Installing a hard drive on a computer - how to avoid mistakes. How to Connect a Second SATA or IDE Hard Drive to a Computer or Laptop

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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, there are two controllers on the motherboard 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 diagram for connecting 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)

A hard disk is a solid-state drive, which is so called in contrast to a floppy disk, which has not been used by users for a long time. The operation of connecting a hard drive is not so complicated and in many cases the user can do everything independently, without contacting computer specialists.

In what cases do you have to connect hard drives?

• When upgrading, you replace the old drive with a more powerful and larger one.
• To expand disk memory. For example, to place computer games and some applications on a separate hard drive.
• During repair - replacing a failed drive with a functional one.
• To read large amounts of previously recorded information.

Basic provisions

If a system unit with an IDE interface has more than one hard drive, then one of them on the bus is designated as the main one, and the second as the auxiliary one. The first one is called Master, and the other one is called Slave. Such a division is required so that when loading the operating system after turning on, the computer knows exactly which disk is the boot one.

In all cases, you can set the boot sequence from drives using the BIOS settings. And in IDE this is done by installing jumpers on the disk enclosures according to the diagram shown on the enclosure.

By type of interface, hard drives differ between IDE – the old model and SATA – in all new computers. If you have an older model of system unit and you are going to connect a new hard drive with a SATA interface, you will need to purchase a special adapter.

Junk

It happens that you pick up this old thing and can’t figure out what to connect and where. The old IDE interface (1986) is attached to a parallel cable. Usually there are either 2 or 4 connectors on the motherboard. Always an even number, because the Master/Slave rule works. Settings can be specified using jumpers (example):

1. Master – the presence of a jumper between the leftmost contacts (7 and 8) of the control connector.
2. Slave – absence of any jumpers.

The specified configuration may vary depending on the manufacturer, as well as the set of permissible functions specified by the connector. The IDE interface made it possible to conveniently connect a hard drive and a CD drive to the computer at the same time. This was enough for most users. The disadvantage of the parallel interface was the low transfer speed. IDE is otherwise referred to among professionals as parallel ATA or ATA-1. The transfer speed of such devices does not exceed 133 Mbit/s (for ATA-7). With the introduction of the serial SATA interface in 2003, the aging information transfer protocol began to be called parallel PATA.

The name ATA-1 was assigned to the IDE interface in 1994 when it was recognized by the ANSI organization. Formally, it was an extension of the 16-bit ISA bus (predecessor of PCI). It is curious that in the modern world there is a tendency to use video card interfaces to create ports for connecting hard drives. This was followed by accelerated ATA-2 and packet ATAPI. The IDE interface has not been officially supported since December 2013. Connecting such a hard drive to a new motherboard is only possible with an expansion card.

Using such devices, you can perform the exact opposite function: install previous generation hard drives on new motherboards. So, for example, on the old A7N8X-X there are only two IDE ports, but there are 5 PCI 2.2 slots for expansion cards. The universal adapter is just right for this case. And you can install a modern hard drive up to SATA3, but its operating speed will, of course, be several times lower than the maximum.

Hard drives for standard IDE interfaces are probably already mostly out of order. And there are not so many of them left in the world. It remains to add to this that the configuration of ATA devices can be changed using jumpers, and the explanatory drawing is located directly on the device body. Unscrupulous suppliers sometimes keep jumpers for themselves, and not every configuration in this case can be carried out by the user. There are usually not enough jumpers.

Today there is a new trend: traditional PCI cards, which were supplanted for some time by PCI Express cards, are reappearing on motherboards. This means that the “old stuff” can now be connected to a modern system unit using an adapter.

SATA drives

Experts generally distinguish three generations of SATA. The gradation is based on the speed of information transfer:

1. SATA – 1.5 Gbit/s.
2. SATA2 – 3 Gbit/s.
3. SATA3 – 6 Gbit/s.

A standard SATA drive has two connectors, one of which is used for power supply, and the second serves as a data transfer cable. It is not recommended to swap hard drives by connecting them to different SATA ports. The plugs have keys that prevent the connector from being connected incorrectly.

Sometimes the hard drive can contain useful information that any advanced user can understand. But sometimes the designation tends to be so ornate that only a true professional can comprehend it. As, for example, in this case.

There is information about the brand, serial number, technical data and even measures of disk capacity. But its interface remains unknown. This is important when choosing hardware for a computer with limited capabilities. If the disk had a SATA3 interface, then it is useless to install one in an old system unit. There are many other similar examples. Let's say in advance that this drive has a SATA 2.6 interface. Consequently, its information exchange rate limit is 3 Mbit/s.

If information about the HDD interface type is available

How to distinguish? First, you can look at the body. Here is an image of an old disk that supports two speeds, therefore, it is a SATA2 device.

When removed from the system unit, it was equipped with a jumper that reduced the speed.

The jumper was immediately removed, therefore, the device will now function twice as fast. On the SATA 2.0 bus of the GA-H61M-D2-B3 motherboard.

This once again suggests that it is not enough to buy a system unit; you also need to study its entire device in general and hard drives in particular. The drives inside were paired using a special hanging frame.

This achieves better maintainability of the structure. Both hard drives were quickly removed from the case. As an alternative, a bay installation option is used, where the housing is secured with screws on both sides, and two side covers must be removed for dismantling. Which is not very convenient, considering that each of them usually jams. It is rare to find system unit cases where the sidewalls are removed using simple methods.

If HDD interface data is missing

Sometimes the hard drive may not have data transfer speed information. In this case, you can, of course, stock up on AIDA, but it’s even easier to look up the information on the Internet. The brand of the drive is determined by the price list or the appearance of the case.

Let's say we have WD5000AAJS in our hands. Only one thing is known - at lunchtime he will be a hundred years old. Therefore, you need to familiarize yourself with historical information on the Internet. Since models are constantly updated, you need to enter the code followed by a dash - 00YFA0. The search engine quickly provided an answer, and now there is every reason to claim that the channel bandwidth is 3 Gbit/s (SATA 2.5 generation).

We have already discussed above how to connect such equipment to an outdated motherboard that does not have a SATA interface. So let's move on to new products.

Connecting SATA to exSATA bus

When engineers approached the problem of increasing SATA speeds to 12 Gbit/s and higher, it turned out that this was not economically viable. Energy efficiency drops sharply while prices rise. Someone noticed that the PCI Express graphics card bus operates at high speeds without problems, and then it was decided to make some kind of hybrid between it and the now obsolete SATA. To do this, the connector was divided into two parts:

1. Specific. Small port on the side.
2. Standard. Two ports for SATA0 connection.

The figure shows a dual exSATA port. This can include 4 hard drives with a SATA interface, or 2 exSATA, or 1 exSATA and 2 SATA. Below is an example of connecting two SATA drives to one exSATA port.

Due to its large size, covering three exSATA slots at once, the plug is called a hub among professionals. You need to start by checking the BIOS. It turned out that some motherboards can turn off SATA support, completely switching to Express, which supports speeds of up to 16 Gbps.

At the same time, you can look at the BIOS capabilities regarding RAID arrays. Let us remember that in the latter case, several hard drives can duplicate their information for reliability, or turn on alternately, which significantly increases the speed of operation. The size of the article does not allow us to speak in more detail on this topic.

The selected AHCI mode is the default mode for most systems. It provides maximum compatibility with older equipment in a completely transparent manner for the user. To safely hot-plug drives, it is recommended to set the appropriate option in the BIOS settings.

When installing a new operating system, the sequence for connecting bootable media is specified. The hard drive is not put in first place. Instead, leadership is given to a flash drive or DVD drive.

Before connecting

How to connect an IDE hard drive

On the motherboard, the IDE connector is visible from afar. You can recognize it by its characteristic slot with many contacts and a key located approximately in the center of the block.

A splitter cable is usually hung on each port, so that a master and a servant are on the channel at the same time.

Before connecting a drive, you need to correctly configure the jumpers on its case - Slave or Master. There will definitely be a diagram on the case on how to do this.

For drives from different manufacturers, the order in which jumpers are inserted will be unique (they seem to be competing in this). The disk must be a bus master, otherwise the operating system cannot be started from it (No IDE Master detected). Therefore, it is necessary to set the slave jumper on the CD drive.

After setting the jumpers, insert the hard drive into a suitable cage and secure it with four screws on both sides. Connect the single data cable connector to the corresponding header on the motherboard. Connect the power cables. The order doesn't matter here.

Now you can close the system unit covers and connect the computer. The system itself should detect new connections and configure everything. The user will only have to confirm operations in the Add New Equipment Wizard.

If the system is confused about where the Master is and where the Slave is, then it is necessary to make assignments in the BIOS. Immediately after turning on the power, press the F2 or Del key repeatedly (in different ways) to open the BIOS settings. Find the interface for describing the order of boot devices, set the parameters. The first is the CD drive from which the system is installed. Save the settings using the F10 key. After this, the operating system will begin loading.

How to connect a SATA hard drive to an old motherboard

To connect a SATA hard drive, use a PCI bus adapter. It may have one or another number of ports; accordingly, several hard drives are installed.

Insert the card into the slot, connect the hard drive, place it in the bay and secure it with screws on both sides - two or four screws in total. It is advisable to choose the location of the modules inside the system unit in such a way that, if possible, there is enough free space between them to ensure ventilation. Otherwise, if the computer overheats, it will automatically turn off.

Now connect the power cable to the hard drive. If the power supply is an old model for IDE, you will need an adapter to connect SATA. Now you can connect the data cable to the hard drive. After the system boots, you should install the driver from the included DVD, and the new drive will become visible through Explorer.

Sometimes there is no other drive other than SATA. And then you need to install Windows again via a PCI adapter. The bootloader will not see the drive, but will give you the opportunity to find it manually. This is where you will need to find the required driver for the current operating system on the DVD. The installer will then notice the disk and you can create partitions for the new operating system. This is absolutely accurate, because the authors installed the “seven” in this way on an old system unit.

USB 3.0 external hard drive

The serial interface has become so fast (up to 5 Gbps) that external hard drives using USB 3.0 are now available. The motherboard usually has 20-pin sockets, in addition, some of the ports are located on the rear wall. But if you plan to install an operating system on the hard drive, it makes sense to place it inside the system unit. Adapters from 20-pin to microUSB 3.0 typeB are usually not found, but you can use intermediate adapters for docking.

On your own and without the involvement of a specialist, if necessary, you can connect an additional hard drive to your computer. Next we'll look at installation diagram and then connecting a new hard drive to the system unit. It should be noted that the actions are performed smoothly, clearly, without the use of force or sudden actions.

The first step will need to be de-energized the entire system unit, to do this, turn off the power, and then disconnect absolutely all the wires. Next, the side covers are unscrewed and removed, just like in the image.

The hard drive, of course, has its own compartments, which, depending on the model of the system unit, can be located in different positions and have different positions.

According to the method of connecting the hard drive directly to the motherboard, they are divided into two types, and exactlySATAAndIDE. The second option, which has very wide cables and ports for connection, is considered obsolete and is now used extremely rarely. Due to its irrelevance as an IDE, the variation will not be considered here.

If a SATA hard drive is already connected to the computer, then adding a second one can be done quickly and easily. The additional disk is inserted into the appropriate free slot and attached to the case. It is advisable that they be located at a sufficient distance from each other to avoid overheating.

In order to connect the new hard drive to the motherboard itself, you will need a cableSATA. Plug one end into the corresponding slot on the board, and the other into the hard drive.

It is worth noting that every modern system unit model provides a minimum twoSATA- connector.

The next step is to connect a new hard drive directly to the power supply. For this purpose it is used special cable, 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 will need a splitter. It happens that a narrow plug was not provided in the power supply, then you should purchase an adapter. Examples are shown in the images:

Having obtained all the above-mentioned cables, you should connect the hard drive to the power cable.

The auxiliary media is now fully connected. You can then start the computer by attaching the covers, connecting the cables, and applying power. After this, if necessary, the stage of system configuration of the new hard drive will follow.

Connecting a hard drive to a laptop or computer is not a very difficult task, however, those who have never encountered it may not know how it is done. In this article, I will try to consider all possible options for connecting a hard drive - both mounting inside a laptop or computer, and options for external connection in order to overwrite the necessary files.

Connecting to a computer (inside the system unit)

Due to its shape, the SATA cable is more resistant to multiple connections. The SATA power cord is also designed to accommodate multiple connections. The SATA power connector supplies 3 supply voltages: +12 V, +5 V and +3.3 V; however, modern devices can operate without +3.3 V, which makes it possible to use a passive adapter from a standard IDE to SATA power connector. A number of SATA devices come with two power connectors: SATA and Molex.

The SATA standard abandoned the traditional PATA connection of two devices per cable; Each device is assigned a separate cable, which eliminates the problem of the impossibility of simultaneous operation of devices located on the same cable (and the resulting delays), reduces possible problems during assembly (there is no problem of conflict between Slave/Master devices for SATA), and eliminates the possibility of errors when using non-terminated PATA- loops.

The SATA standard supports the command queuing function (NCQ, starting with SATA Revision 2.x).

The SATA standard does not provide for hot-swapping of the active device (used by the Operating System) (up to SATA Revision 3.x), additionally connected drives must be disconnected gradually - power, cable, and connected in the reverse order - cable, power.

SATA connectors

SATA devices use two connectors: 7-pin (data bus connection) and 15-pin (power connection). The SATA standard provides the ability to use a standard 4-pin Molex connector instead of a 15-pin power connector. Using both types of power connectors at the same time may damage the device.

The SATA interface has two data transfer channels, from controller to device and from device to controller. LVDS technology is used to transmit the signal; the wires of each pair are shielded twisted pairs.

There is also a 13-pin combined SATA connector used in servers, mobile and portable devices for slim CD/DVD drives. Devices are connected using a SATA Slimline ALL-in-One Cable. It consists of a combined connector of a 7-pin connector for connecting the data bus and a 6-pin connector for connecting the device’s power supply. In addition, to connect to these devices, servers use a special adapter.

Using http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/SATA

The most interesting comments on the colors of the SATA power connector cable:

RU2012:"Adapters are available to convert a 4-pin Molex connector to a SATA power connector. However, since 4-pin Molex connectors do not provide 3.3 V, these adapters only provide 5 V and 12 V power and leave the 3.3 V lines disabled. This does not allow the use of such adapters with drives that require 3.3 V power - orange wire.

Recognizing this, hard drive manufacturers have largely left support for the 3.3V orange power cable option in their storage devices - power lines are not used in most devices.

HOWEVER, WITHOUT 3.3V POWER (orange wire), the SATA DEVICE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HOT PLUG THE DISK..." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA

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The system unit case has compartments for devices (usually they are located in the front part of the case). The upper compartments of the case are usually designed for installing optical drives CD/DVD, Blu-Ray. And the lower compartments shown in the photo are designed for installing hard drives.

We select any of the available compartments and place the hard drive there. It is necessary to position it so that the connectors (see image) of the drive face inside the case.

Then, we take the hard drive and insert it along the guides that prevent it from falling down.

All. The disk is inserted, now it needs to be secured with screws. As you can see, the case has corresponding holes for mounting.

It is necessary to ensure that the threaded holes on the disk match the holes on the body. Now we will tighten the screws in them.

It is desirable that there are four screws, two on one side and two on the other. Having screwed the hard drive on one side, unfold the case and screw the other side.

We have secured the hard drive. Check that it does not wobble; if the disk moves, then tighten the screws more tightly.

The hard drive installation is complete and you can now connect it to the motherboard. First of all, you should take into account that hard drives of different generations have different connectors and different cables (“cables”) for connection.
We will look at connecting a hard drive with the most common interfaces IDE (outdated, but still in use) and SATA.

Connecting a hard drive with a SATA interface

Connecting a hard drive to a laptop or computer is not a very difficult task, however, those who have never encountered it may not know how it is done. In this article I will try...

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 an 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.