Question about installing a second HDD

L

larz

New Member
I apologize in advance. I wasn't sure where to post this.

I have a custom built computer.

Specs:
Q6600 Intel Quad Core @ 2.4 Ghz
4 GB of Patriot DDR2 1066
Asus P5KC Motherboard
Nvidia 8800 GTX 768MB
IDE DVD Burner drive.
500 GB 7200 RPM Maxtor sata HDD
Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit.

I wanted to temporarily install a second hard drive from an old Dell Dimension 8300.

Specs:
Intel Pentium 4 @ 3.0Ghz
2GB of DDR 400
Nvidia 6800gt
120Gb 7200 RPM Barracuda sata HDD
Windows XP home edition

I wanted to install it to back up some files from my custom built incase I had to format it after I flashed my bios. I was hoping I could install it without formatting the the new drive. I still use the old computer.

I wanted to drag some files to second drive and delete them or access them later if I ended up having to wipe my custome rig, and then be able to plug the second drive back into the old comp when I needed to use it.

I could not see the drive in "my computer".

I read some things online and talked to someone who said that I would have to formatt my second HDD in order to be able to use it in Vista. Is that true? :(
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Me, Myself, and I =)
    CPU
    Intel Q6600 Core2 Quad
    Motherboard
    Asus P5Kc
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 Patriot 1066
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia 8800 GTX 768 MB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio onboard sound
    Hard Drives
    500 GB sata Maxtor 7200 RPM HDD
    PSU
    700 Watt Thermaltake
    Case
    Antec 900
    Cooling
    7 fans. well ventialated case.
    Internet Speed
    DSL 1.2 Mb
larz said:
I apologize in advance. I wasn't sure where to post this.

I have a custom built computer.

Specs:
Q6600 Intel Quad Core @ 2.4 Ghz
4 GB of Patriot DDR2 1066
Asus P5KC Motherboard
Nvidia 8800 GTX 768MB
IDE DVD Burner drive.
500 GB 7200 RPM Maxtor sata HDD
Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit.

I wanted to temporarily install a second hard drive from an old Dell Dimension 8300.

Specs:
Intel Pentium 4 @ 3.0Ghz
2GB of DDR 400
Nvidia 6800gt
120Gb 7200 RPM Barracuda sata HDD
Windows XP home edition

I wanted to install it to back up some files from my custom built incase I had to format it after I flashed my bios. I was hoping I could install it without formatting the the new drive. I still use the old computer.

I wanted to drag some files to second drive and delete them or access them later if I ended up having to wipe my custome rig, and then be able to plug the second drive back into the old comp when I needed to use it.

I could not see the drive in "my computer".

I read some things online and talked to someone who said that I would have to formatt my second HDD in order to be able to use it in Vista. Is that true? :(
Click to expand...

Make sure it is assigned a primary partition drive letter (E: ) under Computer-"manage", if not assign it one so you can see it under "computer"
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    T7600G Core2Duo 2.66 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Intel 945PM + ICH7 Chipset
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Mobility Radeon x1900 256MB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    WUXGA 17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    640GB 7200RPM SATA/RAID 0 (2x320GB) and 320GB 7200RPM External
    Mouse
    Wireless Microsoft 3000
    Internet Speed
    10 mbps/2 mbps
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: Panasonic UJ-220 DL BD-RE (Blu-Ray)
Hi Larz, And welcome to the Vista forums :party:

one thing to try is - in Vista go to the start menu and right click computer and select manage.

select the disk management option.

Hopefully you will be able to see the drive in the list - you should be able to right click and assign a drive letter to the drive which will make it visible in vista.

I use the work hopefully above because there are sometimes issues with drives containing other operating systems. Also if the drive is formatted with NTFS you may have to take ownership from within vista to write to the drive.

Hope this helps
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro x64 Latest Release Preview
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer G276HL 27", (DVi) + Samsung 39" HDTV (HDMI)
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 1920x1080 @50Hz
  • Manufacturer/Model
    Real World Computers (Custom by Me)
    CPU
    AMD FX8350 Vishera 8 Core @4GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus M5A78L-M USB3
    Memory
    32GB [4x8GB] DDR3 1600 MHz
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xoner DG + SPDIF to 5.1 System + HDMI
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 32" TV
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Internal Crucial CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SSD, Seagate ST2000DM001-1CH1 2TB, External (USB3) Seagate Backup+ Hub BK SCSI Disk 8TB 2.5/3.5 Hot Swap Cradle, USB3 + eSata (client HDDs) NAS 4TB
    PSU
    Aerocool Templarius Imperator 750W 80+ Silver
    Case
    AeroCool X-Warrior Red Devil Tower
    Cooling
    Hyper103 CPU, Rear 120mm, Front 2x120mm, Side 2x120mm
    Internet Speed
    68 MB Down 18.5 MB Up
    Other Info
    Six Sensor Auto / Manual Digital cooling (Fan) control with Touch control Panel
barman58 said:
Hi Larz, And welcome to the Vista forums :party:

one thing to try is - in Vista go to the start menu and right click computer and select manage.

select the disk management option.

Hopefully you will be able to see the drive in the list - you should be able to right click and assign a drive letter to the drive which will make it visible in vista.

I use the work hopefully above because there are sometimes issues with drives containing other operating systems. Also if the drive is formatted with NTFS you may have to take ownership from within vista to write to the drive.

Hope this helps
Click to expand...

Yes it's formatted with NTFS. It has windows XP and all the drivers installed on it for the old computer, including various documents and programs, but it has about 50 GB free.

I havent been home yet to try suggestions.

Thanks for the welcome.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Me, Myself, and I =)
    CPU
    Intel Q6600 Core2 Quad
    Motherboard
    Asus P5Kc
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 Patriot 1066
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia 8800 GTX 768 MB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio onboard sound
    Hard Drives
    500 GB sata Maxtor 7200 RPM HDD
    PSU
    700 Watt Thermaltake
    Case
    Antec 900
    Cooling
    7 fans. well ventialated case.
    Internet Speed
    DSL 1.2 Mb
Hi Larz,

one thing that may be worth the effort, and assuming you have suitable software, is to create a separate partition on the "free Space" and just give that space a drive letter in Vista. This way the XP partition will not need to be exposed to vista at all, just in case a "Live" OS causes problems
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro x64 Latest Release Preview
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer G276HL 27", (DVi) + Samsung 39" HDTV (HDMI)
    Screen Resolution
    2 x 1920x1080 @50Hz
  • Manufacturer/Model
    Real World Computers (Custom by Me)
    CPU
    AMD FX8350 Vishera 8 Core @4GHz
    Motherboard
    Asus M5A78L-M USB3
    Memory
    32GB [4x8GB] DDR3 1600 MHz
    Sound Card
    ASUS Xoner DG + SPDIF to 5.1 System + HDMI
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 32" TV
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Internal Crucial CT256MX100SSD1 256GB SSD, Seagate ST2000DM001-1CH1 2TB, External (USB3) Seagate Backup+ Hub BK SCSI Disk 8TB 2.5/3.5 Hot Swap Cradle, USB3 + eSata (client HDDs) NAS 4TB
    PSU
    Aerocool Templarius Imperator 750W 80+ Silver
    Case
    AeroCool X-Warrior Red Devil Tower
    Cooling
    Hyper103 CPU, Rear 120mm, Front 2x120mm, Side 2x120mm
    Internet Speed
    68 MB Down 18.5 MB Up
    Other Info
    Six Sensor Auto / Manual Digital cooling (Fan) control with Touch control Panel
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