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Adding a Second Hard Drive????

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  • 30-01-2004 5:46pm
    #1
    beatsie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 91 ✭✭


    Hey

    Is it possible to add a second hard drive to a PC as a slave drive without formatting it?

    mate of mines PC is fecked and he really needs files off it before a reinstall.

    tia

    Beatsie


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    #2
    ColmOT [MSFT]
    Closed Accounts Posts: 545 ✭✭✭ColmOT [MSFT]


    You can add a HD to a machine unformatted, but to be able to copy files to it you'll have to format it with FAT or NTFS.

    After you install the unformatted HD, go into Windows and then choose to format the drive using the filesystem of your choice.


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    #3
    egan007
    Registered Users Posts: 2,934 ✭✭✭egan007


    Originally posted by beatsie
    Hey

    Is it possible to add a second hard drive to a PC as a slave drive without formatting it?

    mate of mines PC is fecked and he really needs files off it before a reinstall.

    tia

    Beatsie

    Yeah just put the jumper on the harddrive to slave put it on same ide cable on second socket
    boot up and it will read - providing primary drive is not fat6.
    if it is just convert it to fat 32 using partitionmagic.


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    #4
    Sleipnir
    Registered Users Posts: 5,514 ✭✭✭Sleipnir


    Or,

    if you mean that you have a drive that already has a file system on it (i.e you can copy files to it now) then you can just add it as a slave and copy files to it.
    You don't need to re-format a drive everytime you move it from one system to another.


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    #5
    egan007
    Registered Users Posts: 2,934 ✭✭✭egan007


    easier again - if it's just temporary - plug out ur cdrom and plug the 2nd harddrive into that cable.


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    #6
    ColmOT [MSFT]
    Closed Accounts Posts: 545 ✭✭✭ColmOT [MSFT]


    D'oh - I now see how useless my answer is!!

    I never copped that you probably meant that it's already formatted, and the question was whether you had to wipe it or not! I thought you were talking about a new HD that had never been formatted.

    Sorry!!

    The others have answered the correct question!


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    #7
    beatsie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 91 ✭✭beatsie


    Cheers for the rapid replies people.


    Yes i should have clarified.

    It is temporary switch to copy files from the slave drive(from mates broken PC) onto the master drive (my PC).

    So let me get this straight to avoid heartache.

    By the way my PC has a CD-ROM drive and a separate DVD ROM drive

    just connect the power supply to the second HD and connect the ribbon drive as well.

    can someone explain what you mean by the jumper on the hard drive?

    is it the little black thing between where you connect the power supply and the ribon cable at the back?

    And thats it?

    tia

    Beatsie


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    #8
    jim_bob
    Registered Users Posts: 379 ✭✭jim_bob


    jumper settings

    here http://support.wdc.com/techinfo/general/jumpers.asp

    just read the sticker on your drive to find out about your drive


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    #9
    beatsie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 91 ✭✭beatsie


    It worked like a dream gents.

    Thanks for all your help

    B


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