old hdd

[Fr0sty22]

hey i just pulled out a computer that i had when i was a kid

its a pre build computer so it has an oem

i was wondering if it would harm my computer or my new hdd that currently have 

this old hdd has 250gb so it would be nice to add a bit of more storage

one last thing how could i delete everthing on that old hdd so i can have maximum storage

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

Id get a new ssd and a new copy of windows.

 

You can put it in the new pc, but it will be very slow. Id toss it and get a new 2tb hdd

[Fr0sty22]

Just now, Electronics Wizardy said:

Id get a new ssd and a new copy of windows.

 

You can put it in the new pc, but it will be very slow. Id toss it and get a new 2tb hdd

your getting confused 

i have a windows 8 boot drive rn and running good i just want to add to the 1tb hdd i alrready have

[Electronics Wizardy]

3 minutes ago, Fr0sty22 said:

your getting confused 

i have a windows 8 boot drive rn and running good i just want to add to the 1tb hdd i alrready have

You can put the hdd in and use it.

[MrMcMuffinJr]

plug it into current pc, go to my computer. right click the drive, then click format. default FAT32 should work ust fine

[tomoki]

5 minutes ago, MrMcMuffinJr said:

plug it into current pc, go to my computer. right click the drive, then click format. default FAT32 should work ust fine

wait...Old drives run on FAT32? I thought they were all NTFS. 

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, tomoki said:

wait...Old drives run on FAT32? I thought they were all NTFS. 

Drive model doesn't affect the file system.

 

All nt windows os's use ntfs.

[MrMcMuffinJr]

come to think of it, ntfs is for 4gb and over. my mistake.

[Fr0sty22]

where you get that 

from apple

On 11/26/2016 at 11:17 PM, MrMcMuffinJr said:

come to think of it, ntfs is for 4gb and over. my mistake.

 

[Mighty_Miro_WD]

Hi @Fr0sty22!

 

You should be able to access the old drive and be able to reformat it in Disk Management once it's properly connected to the motherboard.

 

However, I'd suggest to run a diagnostic check on the HDD before using it so you can be sure that the unit is healthy. There are quite a few tools available for that purpose, but I personally would prefer the use the manufacturers one since it will be tuned to the specific firmware of the drive. It should be available in the official website of the manufacturer, like Data Lifeguard Diagnostics for WD drives which you can download from here:

http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=eJWzDl

 

Hope this helps and feel free to ask any questions you may have.