With the increasing size of operating systems, games and the broadband smorgasbord of music and movies, it's just a matter of time before that dreaded message box pops up to tell you just how little space you have left.
You can, of course, clean up your drive and remove redundant programs, but even then you may find yourself hard-pressed to free up more space. With hard drives being so cheap these days it's a simple affair to buy and install an extra hard drive.
So if you're in the market for more space, this month's Hands on is for you.
Before you begin
When you purchase a new drive it will undoubtedly be IDE, you'll know if you need SCSI and if you do then chances are you won't be needing this guide!
However just because IDE drives are the de-facto for desktop PCs, it doesn't mean it's a totally plug-and-play affair. Before you begin the installation process it's important to understand how IDE drives are connected to your system.
Every machine comes with at least one IDE controller which is capable of handling up to four IDE devices, including hard drives and CD-ROMs. The IDE controller supports two separate channels (each with a connector on the motherboard) which can handle two devices each. Within that, each device is configured either as a 'master' or as a 'slave'.
The distinction is mostly for the IDE controller to know which device on the IDE channel it wants to talk to, but there is an important limitation to be aware of: as the two devices quite literally 'share' the channel (and the IDE cable itself) – both devices will only communicate as fast as the slowest device of the two when they are accessed simultaneously. This is why you'll likely find your current hard drive and CD-ROM are connected as master to their own channel each, rather than hanging off the same cable, so that the CD-ROM, which is far slower, doesn't impact on the speed of your hard drive.
So unless you happen to have another IDE controller aboard (such as a HighPoint or Promise controller operating in IDE mode), or if your CD-ROM is already configured as a slave to your current hard drive, then chances are the best method to install your new drive will be as a slave to your currently installed hard drive.
Installing a new drive
After unscrewing the case cover and pulling it off to reveal the guts of your machine, you will notice, depending on what type of case you have, up to three areas where hard drives can be installed.
Very likely the space where your current hard drive is located will have room for another hard drive above or below it, often located underneath the 5.25in and 3.5in bays. Alternatively some of the larger cases provide removable brackets near the bottom of the case (often behind case fans to take advantage of cooling) which can house multiple drives. And lastly, if none of these options are available, you can always purchase mounting brackets from a computer store and house the 3.5in form factor hard drive in a 5.25in bay near the top of your machine.
Any of these locations will do, but keep in mind that hard drives generate heat, especially the faster 7,200rpm drives and up (which most are these days) and placing two close together may shorten the lifespan of the drives.
Once you've decided where you want to locate the drive installing is straightforward.
1 Remove the drive from its anti-static sleeve and hold it by the sides. Try to avoid touching the sometimes-vulnerable PCB underneath – as always, static is your enemy when it comes to integrated circuits.
2 Remember the discussion above about master and slave? Find the IDE cable going from your motherboard to your hard drive and make sure there's a spare connector on the cable. If so follow the instructions that came with the drive (and sometimes printed on the drive) to set its jumpers to configure it as a slave.
If, instead, your CD-ROM is hooked up along with your current hard drive on one IDE cable, grab another IDE cable (you should always receive at least two IDE cables with a motherboard or PC) and follow the instructions for the drive to ensure it's set as a master.
3 Slide the drive into a spare bay and line up the screw threads in the drive with the gaps in the case chassis.
4 Screw the drive in using the screws that came with the drive or your case (if you still have them lying around). Note that some older, poorly designed cases make it hard to screw in peripherals on the motherboard-side of the case, as the motherboard itself obscures access. It's preferred that the drive is properly secured, but it's not essential. If getting access to the other side would involve completely pulling your machine apart, don't bother. Just use two to three tightly attached screws on the accessible side.
5 Now to hook it up. Grab a spare Molex power connector that will reach and plug it in the only way it will fit. For the IDE cable, find the spare connector on the ribbon and plug it in. You may need to do a bit of shuffling, but there should be plenty of leeway with the cable.
Whether you're hooking up the drive as a master or slave, the connectors are keyed to only go in one way. Modern cables are now color-coded – the blue end of the cable should plug into the motherboard.
6 Slide the case cover back on and you're done – with the hardware installation at least.
The next step is to set up the drive in your BIOS and in Windows.
Configuring a new drive
If this was your first time in the guts of your PC, wipe your sweaty palms on your pants and then turn the machine on. There are just a few more steps before you are ready to use the drive.
1 As soon as the BIOS displays on screen press DEL or whatever key you use to enter your BIOS. While it's almost a given these days that the BIOS is configured to automatically detect new hard drives, it may be that the channel that your drive is connected to isn't currently set to do this.
Enter the Standard CMOS Setup or equivalent menu, make sure each device is set to be detected automatically, and then simply save and reboot.
2 After Windows boots, it may inform you that a new device has been installed. All you need to do now is partition and format it for use. In Windows 2000 or XP, click Start | Run and type in 'diskmgmt.msc'. (For earlier versions of Windows, you'll need to run the old DOS program, FDISK, which we'll cover in detail in a future Hands on column.)
3 You should see a new disk showing up in the bottom half of the window. Right click on the empty space and select to create a new partition. If you want to make multiple partitions, just type in the size of the first partition, otherwise allocate the entire disk.
4 When prompted, format the partition, leave it on NTFS for the filesystem and make sure 'Perform a quick format' is selected – this just creates the file structure on the disk without manually checking every sector, which can take a very long time indeed for big drives.
And now you can start shuffling all those Buffy or The Simpsons episodes over to the new drive, not to mention duplicating important work files as well – the second physical drive can act as a backup to your first should it die on you.