Hdd help! Sata and IDE

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Mcwoos

Mcwoos

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Apr 11, 2013
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I want to know if I can install a sata HDD when I already have an IDE HDD and IDE combo drive.

My 7200RPM IDE HDD has my OS on it(Dont talk crap about it cause my PC boots in 30 seconds sometimes 40)and all my files such as games(BF3, Far cry 3, Sleeping dogs, ETC.)videos, pictures and such. I have my IDE HDD and a dvd combo drive hooked together with one IDE cable and my dvd drive has a jumper in the middle Ex : J : (The : is pins and the j is the jumper). Im just going to store my pics, vids, and files on the sata and my games on the IDE. Can I do this?
 
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You will NOT be able to boot from the new drive - you will continue to boot from the old one.

Skeefers is right, but has not mentioned something you need to know. ANY new HDD needs a couple of steps done to prepare it for use. Until you do, it will show up in BIOS Setup, but you will NOT see it in most Windows views. The steps are to Create a Partition on the new HDD unit, and then to Format that Partition. A "Partition" is just one region of a HDD (it can be ALL of the HDD) that Windows recognizes and uses as a "drive" with its own letter name.

So, how to do this? Read the sticky by WyomingKnott here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/265764-32-guide-installed-disk-system

and pay special attention to his Step 5. Oh, one thing is...
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Skeefers

Skeefers

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Aug 7, 2013
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No, you'll need to enter the BIOS (typically using F2 or Del during POST) and ensure that the SATA port is enabled. Without knowing what your BIOS looks like, it's hard to say where you'll find it, but it should be on the same page where you will see your IDE HDD and optical drive listed. If you're uncomfortable messing with the BIOS, or can't find what I'm talking about in there, try booting to Windows and see if the new drive shows up without having to make any changes to the BIOS.
 
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Paperdoc

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Oct 19, 2006
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You will NOT be able to boot from the new drive - you will continue to boot from the old one.

Skeefers is right, but has not mentioned something you need to know. ANY new HDD needs a couple of steps done to prepare it for use. Until you do, it will show up in BIOS Setup, but you will NOT see it in most Windows views. The steps are to Create a Partition on the new HDD unit, and then to Format that Partition. A "Partition" is just one region of a HDD (it can be ALL of the HDD) that Windows recognizes and uses as a "drive" with its own letter name.

So, how to do this? Read the sticky by WyomingKnott here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/265764-32-guide-installed-disk-system

and pay special attention to his Step 5. Oh, one thing is not mentioned there. Just below the screen shot of Disk Management he describes what to look for in the LOWER RIGHT pane. NOTE that this pane SCROLLS so you can see all your devices (just in case you new HDD is not obvious right away).

In some current versions of Windows the two steps (Partition and Format) are combined into ONE called Initializing the Disk.

Minor note: if you have to choose, the type of Partition you want is Primary (not Extended), and it does NOT need to be bootable - you are already booting from your older unit, and this new HDD is only for data.

Once it finishes the job, back out of Disk Management and reboot to update Windows' Registry. The new HDD should show up now in My Computer with its own letter name.
 
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