Can My Computer Work With 2 Internal Hard Drives At The Same Time?

Question

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883109015

this is my computer.

how can i tell if my computer can work with 2 Internal Hard Drives without me having to swap them out.

i think it's called a Dual. i don't want to have to take my tower's case off to tell.

also what is the best internal or external hard drive to get. RPM, Brand Name, Capacity, $50 to $90.

so far i've heard bad news about Verbatim, Seagate, Western Digital. ARE THERE REALLY ANY GOOD HARD DRIVES OUT THERE.

maybe one between 5400RPMs and 7200RPMs.

size around 320GB 160 to 320GB can also work. if there is a really good one that has 500GB thats ok to. make sure u check the Cons before suggesting it. and i'm talking about using it for years. most people say that it stops working aftre 6 months. Personal experience preferred. by that i mean if u've used an internal/external hard drive for years and haven't had any problems, then direct me to where i can buy one.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

I run 6 hard drives in my PC so yes, its entirely possible. Can you run that many ? Probably not. It depends on your motherboard and how many SATA "Serial ATA" / hard drive connections you have. Open up your case and see where your hard drive connects to the motherboard and see how many you have. Google SATA if you need to. The cable is usually red, 1/2" wide and flat, the connector is L-shaped. Or if you go with an external, you use your USB ports and don't have to worry about going inside the case. Externals give you portability but you sacrifice speed when transferring files.

Windows is on your main hard drive while the other hard drive will just have your files, no swapping necessary. In fact, you can't swap unless you have Windows on both drives and even then, they won't be identical.

I swear by Western Digital and don't have problems. I have used Seagate, Samsung, Hitachi also. Hard drives just die sometimes. Go for 7200rpm for performance. Your best buys are 500GB and 1TB. You can buy the smaller or in-between sizes but if you look at the GB to $$ ratio, they are higher. I assume because they aren't popular sizes and aren't as mass produced. I buy from amazon, newegg typically since they're much lower then retail. Locally, Costco has good prices on externals.

Ricardo C · Answer

Maxtor and Hitachi make great drives.  I've had issues with both Western Digital and Seagate.

ONLY get 7200RPM or higher.  5400 is slow.

External will be easier to install, just plug it in and not worry about Slave/Master settings, but USB 2.0 is slower than internal SATA for data transfer.  If you need to move large amounts of data, go with internal.  If you have a standard tower case (not the short, compact tower) then you should have space for 2 hard drives.  

The new hard drive will tell you what setting to use for Slave.

R.A. · Answer

Yes, you can use more than 2.. you can even install different OS on both hard drive.. to do that.. install the 1st hard drive install the OS.. remove the hard drive and install the next hard drive, install the OS.. after completing the OS installation... you can configure default boot on any hadr drive.. if you want to boot on the second HD, before the system boots-up.. go to the bios and select the second HD as bootable..

wysong · Answer

make effective first that those machines can examine massive dives. Many older machines can no longer. ANY make or type IDE force can replace them in the event that they're IDE, in the event that they're SATA any SATA may well be used.

mark · Answer

You most likely CAN add a 2nd drive.      Assuming you have a empty bay (most likely you do)

Here's how

http://www.ehow.com/how_4797656_add-second-sata-hard-drive.html

This is a good buy

http://www.amazon.com/Western-Digital-Caviar-Drive-WD5000AAKS/dp/B000Q82PIQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292956615&sr=8-1

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Can My Computer Work With 2 Internal Hard Drives At The Same Time?

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