Installing Second Hard Drive

[TheSilentAssassin]

Still learning how to build my own PC.

Tried hooking up my second hard drive using the same cable that was already connected to the first hard drive but the computer did not acknowledge that it was even there. Did I miss something? Kinda want to install all my games to the second HD instead of the main one with the OS.

Thanks for the help.

[juneau]

Trying to understand what you mean by saying 'connecting using the same cable' I presume you mean the power cable? If so you'll be needing a sata data cable to connect the drive to the motherboard too.

Sata Power:


Sata data:

[Infamous]

there should be two "wires" coming out the back. one is the power, the other is the interface we'll call it.
install, plug into mobo, then when booting up, enter bios, see if its there.

[BadHabitz]

Yeah, you have a power cable and a data cable. Once those are good then it should recognize the drive, and if it's fresh I think it should ask you to format it.

[TheSilentAssassin]

Well the same cord I use to connect the first hard drive is connected to the second hard drive and that is connected to the PSU. The Sata cord is also plugged in and is connected to the motherbaord. But upon start up it starts up normally and doesnt prompt me to format the new drive.

[Duke{CLR}]

I think I had an issue setting up a second HDD but I can't find the post I had made about it. I seem to remember having to go to the disk management part of windows. It could be a bad power cord so you could try another one I would also try another sata port on the MB.


Install or remove a hard disk drive

Preparing to use a new hard disk

After you have installed a new hard disk, your computer should recognize the new disk if you have installed it correctly. When you turn on your computer, the basic input/output system (BIOS) should automatically detect the new hard disk.

If you plan to use the new hard disk as the primary partition that contains Windows, then you will have to install Windows on the disk before you can use your computer. You will need a Windows Vista installation disc to do this. For more information, search Help and Support for "Installing and reinstalling Windows."

If you plan to use the new hard disk as a secondary disk (one that does not contain Windows), you should be able to see the new hard disk drive the next time you start your computer and log on to Windows. After Windows starts, click the Start button Picture of the Start button, click Computer, and then look for your new drive in the Computer folder. The letter assigned to the drive will depend on your computer?s configuration. If you don't see the new hard disk drive, try looking for it in Computer Management.

1.

Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer Management.* Administrator permission required If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2.

In the Navigation pane, under Storage, click Disk Management, and then look for the new drive.

You will probably have to format the hard disk before you can use it. For instructions, see Formatting disks and drives. Follow these same instructions to format an old hard disk that contains data you want to erase.

If your computer does not recognize the new hard disk, double-check the installation instructions that came with the hard disk. If you have additional questions, go to the manufacturer's website.

[juneau]

Well the same cord I use to connect the first hard drive is connected to the second hard drive and that is connected to the PSU. The Sata cord is also plugged in and is connected to the motherbaord. But upon start up it starts up normally and doesnt prompt me to format the new drive.

It won't ask you to format during boot. It'll be detected firstly in the bios then hopefully in windows. Once in windows, you format the drive following Dukes instructions.

[TheSilentAssassin]

The HD didnt come with any directions for formatting.

Ill try this stuff later today if I have time.

[baconoclock]

The HD didnt come with any directions for formatting.

Ill try this stuff later today if I have time.

It wont come with any directions for formatting. Basically wire the hard drive up like above and follow duke's instructions. If you have questions later I have an old hard drive i can install and take some vids at the same time.

[TheSilentAssassin]

Ok so I finally got the Comp to recognize the new HD by formatting but now Im trying to install steam seperately on this hard drive (seperate from the OS) but its not working. I installed it by installing it into a file I created called "Program Files (x86)" just like the first HD but it wont allow me to access steam. I get this error message:

Steam.exe (main exception): ERROR: delete of Steam.exe failed, Win 32 Error 5 "Access is Denied"

Any ideas on how I can get steam istalled properly to the new hard drive and play games?

[Infamous]

maybe just trying moving your steam folder over instead of new install? not sure.

[Qicmee]

Im trying to install steam seperately on this hard drive...

You're right. It's been done before. This should help.
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_...7710-tdlc-0426

In step 5, when they say "Launch Steam", I assume they mean to launch Steam by double-clicking the exe file in the new directory.

[TheSilentAssassin]

Still didnt work. Getting the same error message as in the post #10

[Qicmee]

Okay. This link seems to provide the next recommendation. Apparently, "delete of Steam.exe failed" means that something (another program or Windows permissions) is preventing the file from being deleted during the process.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_...5322-QYZB-5344

Also, I don't know if this matters, but I'd pick a different name for my new games directory. Steam doesn't care, but Windows might automatically complicate things due to using a reserved folder name.

[Infamous]

Okay. This link seems to provide the next recommendation. Apparently, "delete of Steam.exe failed" means that something (another program or Windows permissions) is preventing the file from being deleted during the process.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_...5322-QYZB-5344

Also, I don't know if this matters, but I'd pick a different name for my new games directory. Steam doesn't care, but Windows might automatically complicate things due to using a reserved folder name.

yeah, id try that too, just call the folder on your 2nd HD steam, you'll know whats in it.