Adding an Old Hard Drive to Your Computer for Increased Storage

You've almost run out of storage space, and your computer's performance is visibly suffering from depleted space syndrome, this is a very common, but treatable condition. The Windows operating system, both XP and Vista, require massive amounts of storage space to function as designed. Microsoft recommends a minimum of 1.8 gigabytes of free space for the hard drive to operate at optimum performance.

Once you pass this threshold your PC lacks the ability to do even the simplest task without straining system resources. This is palpable as you wait for applications to load and web pages; well you know how frustrating it is to wait for pages to load especially when using a broad band connection.

Now you must make a decision, do you buy a new larger capacity storage drive, start deleting files, or spring for a new computer? Well, there is no need to go to extremes just yet, unless you are in the market for a new computer, so the latter is probably not the solution you were searching for. Let's go with another option, that old computer you upgraded from years before, is it still lying somewhere collecting dust? Great! There is the solution to your problem.

By salvaging the old hard drive you can effectively add extra storage space and do it without hitting your wallet. First you will need to determine how many disks your PC currently has and how many it can hold. From this point forward this article relates primarily to Desk Top computers. Laptops will almost always have only one Hard Disk Drive; however, there are some exceptions, but only a few.

Desktop PC's will almost always have only one Hard Disk Drive, however, they will almost always have extra bays for added storage capacity. To see the stats on your disk space, access the Disk Management Console. You can enter the Disk Management Console by opening the control panel, once in the control panel, click on Administration Tools, and then Computer Management, the Disk Management Console is located in the tree on the left side of the page.

Once in the console take notice of Disk 0, this marks the status of your Hard Drive. You may see that your drive is partitioned (Split into multiple volumes), this is perfectly common. Underneath the Hard Drive stats you will see CD-DVD-ROM 0; this is your Optical Drive. Once satisfied with the status of your drive space, feel free to go ahead and exit out of there.

So now you know how much storage space you have, now to see how much space you can add. Start by checking the documentation that came with your computer. If that proves unsuccessful, access the internet and locate the manufacturer website and find your models documentation. If that fails let us try something else.

Shut down your computer and unplug the cables, we're going to take a look under the hood, so to speak. Inside you will see a few empty bay drives of several sizes. A 3.5 inch and a 5.2 inch, the 3.5 inch bay is for the Hard Disk Drive and the 5.2 inch bay is for the Optic Drives. Check for a spare power connector and drive cable. Most PC's will come equipped with extras to spare; it will be a wonder if yours does not. Look carefully they are usually twisted out of the way, so as not to interfere with the other internal components. So to reiterate, while under the hood locate a free drive cable and power connector and you have found what you need.

After a thorough look under the hood, do you have the space and connectors required to add an extra Hard Drive? If so, is all very much downhill from here. Adding an extra storage device is easier and less frustrating than formatting a new Hard Drive. If you are using Windows XP or Windows Vista then you are equipped with all the necessary software to move forward. Simply connect your extra Hard Drive to the existing free drive cable and power connector and secure the drive into place. Carefully replace the hood, reconnect the cables and power up the machine. You are now done, Windows will take care of the rest.

Open My Computer and you will see the new addition listed with your other existing drives and devices; you've just easily and cheaply completed adding extra storage space. Depending on the size of the storage device, you have successfully gained a reprieve, for the time being. Have fun filling it up again.