Extra drive question...

[Plass]

Currently I have a Western Digital (WD1200JD) 120 GB 7200 and I'm wanting to add another 80 GB or so. I'm guessing "all" I have to do is buy another and add it to my system? It's best too buy same brand I assume? Also I'm not the most pc savy guy and was wondering how difficult it is to install another hard drive in general?

Not sure if this makes any difference but I partitioned 20 gigs of the 120 I currently have available and loaded windows xp on it. Not sure if thats a good thing but it sounded good at the time.

Thanks for any help that u can provide!

 

[silverpig]

1. Your partitioning is good. It's pretty much what I do myself

2. Yes it's just that simple. Go buy another drive and stick it in. If you look at the prices though, the best $/space tradeoff is probably at the 200 GB level. I can get them for $145 cdn here. But yeah, just shop around for a good price.

When it comes time to install, make sure the computer is off and unplugged. Just hook up the two cords to the back of the drive like the other one is. Try to use a different cable to connect it to the motherboard. It doesn't matter which power connector you use, just so long as it fits

s signature has been formatted to fit your scr

 

[Plass]

So you are saying to leave the old drive in and just add another right? I am kinda confused about your $/space tradeoff line. More than likely I'll just add another 80-120 gig drive (giving me 2 drives). So then I'll have a total of 200+ or so. Im assuming thats what you are talking about?

Guessing Newegg is still about the place to buy a new HD?

Thanx again!

 

[silverpig]

Just add another. My $/size thing can be illustrated as such:

40 GB - $82 cdn
80 GB - $96 cdn
120 GB - $125 cdn
200 GB - $156 cdn

So you could get a 120 gig drive for about $1/gig, but for just $30 more you could get an additional 80 gigs if you got the 200 GB drive.

For the 40 GB drive you're paying about $2/gig. For the 80 gig drive it's a little over $1/gig. For 120 gig drive it's almost exactly $1/gig, and for the 200 gig drive it's about $.75 per gig.

s signature has been formatted to fit your scr

 

[Crashman]

Just buy your drive and add it. Brand doesn't matter for compatability. Performance is not affected by mixing brands. Be aware the Wester Digital has a different setting for "single" and "master with slave attached". Also be aware that if you choose cable select instead of master/slave, you'll have to put the master on the end of the cable and slave on the middle connection.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Crashman]

BTW, I mentioned the master/slave thing because I didn't know if you were adding another SATA drive or adding an ATA drive and don't know what drives you have on your other channels.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Plass]

Western Digital 120GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, ok there is the official newegg description of my drive

does that mean if i add another HD it be best to get a sata drive or MUST i get a sata (vs IDE i guess?)? Im not really that concerned about spending an extra $25 bucks on this extra drive if its better. Wasnt sure if my money is best spent on a duplicate to what I have for approx $95 versus the same amount for a samsung sata with 160 gigs or even a cheaper IDE drive?

Crash not sure what u meant about what drives I have on other channels but so far just have the one 120 drive in system.

 

[Crashman]

You can add either an SATA or IDE drive.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Plass]

So what do you recommend o wise Crash??? AND just guessing i might be better off buying a retail version rather than an oem?

 

[Crashman]

If you buy a SATA drive, you just plug it in. If you buy an IDE drive and connect it to it's own cable, you just plug it in. If you plug a new IDE drive into a cable that has another drive, you set the Master/Slave jumper. It's up to you which you prefer.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Crashman]

BTW, I just got scolded by Seagate about this: Most drives listed as "OEM" are retail drives in plain packaging (ie, no retail packaging). True OEM drives are gray market and have no factory warranty, most places selling "OEM" drives aren't doing that.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>