Adding an HDD

[Vepy]

I'm wanting to add an HDD to my computer. My main drive is an SSD, and I just want to use the HDD as external storage. How would I go about this? Would I need to somehow wipe the drive since it's used?

[zeusthemoose]

You have a hard drive already and you want to now use it as an external drive?

[Vepy]

3 minutes ago, zeusthemoose said:

You have a hard drive already and you want to now use it as an external drive?

Yes, I bought it for cheap from a computer parts place and I don't want to accidentally get the boot drive mixed

[Var_]

If you mean adding a hard drive as secondary storage, you can just put the hard drive into one of your drive trays and plug it in like a normal SATA ssd. If your SSD is m.2 and you don't know how to install a SATA drive, there are plenty of tutorials on youtube for how to install one, such as this one: 

As for wiping the HDD, you can do that by right clicking the hard drive in This PC and pressing "Format Disk". You can also do this in "Disk Partitioning", or through the terminal, however BE CAREFUL, I have accidentally wiped the wrong drive in the past.

 

 

 

[zeusthemoose]

1 minute ago, Vepy said:

Yes, I bought it for cheap from a computer parts place and I don't want to accidentally get the boot drive mixed

Is it 3.5" or 2.5"? Are you planning on using it for only that computer?

[Vepy]

Just now, Var_ said:

If you mean adding a hard drive as secondary storage, you can just put the hard drive into one of your drive trays and plug it in like a normal SATA ssd.

(Dumb question) Should I plug it in while the computer is off? Would this possibly mix up the boot?

[zeusthemoose]

2 minutes ago, Vepy said:

(Dumb question) Should I plug it in while the computer is off? Would this possibly mix up the boot?

Power off the pc, put the drive in an empty bay, then connect the power and sata cables. Once that is done, boot up your computer and go to disk management and you should be able to right click on the new drive and format it. Then go through the steps in the video to set it up as a new drive. It will then show as a new drive in file management with a different letter so you dont confuse which drive is which.

[Vepy]

19 minutes ago, zeusthemoose said:

Power off the pc, put the drive in an empty bay, then connect the power and sata cables. Once that is done, boot up your computer and go to disk management and you should be able to right click on the new drive and format it. Then go through the steps in the video to set it up as a new drive. It will then show as a new drive in file management with a different letter so you dont confuse which drive is which.

So I did this, but at disk management it does't show the HDD... well at least I don't think so. It's showing my SSD, disk partion, and C drive, which is lower than my SSD but higher than the HDD I have plugged in.

 

 

The HDD I have plugged in says it's 250GB on the top sticker, could it be incorrect?

[zeusthemoose]

1 minute ago, Vepy said:

The HDD I have plugged in says it's 250GB on the top sticker, could it be incorrect?

What happens if you right click on Disk 1?

[Vepy]

 

6 minutes ago, zeusthemoose said:

What happens if you right click on Disk 1?

[zeusthemoose]

2 minutes ago, Vepy said:

*snip*

Click import foreign disk. You should then see the same thing you see on disk 0. As long as it is listed in the top after that, you can right click in and format it. I believe that should be all you have to do.

[Vepy]

6 minutes ago, zeusthemoose said:

Click import foreign disk. You should then see the same thing you see on disk 0. As long as it is listed in the top after that, you can right click in and format it. I believe that should be all you have to do.

I clicked import foreign disk and this happened

[zeusthemoose]

3 minutes ago, Vepy said:

I clicked import foreign disk and this happened

Sounds like the disk was setup in some kind of raid setup before you go it. Try the steps posted here. That should allow you to format it.

[Vepy]

5 minutes ago, zeusthemoose said:

Sounds like the disk was setup in some kind of raid setup before you go it. Try the steps posted here. That should allow you to format it.

It says to right click the Volume and to reactivate it, but there's no option to do so.

[zeusthemoose]

16 minutes ago, Vepy said:

It says to right click the Volume and to reactivate it, but there's no option to do so.

You don’t have to do that step as your disk is already online.

[Vepy]

Just now, zeusthemoose said:

You don’t have to do that step as your disk is already online.

I just went with this link

[zeusthemoose]

1 minute ago, Vepy said:

I just went with this link

That’s the right steps just start below the white text

 

edit: oh never mind, I see what you mean. Try with the command prompt instructions

Edited June 6, 2020 by zeusthemoose

[Vepy]

2 minutes ago, zeusthemoose said:

That’s the right steps just start below the white text

When I click "Detecting and repairing disk errors" link, I get blocked

[zeusthemoose]

Hmm. If you right click on it, do you still have the option to “convert to basic disk”? If not right click and delete volume.

[Vepy]

3 minutes ago, zeusthemoose said:

Hmm. If you right click on it, do you still have the option to “convert to basic disk”? If not right click and delete volume.

Ok I deleted the volume, now it's unallocated

[Vepy]

Here's when I right click the volume

[zeusthemoose]

Ok there we go! Click new simple volume then follow the steps and it should be good to go!

[Vepy]

5 minutes ago, zeusthemoose said:

Ok there we go! Click new simple volume then follow the steps and it should be good to go!

Yup! That got the job done! Thank you very much!!

[zeusthemoose]

Just now, Vepy said:

Yup! That got the job done! Thank you very much!!

Yay! You’re welcome!