull and find your Power Supply, there should be a number of watts written on it somewhere. If its around 300-400 then you should be safe. Look for the Optical Drive and The HDD, are they both connected via a flat 2 inch wide cable (IDE Cable)?

If so, follow that cable down to the motherboard, to where it plugs in. Is there another socket the same size as the one that the first IDE cable plugged into? If there is, insert the new HDD into the empty spot reserved for another HDD, most likely right under the current one. Screw it in tight. Plug the extra power plug from the power supply into the socket on the HDD. Your HDD should have come with an extra IDE Cable. Plug the top one into the new HDD, and the end into the socket you found on the Motherboard. Then close everything up adn start up. Install whatever drivers you need and go.

If they are not connected via an IDE Cable, but they are both on seperate IDE Cables, then jsut follow the above instructions, but just plug the new HDD into the same IDE Cable that the old HDD is on.

That explanation should do it.

[edit on 2-22-2005 by dreamlandmafia]

Originally posted by dreamlandmafia
First of all, make sure your computer is OFF. Look at the cover of your HDD, it should say something about the jumpers, this diagram will show you what it looks like on most HDDs covers. It wont be exact like yours looks, but just showing you what to look for. You want to set the jumper to slave, it should tell you on the cover how you should set the pins.

Take the cover off your Dull and find your Power Supply, there should be a number of watts written on it somewhere. If its around 300-400 then you should be safe. Look for the Optical Drive and The HDD, are they both connected via a flat 2 inch wide cable (IDE Cable)?

If so, follow that cable down to the motherboard, to where it plugs in. Is there another socket the same size as the one that the first IDE cable plugged into? If there is, insert the new HDD into the empty spot reserved for another HDD, most likely right under the current one. Screw it in tight. Plug the extra power plug from the power supply into the socket on the HDD. Your HDD should have come with an extra IDE Cable. Plug the top one into the new HDD, and the end into the socket you found on the Motherboard. Then close everything up adn start up. Install whatever drivers you need and go.

If they are not connected via an IDE Cable, but they are both on seperate IDE Cables, then jsut follow the above instructions, but just plug the new HDD into the same IDE Cable that the old HDD is on.

That explanation should do it.

[edit on 2-22-2005 by dreamlandmafia]

i have a 420W PSU but i have an ATI Radeon 9800pro also...

will this affect the power???

sry but i am not going to open my computer as of yet but is the IDE cable the yellow, red, and black cables???

what does the optical drive look like???

EDIT: would you reccomend this:

www.newegg.com...

and would your method work with this one???

thank you...




[edit on 22-2-2005 by they see ALL]

I explained what the IDE Cables look like, theyre flat and 2 inches wide, usually gray. But the drive you are looking at is an SATA drive, and requires different plugs. If the ones you are asking about look like this (the ones on the right side) then its a power cable. If the cables look like this then its an SATA cable. You can also easily tell if its a power cable by following it and seeing if it leads to the Power Supply.

No, thats plenty of power.

Your Optical Drive is your CD/DVD Drive.

Yes Id recommend that drive, its the OEM Model of one of the HDDs that I currently have in the comp Im on now, and iv had it for 2 years.

No, the method will not be the same with an SATA drive, because I listed for an IDE drive, which is standard. If your HDD is an SATA drive, just follow where it leads to on the Motherboard, and plug the new SATA drive into a socket near that one. Not veyr hard, if you use your brain.

For Reference...Power Supply Cables (the ones on the right side of the pic, and will lead to Power Supply, color almost always like this)
IDE Cable (flat, grey, 2 inches wide)
SATA Cables (usually red)

[edit on 2-22-2005 by dreamlandmafia]

so if i buy this hard drive i need a SATA cable???

and thank you because you always help me with my computer questions..

Dont buy it if your comp doesnt have SATA sockets. Thats one reason I told you to check. If your current HDD is IDE (flat 2 inch wide cable), then youll need to get a new IDE HDD. If your current HDD is SATA (redish calbe, small plug), then youll need to get a new SATA HDD.

If your comp is SATA (Dull didnt say on the site) then yes, get that drive, if its IDE, then get another Maxtor or Western Digital drive.

Originally posted by dreamlandmafia
Dont buy it if your comp doesnt have SATA sockets. Thats one reason I told you to check. If your current HDD is IDE (flat 2 inch wide cable), then youll need to get a new IDE HDD. If your current HDD is SATA (redish calbe, small plug), then youll need to get a new SATA HDD.

If your comp is SATA (Dull didnt say on the site) then yes, get that drive, if its IDE, then get another Maxtor or Western Digital drive.

you are the man...

when i put in my graphics card and dvd burner, i saw the flat 2 inch wide cables (they are grey)...

i will look for a hard drive that i like later...

can you reccomend one to me???

80 gigs please

talk to you tommorow...

Here is a good one from Western Digital. I have the 200gb version of it on my network server and it works great.

[edit on 2-22-2005 by dreamlandmafia]

Originally posted by dreamlandmafia
Here is a good one from Western Digital. I have the 200gb version of it on my network server and it works great.

[edit on 2-22-2005 by dreamlandmafia]

network server in your house???

man, you know alot about this stuff and i thank you again...

Its so much easier to store files and stuff that other computers would want on a centralized server than on each computer and have each other computer connect and get what they want. I have all my music and movies on the Server, and some other important files. And theyre all connected via Gigabit ethernet.

Originally posted by dreamlandmafia
Its so much easier to store files and stuff that other computers would want on a centralized server than on each computer and have each other computer connect and get what they want. I have all my music and movies on the Server, and some other important files. And theyre all connected via Gigabit ethernet.

damn...

that is smart...

thanks again...

If I had any left this would be a 'Way Above' DLM.

Jack

Originally posted by JAK
If I had any left this would be a 'Way Above' DLM.

Jack

yupp...