2nd hard drive installation

Question

Hello,   I'm trying to get a second hard drive installed on my computer. The hdis 6 gigs big but i need it. The hd is also not brand new but has been used before. Here is the problem:   Upon plugging the cable (middle for the new one and end for the the primary) and powering the computer i come across the blue dell screen but nothing happens after that. It stays at the dell logo and does not load windows xp. I've tried the following:   1. Making the older drive a master and the new one a slave   2. Making the older a master and the new one a cable selection   3. making both cable selections   4. making the older one a slave and the new one a cable selection   I havent changed the way the cables are. They are currently older at the end of the cable and the newer hd in the middle. I've also switched the bays.   My older drive is a maxtor and the newer one is a western digital. I don't think mixing could cause this but i am unsure. Please help.   Thanks,         dark777

B4runo · Answer

@dark777 wrote:

Hello,

I'm trying to get a second hard drive installed on my computer. The hdis 6 gigs big but i need it. The hd is also not brand new but has been used before. Here is the problem:

Upon plugging the cable (middle for the new one and end for the the primary) and powering the computer i come across the blue dell screen but nothing happens after that. It stays at the dell logo and does not load windows xp. I've tried the following:

1. Making the older drive a master and the new one a slave

2. Making the older a master and the new one a cable selection

3. making both cable selections

4. making the older one a slave and the new one a cable selection

I havent changed the way the cables are. They are currently older at the end of the cable and the newer hd in the middle. I've also switched the bays.

My older drive is a maxtor and the newer one is a western digital. I don't think mixing could cause this but i am unsure. Please help.

Thanks,

dark777

dark777:

Some more information is necessary for other forum members to begin to try to help you. What is your computer model? Are the drives EIDE/ATA, SATA, etc.? What size are the drives? What is your operating system? etc...........

B4runo

DIMM 4400
BIOS – A06, date 6/12/02
Win XP Home Edition, SP2
Pentium-4 2.8 GHz, 400MHz FSB, 512K L2
1 GB DDR SRAM PC2100
80GB WD 7200RPM, 200GB WD 7200RPM EIDE/ATA HDDs
Iomega 80GB USB 2.0 External HDD
XFX GeForce FX 5700LE 128MB DDR 8X AGP w/ TV & DVI
17”, 1702FP Digital Flat Panel Display
SIIG US2275 USB 2.0 / 1394a / NIC PCI card

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dark777 · Answer

the computer is a dell dimension 4400. It runs on windows xp pro. my current drive is 30 gbs big and the one i am installing is 6. I think it is an ide or w/e from looking at the wire.

shesagordie · Answer

dark777.

Try setting the jumoers to cable select, then enter the BIOS setup and check that the second HD is set to "Auto" [enabled] after this the second HD needs to be partitioned and formatted using XP disk management, to be seen in windows. These are generic instructions for installing an additional hard drive using Windows XP Disk Management, they are by Seagate, but apply to all brands.

http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/disc/howto/install_xp_disk_mgmt.html

Bev.

dark777 · Answer

I tried it and had no luck. I cant even get into windows itself when the second drive is connected. I did get into bios with those jumpers set  but it showed both drivers as not installed.

Storage, Drives & Media

2nd hard drive installation

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