So, I'm new at this whole second hard drive thing. I am planning on buying a second Hard Drive for my computer(to separate the file distribution, ex: games on one HD and general files on the other), and was wondering how I install the second one. All of my IDE slots are taken up, so does this mean I use a different kind of courd, or what? And are there any specifications I need to look for, like do I have to worry about compatibility issues? Or do they just hook up to about any MOBO?


Thanks in advance guys

If all IDE ports on your motherboard are used up , then you cannot run a second hard drive, unless you have sata ports . if you can , please tell me your computer model number or if this is i a custom built , the motherboard model number

It's custom built, my motherboard is a VNF4 Ultra 000LC. Can SATA Ports be white? I'm not sure, or located on a video card. Otherwise, if not, than i do not have any. I might be able to get away without a floppy drive...
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Oh, is there any way I can buy a SATA Port adapter to attach to my motherboard? I'm trying to slowly upgrade my computer, right now I thought it'd be useful to get a second hard drive. But, if that's not exactly important (my current HDD is only 120GB, and I'm a gamer) would upgrading my motherboard be more important right now?

well i cannot find any information about this motherboard online, maybe someone else who comes along can help you better .

and no Sata ports are not on the video card

here is a picture of a few sata ports


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Yes you can buy sata ports for PCI slots , are all of your pci slots full?

this si what a PCI slot looks like :

yeah, I've got an old motherboard, with no SATA ports ... do you think it'd be more important for me to get a new HDD or a new motherboard at this time? My current HDD is only 120GB

I edited my post above , please read it

I've got 3 open PCI slots right now

Ok what part of the world are you in?

i ask this to find the best web retailer to buy parts from

The US, I normally buy my parts off newegg

there seems to be an ide plug on this one inside , so you can just use that


Newegg.com - PPA 2 Port SATA RAID + 4 Port USB2.0 + 3 Port 1394a PCI Card Model 1318 - Retail

okok, thanks, and would this HDD be fine? Newegg.com - Seagate SV35.2 ST3320620SV 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

well yes , umm let me look a bit more for cards because i just noticed that one dosent have internal sata ports, which is what you want


and yes that HDD would work fine , but in my opinion Western Digital hard drives are more reliable
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this one should work and it has the ports on the inside .

Newegg.com - MASSCOOL PCI Card, 2 internal SATA Model XWT-RC041 - Retail

cheaper too!

okok, so that card with this HDD: Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD4000AAKS 400GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

should be fine?

hey, thanks man, you've been a lot of help

yes those should work great for you,

you may have some driver issues with the card and the drive if you are on a operating system older than windows XP . if not everything should go smooth , if you have any other issues with this topic , this thread will remain open

As a matter of interest have you got 2 drives connected to each IDE slots ? can't see if the questions been asked