SATA or Seral ATA is an interface for exchanging information with data storage devices. This interface is a continuation of the IDE interface. There are several versions of SATA, some difficulties may arise when installing additional devices.
Instructions
Step 1
To install a second hard drive, remove the cover of the system unit. When installing the disk, remove the video card from the corresponding slot (it may obstruct access to the hard drive box), usually AGP or PCI-Express. Place the hard drive in the box above the existing hard drive and secure it with four screws.
Step 2
Connect the SATA power connector located on the back of the hard drive to the power supply, in case the power supply does not have additional SATA cables, you will need to purchase a Molex -> SATA adapter.
Step 3
To connect the HDD to the motherboard, you need to purchase a SATA 0.45 / 0.5m cable, one of the plugs of this cable may be L-shaped. Connect one of the cable plugs to the L-shaped connector on the hard drive, the second plug to the red or black connector on the motherboard, they are signed as Master and Slave. Depending on the purpose of the disk, connect the hard drive to the Master, if you need to install a disk with the operating system, or to Slave, if you need to install a disk for simple data storage.
Step 4
Install the video card into the appropriate slot and close the system unit.
Open the main menu "Start" select "Control Panel". In the window that opens, follow the link "Performance and Maintenance", then "Administration". Double click on the "Computer Management" shortcut. In the left part of the window that opens, expand the "Storage Devices" list and select "Disk Management".
Step 5
In the right part of the window, select the installed disk, in the context menu, select the "Make partition active" item, if this operation does not work, select the "Format" menu item, then "Make the partition active" again. Restart your computer if necessary. The installed disk is ready for use.
