Hard drive problems. Connecting a second hard drive to the computer
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All problems with hard drives(screws) can be divided into two groups: incorrect connection (which, of course, is not a malfunction) and a malfunction of the device itself (failure of the electronics and/or the disks themselves).
It often happens that everything works great until you... connect a second hard drive. After this, the system “does not see” both disks or “does not see” the second disk.
Or you went to a friend with your hard drive (screw), everything worked fine for him, and when you came home, you discovered that the system “does not see” your drive.
All these are symptoms of an incorrectly connected hard drive. There is nothing complicated about connecting a hard drive, so every user should know how hard drives are connected to a computer.
It's like knowing how to change a car tire. Don't call a tow truck if your tire is punctured.
Hard drive interface
For connecting the hard drive to the computer one of three interfaces can be used:
IDE (Integrated Device Electronics) - developed in 1986 and still in use;
SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) - also developed in 1986 and is also still in use;
Serial ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) – developed in 2003, is steadily gaining momentum.
In addition to these interfaces, ST and ESDI interfaces were previously used to connect hard drives, but the first was forgotten in 1989, and the second in 1991.
Initially, IDE was developed only as an interface for connecting hard drives. Later it was modified and received the official name ATA - Advanced Drive Connection Interface.
The difference between ATA and IDE is that ATA can connect not only hard drives, but also CD/DVD drives.
The ATA interface has been constantly improved, and at the moment there are several of its varieties, issued in the form of standards (Table 4.1).
Table 4.1. ATA Standards
Yes, the last version of ATA was released in 2001. It seems that the interface will not develop in the future, but will live out its time peacefully. The next adopted standard, ATA-8 (2004), already describes SATAII, not IDE (ATA).
The SCSI interface is a high-performance interface for connecting various types of devices. Using this interface, not only drives, but peripheral devices can be connected to the computer.
For example, there are SCSI scanners, the speed of which is much higher than the speed of scanners connected to a parallel LPT port. But with the advent of the USB bus, there was no longer a need to produce peripheral devices with a SCSI interface - USB is much more convenient.
Therefore, now the SCSI interface is used mainly on servers - ordinary users, as a rule, do not buy SCSI drives because of their high cost. And a motherboard with a SCSI controller is quite expensive (compared to regular motherboards).
The SATA (Serial ATA) interface was developed in 2000, but it was only in 2003 that it first appeared in finished systems. Compared to regular ATA (sometimes called PATA - Parallel ATA - parallel ATA), it provides greater performance. A lot also depends on what the actual cache memory of the hard drives is.
The ATA interface is described in the ATA-7 (in parallel with regular ATA) and ATA-8 standards. The ATA-7 version interface supports data transfer speeds of 150 Mb/s, and ATA-8 – 200 Mb/s. As you can see, even the very first version of SATA is faster than the most recent version of PATA. And SATAII is even faster.
So far, 200 Mb/s is the limit for a home/office computer, that is, for a workstation. But the data transfer speed over the modern SCSI interface (Fast-320DT technology) is 640 Mb/s.
But such interfaces are used only on high-performance servers - most ordinary users cannot afford them, and there is no need for such speed.
Physical connection of the hard drive
As we know, hard drives come in two types: ATA (IDE) and SATA (Serial ATA). The first discs are more “ancient”, but nevertheless, the second ones are on sale - more modern, promising and faster.
Definitely, SATA is the future. It seems to me that in a few years ATA drives will be discontinued. I think so. Wait and see.
Attention! Any change in the physical configuration of hard drives and other disk storage devices requires turning off the computer's power!
Connecting an ATA disk (IDE)
As a rule, the motherboard has two controllers for connecting IDE drives - primary and secondary. Each controller can connect two IDE devices. I specifically do not say “two hard drives” because CD/DVD drives can be connected to the IDE controller.
The first device connected to the controller is called the master. This is the main device, so you need to choose a faster device for the role of master.
The second device is called a slave. So, the system can have four (maximum) IDE devices:
primary master;
primary slave;
secondary master – second controller;
secondary slave – the second controller.
Open the computer case cover. Typically, the first controller is labeled IDE0, and the second - IDE1 (that is, the numbering starts from zero). If you already have an IDE drive installed (because you could buy a computer with a SATA drive), then it will be connected to the first controller.
How to distinguish an IDE connector from a SATA connector? It’s very simple: the IDE connector is large (Fig. 4.3), and the SATA connector is small (Fig. 4.4).
Rice. 4.3. IDE connectors on the motherboard
Pay attention to the color of the IDE cable that connects the motherboard and hard drive. If it is gray, then it is better to replace it with yellow cables - these are higher-performance cables (your hard drive will work faster if you connect it with a yellow cable).
You can watch a visual video tutorial - the subtleties and nuances of
checking your hard drive in HDD Scan
The difference is that the old (gray) cables have 40 pins, and the new (yellow) cables have 80. When connecting the drive using the old cable, the BIOS issues a warning that a 40-pin cable is being used instead of an 80-pin cable ( 80 pin).
Rice. 4.4. SATA connectors
Connect one end of the IDE cable to the IDE connector on the motherboard (don’t worry - you won’t plug it in incorrectly, since the key won’t allow it), and the other to the hard drive.
And this is where the fun begins. You have connected the hard drive to one of the controllers, but now you need to select its mode - master or slave.
Next to the connector for connecting the IDE cable on the hard drive there will be a connector for selecting the operating mode. The operating mode is selected using a jumper (Fig. 4.5), which must be set to one of the positions corresponding to a particular operating mode.
The map of hard drive operating modes is drawn on the hard drive itself - on a sticker on top. Sometimes the master device is called DEVICE 0 (Fig. 4.6), and the slave is called DEVICE 1. Don't let this confuse you.
Please note: two masters or two slaves cannot be connected to one controller. If a device is connected to the controller, you need to disconnect it and check the operating mode - if master, then connect the second device as a slave, or vice versa.
Rice. 4.5. Connecting an IDE device
It is not advisable to change the operating mode of already installed devices. Now I will explain why. Let's assume that a hard drive is connected to the first controller as a master - Windows boots from it.
If you install new hard drive as a master, and make the old one a slave, then the computer will try to load Windows from the new hard drive and, of course, it won’t succeed!
Usually there is a third mode of operation of the IDE device - by cable selection (CABLE SELECT). In this mode, the device will be master or slave depending on how it is connected to the loop - to the middle or to the end of the loop. There is no need to select this mode, otherwise the controller may end up with two masters or two slaves (if you connect them incorrectly).
So, we connected the IDE cable, selected the operating mode, all that remains is to connect the power. Everything is simple with this: there are many power cables coming from the power supply, connect one of them to the hard drive. Don't be afraid - you won't connect it incorrectly. Typically, when connecting power, the yellow wire faces you.
The general connection diagram for an IDE device (yes, exactly a device, since CD/DVD drives are connected in the same way) is shown in Fig. 4.5.
Why didn't we talk about the location of the device in the computer case? I remember an acquaintance came from America and brought with him his computer, or rather, one system unit.
It was a system unit of the so-called white assembly. When I opened it, I was pleasantly surprised - the length of all the wires was adjusted to the millimeter. There was an air intake from the fan to the processor, the second fan was directed to the IDE devices for optimal cooling.
Our computers are the so-called yellow assembly. Although they are assembled here, all the components, including the housings, are made in Taiwan (hence the name of the assembly - yellow).
But with Taiwanese cases, the situation is such that hard drives have to be placed not where you want or need from a cooling point of view, but where they will fit. I'm not even talking about adjusting the length of the wires. I'm keeping quiet about this...
Connecting a SATA hard drive
Now let's talk about SATA drives. Connecting a SATA drive couldn't be easier. But your motherboard must have a SATA connector on board (see Fig. 4.4). All modern motherboards have it. Don't worry, you won't get confused: the SATA cable cannot be connected to any other connector on the motherboard.
Connecting a SATA drive is easier than IDE:
The SATA cable has two identical connectors at the ends. One end is connected to the motherboard, the other to the hard drive. It is impossible to connect the SATA connector incorrectly - the dongle will not allow it;
A SATA drive does not have jumpers, so you do not need to select the device operating mode;
Only one drive can be connected to one SATA connector;
Jumpers on existing IDE devices have no effect on SATA drives;
After connecting the SATA cable, do not forget to connect power to the SATA drive. Please note: you need a special power cable (3.3V) that comes with your hard drive.
Sometimes an adapter is supplied that allows you to connect a regular power cable to a SATA drive (Fig. 4.7).
Rice. 4.7. SATA power cable with adapter (left) and SATA interface cable (right)
As you can see, the physical connection of the SATA drive is simple. If you want to install Windows on a SATA disk, then you need to make it bootable.
How? When you boot your computer, when you see the message, press DEL to enter SETUP, then among the settings of the SETUP program, find one called Boot Sequence or Boot Device Priority.
If you plan to visit it later... ( Connection procedure
hard drive to computer | Connecting a hard drive)
Every year the amount of information stored on a computer increases. As a result, the computer takes a long time to boot and freezes periodically. And this is natural, because all data is stored on a hard drive, the memory of which is limited.
Users solve this problem in different ways. Someone transfers information to various media, someone turns to a specialist and asks to increase the computer's memory, and someone decides to connect a second hard drive to the computer. Therefore, let’s figure out how to connect a second hard drive to a computer without the help of a specialist – on your own.
To begin with, you need to completely de-energize the system unit: Disconnect all cables and power cable. Now it is necessary unscrew the side covers system specialist We turn its back towards you and unscrew the four screws on the sides. Lightly pressing on the side parts, move them in the direction of the arrow and remove.
Hard drives in the system unit are installed in special compartments or cells. Such compartments may be located in the rear of the system unit, at the bottom or in the middle; some hard drives are installed turned on their side. If your system unit has several bays for hard drives, install the second one not adjacent to the first one - this will improve its cooling.
Depending on the method of connection to the motherboard, internal hard drives are divided into two types: with IDE and SATA interface. IDE is an older standard; now all system units are designed to connect hard drives with a SATA interface. It is not difficult to distinguish them: IDE has wide ports for connecting a hard drive and power supply and a wide cable, while SATA has both ports and cable much narrower.
Connecting a hard drive via SATA interface
If your system unit has a hard drive with a SATA interface, then connecting a second one will not be difficult.
Insert the second hard drive into a free slot and attach it to the body with screws.
Now we take a SATA cable through which data will be transferred, and connect it to the hard drive on either side. We connect the second plug of the cable to the SATA connector on the motherboard.
All system units have at least two SATA connectors; they look as shown in the picture below.
To connect to the power supply, a cable is used, the plug of which is slightly wider than that of a SATA cable. If there is only one plug coming from the power supply, you need to buy a splitter. If the power supply does not have a narrow plug, you will need to buy an adapter.
Connect the power cable to the hard drive.
A second hard drive is installed on the computer. Place the side covers of the system unit in place and secure them with screws.
Connecting a hard drive via the IDE interface
Although the IDE standard is outdated, hard drives with an IDE interface are still available. Therefore, next we will look at how to connect a second hard drive via the IDE interface.
First you need install jumper on the hard drive contacts to the desired position. This will allow you to determine in which mode the hard drive will operate: Master or Slave. Typically, a hard drive that is already installed on the computer operates in Master mode. It is the main one and the operating system is loaded from it. For the second hard drive that we are going to install, we need to select Slave mode. The contacts on the hard drive case are usually labeled, so just place the jumper in the desired position.
The IDE cable through which data is transmitted has three plugs. One is located at the end of a long piece, blue, connected to the motherboard. Another one is in the middle, white, connected to the driven disk (Slave). The third, at the end of a short segment, black, is connected to the master disk.
Insert the hard drive into a free cell. Then secure it with screws.
Choose free plug from the power supply and insert it into the appropriate port on the hard drive.
Now insert the plug that is located in the middle of the train, to the hard drive port for data transfer. In this case, one end of the cable is already connected to the motherboard, the other to the previously installed hard drive.
Connecting the second hard drive via the IDE interface is now complete.
As you can see, we didn’t do anything complicated. Just be careful, and then you will definitely be able to connect a second hard drive to your computer.
We also watch the video
Then you know it takes a lot of time. You need to turn off the computer, remove the side cover, secure and connect the hard drive. And if the hard drive is connected only for a short period of time (for example, to copy files), then you don’t want to do that much work.
Fortunately, this problem can be solved using a USB interface. In this article you will learn how to connect a hard drive via USB.
Method No. 1. SATA-USB adapter.
The simplest and cheapest way through the interface is a special adapter. This adapter looks like a USB cable with a small box at the end. On the side of this box there is a connector for connecting a SATA drive.
When choosing a SATA-USB adapter, you need to pay attention to whether additional power is used from an external adapter. Because if the SATA-USB adapter is powered only via USB, then it will not be able to work with large drives.
Method number 2. Hard drive pocket.
The hard drive pocket is a small case into which you can insert your hard drive. There is a connector inside this case and a USB interface outside. HDD pockets give them some protection, but they are not as compact as SATA-USB adapters. Plus, they cost significantly more.
The pockets also limit you to the form factor of the hard drive you can attach. In other words, if you have a pocket for 2.5-inch hard drives, then you won’t be able to use it to connect a 3.5-inch drive.
Method number 3. Docking station for hard drives.
Another option is a hard drive docking station. A docking station is a stationary device that is used to connect hard drives to a computer. Docks differ from pockets in that they have an open design. Thanks to this, connecting a hard drive to a docking station is much easier than connecting to a USB pocket.
In addition, docking stations are more versatile; in most cases, they can be used to connect both 2.5 and 3.5 inch hard drives. There are also docking stations for multiple hard drives.
Every day more and more laptops appear in the modern world, which, in turn, are improved and modernized. However, this does not mean that users are actively abandoning the desktop computers we are used to.
Undoubtedly, the main advantage of a laptop is its mobility and small dimensions. However, even more important is the advantage of a desktop computer over a laptop - the ability to modernize and upgrade.
Perhaps the most common type of improvement of the “iron horse” is increasing physical memory. That is why in this article we will try to figure out how to connect a second hard drive to a computer.
Types of hard drives
There are two main types of internal hard drives, which differ in connection connectors, namely SATA and IDE.
The first connection interface is considered more modern and is used on all motherboards today. As for the IDE connector, this technology is somewhat outdated and, accordingly, you can only find hard drives and motherboards with these connectors on outdated desktop computers.
Laptop and additional hard drive
There are several ways to connect a second hard drive to your laptop. Of course, the simplest is to purchase an external drive connected via a USB port. Today there is a huge selection of these devices in stores. The memory size on external hard drives is in no way inferior to internal hard drives. Having purchased such a device, you can easily connect it to your laptop at any time.
The advantage of such a hard drive is that before connecting the second hard drive to the computer, Windows 7, like any other operating system, does not have to be turned off, since this device has a hot plug function.
In cases where it is not possible to purchase an external drive, you can purchase a special adapter that allows you to connect an ordinary hard drive via a USB port. Also, for more convenient use of such an adapter, there are special containers that are used as a disc box.
You just need to connect this container to a USB port and put a hard drive in it, after which an additional device in the form of a hard drive will appear on your laptop.
Connecting an additional hard drive to a computer
Sometimes it happens that connecting a second hard drive to a computer is necessary not to increase the size of the device’s memory, but only to transfer some information from one computer to another. It would seem that doing this using a flash drive is much easier, but when the size of this information exceeds 80-100 GB, the transfer becomes much more convenient by connecting two hard drives to one computer.
Before you connect a second hard drive to your computer, you need to make sure that the motherboard has free ports for connection. Be sure to turn off the computer's power and unplug it before performing any of this work.
Hard drive and IDE connector
In order to understand how to connect a second hard drive with an IDE connector to a computer, let's see what this type of connection is.
As a rule, this type of connection is installed less and less on modern motherboards. The cable that is used to connect the hard drive and the motherboard is quite thin. Its main feature is the ability to connect several devices to one motherboard connector. That is, on such a cable there are only 3 IDE connectors, one of which is connected to the motherboard, and the other two are connected to the device - a hard drive and a CD-ROM.
Connect a second hard drive. SATA connector
If you need to connect a second hard drive to your computer, first of all pay attention to the type of hard drive connector. If this is a SATA connector, then immediately make sure that your motherboard supports such interfaces.
Then prepare a wire with SATA connectors on both ends. Connect one side to the hard drive, and the other to a free SATA port on the motherboard. Even the simplest boards of these interfaces have at least two installed.
When installing the cable into the connector, you don’t have to worry, since a special key has been developed on the plug, which eliminates the possibility of incorrect connection. That is why you can replace a hard drive or add one yourself.
Connecting the power connector
In addition to data transfer cables, be it SATA or IDE, the hard drive needs power, which it receives through a separate connector and a separate wire.
When connecting an IDE hard drive, the power cable looks like this.
It has 4 contacts. There is also a key on the connector, thanks to which you will never go wrong with the connection position. This connector has a rectangular shape, and the key is 2 rounded corners on one longitudinal side.
The power bus for hard drives with a SATA connector looks a little different.
It has a flatter shape, but is also equipped with a special key, so incorrect connection is completely excluded.
Selecting a hard drive
Today there are a huge number of manufacturers of computer equipment and components for it. The same goes for hard drives. In order to make the right choice in favor of a specific hard drive, you need to decide what you need it for.
There are several basic hard drive parameters that you should pay attention to. The first is definitely the media volume. Today, the largest disk is with a memory size of 4 TB. However, this figure is constantly growing, and in a year it can become 2 or even 3 times greater.
The second value is the speed of its operation. Namely, the speed of accessing and writing to the disk. Today, hard drives using SSD technology have appeared, otherwise known as “solid-state drives”. The speed of their operation significantly exceeds the speed of conventional hard ones, but their volume is several times smaller. The price of such discs today is very high.
Based on these parameters and your personal preferences, you can competently and most importantly - practically select the hard drive you need.
Many people do not know how to connect a second hard drive to a computer, and therefore hand over their system units to a service center. However, after reading this article, it becomes clear that it is not at all difficult.
Hello friends. Sooner or later, disk space runs out. We constantly fill our devices with data and one day we find out that there is no more space on our disk. And I want it to always be there. Today I’ll tell you how you can quickly solve this problem yourself. In today's article we will connect the hard drive to the computer ourselves.
So, friends, you have discovered that you have a problem, but don’t worry, connecting the HDD is actually simple. A typical computer is equipped with one to six hard drives. You can turn them into a place to store files, or install another operating system. For example, on one disk you have Windows 10, and on the other Windows 7. When necessary, you boot from “seven”, and when not, from “ten” - you can do that. And you can make RAID arrays if necessary.
We connect a 3.5 hard drive from a laptop to a computer via a USB adapter
The easiest and most hassle-free option is to buy an external portable hard drive. This drive is connected via a USB connector and used as a large flash drive. The advantage of this solution is that you can store a lot of things on it? It connects easily to your computer, is compact and easy to carry. There are also disadvantages:
- the presence of a cord that must be connected all the time;
- read-write speed is lower than that of a disk connected in the usual way;
- special sensitivity to shocks and falls.
What does this have to do with a laptop disk? Inside this case is the most ordinary laptop hard drive. And if you have such a used laptop disk, you can make it portable yourself. The most important part is the adapter. You can buy an adapter in a store, taking the disk with you, and the seller will select an adapter for you, and perhaps even a beautiful case. Putting everything together we get a portable disk:
It can now be connected to a USB port. Or this option, without an adapter, just a connector screwed to the case, into which the hard drive is then inserted. The case itself can be secured in the system unit basket with screws:
This option is suitable for connecting a HDD without an adapter, inside the system unit. Read on.
Connecting a HDD without an adapter at home
You can easily connect the same 3.5 hard drive yourself. You will need an additional SATA cable for the hard drive and possibly an additional power plug (if there are not enough connectors on the power supply). On sale there are the following cable options where everything is in one:
We open the system unit after disconnecting all the wires from it, and unscrew the screws:
...remove the cover,
Connect the data cable to the motherboard...
...and the hard drive along with the power connector:
It is highly desirable that the 3.5 disk does not hang on the wires. If possible, it is better to secure it in a stationary state to avoid vibrations and shocks.
Then, we find a suitable place for it and secure it, if possible, with standard mounting screws in the basket, or at worst with plumbing tape, so that our disk is firmly and motionlessly fixed. We put the cover of the system unit in place.
How to connect a second, additional hard drive to a computer via a SATA connector
If you have a standard hard drive from your computer, you can just as easily connect it as a second drive. We do everything according to the same scheme. First, we secure the new disk with standard screws on both sides in the disk basket so that there is no vibration:
Then we connect the cable and the power connector. The disk is connected.
Connecting an IDE hard drive to the motherboard and SATA connector
If your computer's motherboard has connectors for connecting an IDE hard drive, you can try connecting such a drive. For a long time, all computers worked on the IDE interface, something like this until 2005. A disk with such an interface looks like this:
The connection socket looks like this:
Sometimes the connectors are multi-colored. And the cable for connecting to the motherboard looks like this:
The blue block connects to the motherboard, the black (topmost) to the hard drive, and the white to the DVD drive.
There is an important point when using IDE drives. If you are going to use such a disk, you need to correctly switch the jumper to the position Master or Slave. This option tells the system what role this disk will play. Master— this disk is considered the main one, and loading will take place from it. Slave— secondary disk.
Different manufacturers have their own jumper pinouts. The decoding of the switching modes is always indicated on the disk case:
By setting the jumpers to a certain position, we indicate the priorities - which disk is the main one. Previously, when there were several such disks, it took a lot of time to switch them. The SATA interface does not have these disadvantages. The IDE interface has long been outdated and is no longer used on modern devices. However, you can connect your existing IDE drive to the SATA socket on the motherboard using a special adapter. You need to connect the adapter to the IDE drive:
...and a SATA cable and power cable to the motherboard and power supply. In this way, you can increase disk space by some, albeit small (by modern standards) amount. Everything is more than a flash drive!
If you bought a new hard drive, you must initialize it before using it, otherwise Windows will not see it, even if it is connected correctly. This is done using special programs such as Acronis Disk Director 12. First, install the disk in the system unit, connect, and load Acronis Disk Director:
At first you will not see the new connected disk under Windows. However, if the Disk Management snap-in is available in your version of Windows, you can try to initialize the connected disk through this snap-in. In the photo, we first went to “Computer Management”, then to “Disk Management”.
However, I always use Acronis; it is guaranteed to see all disks connected to the computer.
You need to select the desired disk, right-click to open the menu, select “Initialize disk”, and then at the very top click “Apply pending operations”:
After initialization, we create a partition or partitions on the disk, formatting them in the NTFS file system. At this point, the operation of connecting the disk to the computer can be considered completely completed. We connected it physically and programmatically. After these steps, the disks can be used for their intended purpose - installing an operating system or making volumes out of them to store your data.
If you decide to install another operating system on a new drive, then after installation, when you boot your computer, you will need to select the drive on which you installed it. This is done through the BIOS. To enter the BIOS, first press the key DEL, and then select the desired disk:
I repeat, you need to select from the list that appears the disk that you need. You can then change the download at any time. In general, you can connect a hard drive yourself very easily, try everything and you will definitely succeed.