[kunuggs]

Hi all, my collection of lossless is getting insane and I need more space. My 120gb external has 5gb free space and my 250gb internal has about 30-40gb free. I want to be able to free up the primary drive so that that operating system runs smoothly, put all of my very favorite stuff on the external (but not use it, only for archiving), and just put all of my lossless on the 2nd internal drive.

I have two main questions
1)How do I find out what type of interface I have (ie: IDE Ultra ATA100, SATA 3.0Gb/s, SCSI Ultra320 68pin, SCSI Ultra320 80pin, Serial ATA150)

2) How do I actually install the thing


I've read a few threads about preferred brands of hard drives and I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to get a seagate. I've found a 320gb at newegg.com for 99.99 with $5 shipping in either SATA 3.0 or IDE Ultra ata100. I think this is a damn good deal.

If I can't figure this out, I'll just buy an external case for about 30-50 and be done with it. However, the point of my inquery is so that I won't have to resort to this.

Any help is greatly appreciated

P.S. - How do I find out what type of RAM my comp. uses?

 

[JahJahBinks]

You can find out the type of interface from your motherboard. As for installation, a harddrive usually has two cables you need to connect to, one is for power the other is for data.

 

[dan1son]

You can probably look on the spec sheet that came with the computer to see if it says it has a SATA drive... if it doesn't specify it's probably a standard IDE, aka PATA (parallel ATA). SCSI is pretty much out of the question unless you're using an extremely high end workstation or server. If it was purchased at your local Best Buy or equiv it doesn't have SCSI.

As far as installation goes, read the instructions that come with the drive. It's not really that difficult to install. Some of the trickier things normally include getting the jumpers correct (you need your main drive set to 'Master' and your new drive set to 'Slave', or you can use Cable Select but that's usually not as safe... again look at your manual for clarification). The other thing is understanding that you need to partition and format the drive once you get it installed. This is something Windows can do usually if you right click on the drive in my computer.

As far as RAM goes... I'd go to www.crucial.com and use their tool. Or you can look at the RAM when you're in the case installing the hard drive.

 

[nanahachi]

most hard drives these days come with instructions, AFAIK. I think seagate has an easy to follow illustrated one that comes in the box.

It's really quite easy, here is a quick and dirty explanation. see the links below for better instructions:
1) turn off power and unplug the PC
2) find your current hard drive in the case - it will probably be on the Master end of the IDE cable. or if you have SATA, each drive gets its own SATA data cable
3) find a nearby spot in your case for the new hard drive (e.g. in bay above or below current drive)
4) Select either SLAVE or CABLE SECLECT jumper on the new drive and attach the data cable to the new drive
5) attach power cable from PSU to new drive
6) secure new drive in place with screws
7) plug in PC, boot up and go into the BIOS (hit delete, F2, or whatever it is on your PC)
8) check to see if it shows your new drive listed along with your other drives (your old drive, any optical drives, floppy drive...)
9) if it shows up fine, save, and continue into Windows, which should recognize it no problem

Check this link-->here is an online guide, with pics and all.
http://www.lifehacker.com/software/f...ive-137179.php

and here is Seagates online ATA guide (they have a SATA one too):
http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/di...ll_tshoot.html

 

[Trippytiger]

I'd suggest going and downloading Everest [softpedia.com]. The information about your hard drive and RAM is all under Computer > Summary, beneath the relevant headings. It'll tell you what your hard drive interface is (IDE and SATA are all you're likely to have to worry about) and what type of RAM to use (probably DDR, maybe DDR2).

Installing the new drive should be pretty easy, as you can see from nanahachi's post, unless you have a really nasty and cramped case.