• What is the hard drive connected to? How to connect an IDE hard drive to a new motherboard

    Hello.

    Sometimes it happens that a laptop or computer does not turn on, but the information from its disk is needed for work. Well or do you have old hard drive, lying “idle” and which would be quite nice to turn into a portable external drive.

    In this short article I want to dwell on special “adapters” that allow you to connect SATA drives to a regular port Computer USB or laptop.

    1) This article will only consider modern drives. They all support the SATA interface.

    2) “Adapter” for connecting the drive to USB port- correctly called BOX (that’s what it will be called further in the article).

    How to connect a laptop's SATA HDD/SSD drive to USB (2.5-inch drive)

    Disks from laptops are smaller than those from PCs (2.5 inches, on PCs 3.5 inches). As a rule, BOX (translated as “box”) for them comes without external source power supply with 2 ports for connecting to USB (the so-called “pigtail”. It is advisable to connect the drive to two USB ports, despite the fact that it will work if you connect it to only one).

    What to pay attention to when purchasing:

    1) The BOX itself can have a plastic or metal case (you can choose either one, because in the event of a fall, even if the case itself is not damaged, the disk will be damaged. This means that the case will not save you in all cases...);

    2) In addition, when choosing, pay attention to the connection interface: USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 can provide absolutely different speeds. By the way, for example, BOX with USB support 2.0 when copying (or reading) information - will allow you to work at a speed of no more than ~30 MB/s;

    3) And one more important point- this is the thickness for which the BOX is designed. The fact is that 2.5 disks for laptops can have different thicknesses: 9.5 mm, 7 mm, etc. If you buy a BOX for the slim version, then you probably won’t be able to install a 9.5 mm thick disk into it!

    BOX is usually disassembled quite quickly and easily. As a rule, it is held in place by 1-2 latches or screws. Typical BOX for connection SATA drives to USB 2.0 is shown in Fig. 1.

    Rice. 1. Installing the disc in the BOX

    When assembled, such a BOX is no different from a regular one. external hard disk. It is also convenient to carry and use for quick exchange information. By the way, it is also convenient to store on such disks backups, which are usually not needed, but if something happens they can save a lot of nerve cells :)

    Rice. 2. When assembled, the HDD is no different from a regular external drive

    Connecting 3.5 disks (from a computer) to a USB port

    These wheels are slightly larger than 2.5 inches. USB power supply It's not enough to connect them, so they come with an additional adapter. The principle of choosing a BOX and its operation is similar to the first type (see above).

    By the way, it is worth noting that a 2.5-inch drive can usually be connected to such a BOX (i.e., many of these models are universal).

    Also, one more point: often manufacturers do not make any box for such drives at all - that is, you simply connect the drive to the cables, and it works (which is logical in principle - such drives can hardly be called portable, which means the box itself is usually not required).

    Not long ago I decided to get hard drive, since Windows 7 takes a lot for backup.
    Plus, I save a lot of things on the computer, buy various training courses, and all this also weighs a lot.
    Sata was chosen from the entire assortment hard drive WD, using the example of which we will look at the connection below hard drive, as well as its formatting.

    What is the difficulty of connecting?

    Many people have a desire to be scared because they have already made mistakes before, remembering which we evaluate how well we cope with current tasks.
    However, if you remember, we had cases when everything worked out, and we will focus on them.

    In terms of hard drive connection technology, we will consider two options - connecting via an adapter and using a cable.
    Since there are no jumpers, the pairing process itself will consist of connecting the data cable and the power cable.
    Then we will need to format the hard drive so that it becomes visible in windows.

    Connecting an external hard drive

    Reasons for mounting a hard drive in an external enclosure:
    — if you only need file storage;
    - the power supply is low-power, and hard drive food is also required.

    4. Connect the hard drive to the computer to load Windows and format it using the Disk Management utility.

    5. Boot the computer, go to “control panel” / “System and Security” / “Administration” / “Computer Management” and select “Disk Management” from the menu.

    6. Selecting new hard disk in the list, create one again logical drive and format everything to NTFS.


    *click on the picture to view the full image.
    (Figure 4)

    If your external hard The disk is not detected, format it as described above or in another way.

    7. Turn off the computer, take out the hard drive and assemble it in the external case.
    Drivers for the case external HDD You don't need to install it if you don't have Windows 98.

    8. Connect to the computer and check operation.

    After reading the article, you have enough information to decide which method sata connections HDD you choose, external or internal connection.
    You can also choose an external hard drive case with or without a fan, although the choice is usually determined by the intensity and duration of use of the external hard drive and, of course, the amount available.

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    When the first computers appeared, all programs, games and other files took up virtually no disk space. Now things are completely different, and it is often necessary to install additional storage media. Therefore, every user should know how to connect second hard disk to computer. In fact, this is not difficult to do, you just need to follow simple instructions.

    First, the device must be purchased in a store. Please note that the hard drive has several connection interfaces. After purchasing the purchase, you can begin installing the device.

    Preparing for installation

    • How many hard drives are already connected to motherboard? Most often, a computer has only one hard drive, so installing a second drive is not difficult. In most cases, the HDD is located directly under the DVD-ROM, so finding it will not be difficult;
    • Is there additional space to install a second hard drive? If it is not possible to install a second or third disk, then you will have to purchase a USB drive;
    • What type of cable is used to connect the hard drive to the computer? If the purchased device does not have the same interface as on a PC, it will be difficult to install it.

    Please note that you will need a 3.5-inch hard drive. There is no need to buy small disks designed for laptops.

    Physical disk connection

    If the system unit has not yet been disassembled, disassemble it. Now it is recommended to get rid of static electricity. This is done by any means known to you. If you wish, you can purchase a special grounding bracelet in the store.

    After some minor manipulations, the hard drive will be secured in the case; now all that remains is to connect the hard drive. Before plugging in the power cable and cable, it should be noted that the procedure is slightly different for the IDE and SATA interfaces.

    IDE interface

    When connecting a drive with IDE interface ohm, it is recommended to pay attention to such a nuance as setting the operating mode:

    1. Master (main).
    2. Slave (subordinate).

    If installed extra hard disk, then you need to enable Slave mode. To do this, you need to use a jumper (jumper), which is installed in the second place. The first row includes Master mode. It is important to note that on modern computers, the jumper can be completely removed. The system will automatically determine which hard master is.

    At the next step, you need to connect the second or third hard drive to the mother. To do this, the IDE interface is connected to a cable (wide, thin wire). The second end of the cable is connected to the IDE 1 Secondary socket (the main drive is connected to the zero socket).

    The final connection step is power supply. To do this, a white chip with four wires is connected to the corresponding connector. The wires come directly from the power supply (a box with wires and a fan).

    SATA interface

    Unlike IDE, a SATA drive has two L-shaped connectors. One is for power connection, and the second is for data cable. It should be noted that such a hard drive does not have a jumper.

    The data cable is connected to a narrow connector. The other end is connected to a special connector. Most often, there are 4 such ports on the motherboard, but there are exceptions and there are only 2 ports. One of the slots may be occupied by a DVD drive.

    There are cases when a drive with a SATA interface was purchased, but no such connectors were found on the motherboard. In this case, it is recommended to additionally purchase a SATA controller that is installed in a PCI slot.

    The next step is to connect the power. An L-shaped wide cable is connected to the corresponding connector. If the drive has an additional power connector (IDE interface), it is enough to use one of the connectors. On this physical connection hard drive is complete.

    BIOS setup

    When all manipulations with the hard drive are completed, you should turn on the computer and then enter the BIOS. It is important to note that launching the BIOS on each computer is carried out differently. To do this you need to use the key:

    • Delete;

    After entering the BIOS, you need to proceed to configuration settings. It is important to assign booting from the drive on which the operating system is installed. If the priority is set incorrectly, the system simply will not boot.

    If one of the disks does not appear in the BIOS, it means that the hard drive was connected incorrectly or the cable was damaged. It is recommended to inspect all wires and reconnect (don't forget to turn off the computer).

    Once the BIOS setup is completed, you can boot into the operating system. After this, all that remains is to assign a letter to the drive.

    Final stage

    Since connecting the hard drive to the computer is not enough, you need to make the final setup directly from Windows. On some computers, a similar procedure is carried out in automatic mode. To check this, you should open “My Computer”, and then see if the new disk.

    If nothing happens, you need to launch the control panel. Then select “Administration”. Once a new window opens, you will need to select “Computer Management”. In the left column, you need to find the “Disk Management” tab (on some computers “Disk Manager”).

    • At the bottom of the window, select disk 1 (if more than 2 hard drives are connected, select the disk with the highest number). This will be the new hard drive;
    • You must assign a letter to the logical volume. To do this, right-click on the disk and then select “Assign letter”;
    • As soon as the disk is assigned new letter, it needs to be formatted. The procedure can take a long time, it all depends on the size of the hard drive. When formatting it is important to choose file system NTFS.

    When the formatting process is complete, a new disk will appear in the My Computer root directory. If for some reason you cannot connect the HDD using the built-in manager, it is recommended to use third-party programs.

    An excellent tool for working with hard drives is Partition Manager. In addition, such a utility allows you to split the disk into several logical volumes.

    Conclusion

    Connecting a hard drive takes no more than 15 minutes. If you follow the instructions, there shouldn't be any difficulties. Modern computers don't need additional settings BIOS, of course, if the disks are not installed in absolute new computer. Also do not forget that from operating system It depends on how big the connected hard drive can be.

    Video review: connecting a hard drive

    How should the correct installing and connecting the hard drive. Where will we install it? The case has compartments for devices. The upper compartments of the case are usually intended for installing a CD/DVD drive. And the lower compartments, which are shown in the picture, are intended for installing a hard drive.



    We select any compartment and place the hard drive there. How will we place it? It is necessary to place it so that the hard drive connectors face inside the case.




    All. We have inserted the disk, now it needs to be bolted. As you can see in the picture, the case has corresponding holes for mounting.


    It is necessary to ensure that the holes on the disk coincide with the holes in the case. We will tighten the bolts in them.


    How many bolts should there be? It is advisable to have four bolts. Two on one side and two on the other.

    Having screwed the disk on one side, unfold the case and screw the other side.


    We've secured Winchester. Check that it does not move; if the disk wobbles, tighten the bolts more tightly.


    Hard drive installation the body is completed.

    Connecting a SATA and IDE hard drive


    Now we will figure out how to connect a hard drive with SATA and IDE interfaces . The hard drive can be connected to the motherboard using a narrow SATA cable or wide IDE, which are shown in the figure.

    Connecting a SATA hard drive.

    If your hard drive is connected using SATA interfaces, then take this cable and connect one end to the hard drive and the other to the corresponding connector on the motherboard.


    We have a hard drive with a SATA interface connected.

    Connecting an IDE Hard Drive

    Connecting a drive using an IDE cable has its own peculiarities. The colored end of the cable, in our case blue (as a rule, it is the longest), must be connected to the motherboard.

    The other two ends, marked in the figure, connect to either a hard drive or a CD/DVD drive.


    The peculiarity of IDE is that you can connect two devices to one cable.


    Important! If we connect two devices to one cable, then one of the devices must be
    priority.

    There are two modes:

    • Master- this is the device connected to the nearest system board IDE cable plug.As MASTER It is recommended to connect the main hard drive with the operating system.
    • Slave- this is the device on the plug most distant from the system board. The device SLAVE(not the main thing) it is recommended to connect a CD/DVD drive or another, non-main second hard drive


    Please note that there is a key on the plug. (highlighted in the picture)


    And in the connector on the system board, there is also a key tab. It is necessary that these protrusions coincide.


    We insert the cable into the connector and lightly press it from above so that it is securely fixed on the board.

    We have the cable connected. Now we need to connect it to the hard drive.
    We take the cable and, in accordance with the keys (there is a key on the cable and on the hard drive), insert it into the disk.

    Attention!

    In any particular case, you may need to independently set the mode (Master or Slave) for each of the IDE devices using a jumper on this device.

    That's all. We have the hard drive installed and connected, I hope everything worked out for you.

    I recently received a question by mail:

    Hello Maxim. Your subscriber writes to you with a proposal - a request. Tell us how to properly connect a 2nd hard drive and 2 DVD writers. I think this is of interest to many ordinary users PC.

    The fact is that it is impossible to describe all connection methods and options in one note, due to the variety of connection interfaces and their combinations on motherboards from different manufacturers.

    On the one hand, now only two connection interfaces are most common hard drives and optical drives: IDE (IDE) And SATA (SATA), and it seems that connecting everything is simple.

    On the other hand, motherboard manufacturers have done very large number boards with a variety of configurations of these interfaces: ranging from 2/4 IDE and 1 SATA at the moment the SATA interface enters the market before 1 IDE and 6/8 SATA V present moment(hereinafter the number in front of the interface means the maximum possible number of devices that can be connected via the interface to the motherboard).

    At the same time, there are motherboards in which simultaneous operation of all interfaces is impossible, i.e. for example, when connecting one drive via SATA switched off 3rd and 4th IDE.

    With a gradual transition to the interface SATA everything will become easier - one device - one connector.

    This means that each device is connected to its own connector, and the user does not need to additionally configure the device and think about which side of the cable to connect to the motherboard and which to the device. And in case of problems, it is better to tell in detail about the option where the problems arose.

    On my home PC (GigaByte GA-P35-DS3L motherboard) there are two hard drives SATA, one DVD-RW SATA and one DVD IDE. I will show how they are connected in the following picture:

    The figure shows approximately 1/6 of the motherboard. Green– this is a connector for IDE devices, I have an IDE DVD connected to it. Yellow– these are connectors for SATA devices; I have two SATA hard drives and one SATA DVD-RV connected to them.

    Radiator south bridge and PCI-Express slot latch are shown for quicker slot locating. In most motherboards, the IDE and SATA connectors are located next to the south bridge.

    The following pictures show the cables for connecting IDE devices. These cables have 80 cores and can be designated as "cable IDE-100/133" or "ATA-100/133 cable". There are also options for 40 cores, but they are practically no longer used.

    The following figure shows the connection cables SATA devices. Manufacturer GIGABYTE does not make simple cables for connection SATA, but “with amenities.”

    The first is a metal retainer at both ends of the cable. This lock prevents the cable from accidentally disconnecting, for example, when you insert or remove the video card from system unit and accidentally touch the cable.

    The second is an angled connector at one end of the cable. This cable is convenient to use for short bodies, in the case when the cable must be led directly down from the DVD or hard drive. I recommend using these cables.

    Currently, other manufacturers have begun to equip their motherboards with cables with such “options”. You can also try purchasing them separately.

    If you purchased a new hard drive or DVD with a SATA connector, and your PC is not older than 2 years, then connecting via SATA is very simple.

    First– install the device in the housing. DVD - as convenient for you, and hard drive - preferably so that there is a small empty space above and below it for better ventilation.

    Second– connect the information connector of the device and a free connector on the motherboard.

    Third - connect power to the device. The device may have a new type of power connector (for SATA), it may be an old type (Molex), or there may be both connectors.

    The following picture shows, as an example, the back side of the hard drive and the connectors are labeled: SATA power, SATA data, Molex power.

    If there is only one connector, then connect it.

    With the advent of SATA devices, power supply manufacturers began to equip their units with special power connectors for connecting such devices.

    Most new devices are already released without a Molex connector. If there are no connectors for SATA in the power supply of your PC or they are already occupied, then you can use a special power adapter, which is shown in the following picture.

    The white connector with 4 pins is the connector Molex. Two black flat connectors are connectors for SATA devices.

    If the power connector two, then you need to connect any one of them, but not both at once! I recommend using the power connector for SATA devices.

    After this, you can turn on the PC, go into the BIOS and check that the device is visible. If it is not visible, you need to switch all SATA connectors to AUTO mode. Then you need to save the changes in the BIOS and exit. After this you can work with the device

    If you are not sure how to connect the device correctly or are having problems connecting, then watch the video tutorial below or take our step-by-step video course "Assembling a computer from A to Z."

    The article uses materials from the site www.nix.ru