Adding a second hard-drive with windows and files installed on it.

[BuBu Shofronea]

It may be a dummy question, but i'm wondering about getting my files corrupted or even deleted on the drive i want to add. It will be a SATA connected drive and i'm gonna to type the question as a count :
1. What will happen to the files placed on the desktop of that drive ?
2. If BOTH drives have BOTH partitions named the same ( like D and D with C and C ), will the files on both drives merge ?
3. I saw in one video that you may have to create new partitions like E, F, G etc. for the new hard-drive - that means files on C/D will be moved on a single partition ?
4. What are the risks ?
5. If i plug out the drive after i used it and plug it again to another computer, will the partitions remain the same ?
6. Is there any chance to get files corrupted on the new hard-drive after doing the things to use it ?
7. Idk, what else should i take care when i install a "new-used" hard-drive ?

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Hey there, BuBu Shofronea.

You can do that without having any issues at all. About the partitions - nothing will merge. The new partitions will either get new letters automatically or you'll have to assign them new drive letters in order for you to be able to access them via Windows Explorer. Here's how to do that: How to change the drive letter assignment in Windows. There shouldn't be any risk for your files, and you should be able to connect that drive to your computer - transfer the data and do the same with another computer if you need to. Everything should be OK with the files on your new hard drive.

Basically if you just want to use this old drive as secondary storage, here's what I'd recommend:
1. Backup your data - this is just a precaution, but still a necessary step if you want to be completely safe.
2. Connect the HDD to your new computer
3. If the partitions are not immediately recognized, follow the instructions from the link above and assign them new drive letters.
4. Transfer your data to your new HDD
5. Wipe out the old HDD, then repartition and reformat it as you see fit.
6. Transfer any data you don't need on your new HDD, to your old repartitioned drive.
That should do the trick.

Hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any questions whatsoever.
Boogieman_WD

 

[thx1138v2]

Be sure to connect the second drive to a higher numbered SATA port on the motherboard. The machine will boot from the first bootable drive it finds so you want it to detect the current drive first and the BIOS will look fort a bootable drive from lowest to highest numbered ports.

1. The desktop is just a folder on the drive. The files will still be there but since it isn't the bootable drive they will not show on the desktop.
2. Drive letters are assigned at boot time. Assuming you have C and D on the first drive, the second drive will be assigned E and F.
3. As in 2 above, drive letters are assigned at boot time so your CD drive will become G since removable media will be assigned after non-removable media.
4. You need to use Control Panel to make the second drive non-bootable. Risks are minimal. Any shortcuts or application data that use drive letters, say C or D, will now point to the first drive. So if you want them to access the second drive you'll need to change them to the new drive letters.
5. See 2 above. If you want it to be bootable in its new location you will need to make it bootable again through Control Panel.
6. No more than usual UNLESS you fail to make the drive non-bootable. Things can get dicey if there are two bootable drives. Also keep in mind item 4 above.
7. Deep scan it for viruses and malware before installing in another machine including boot sector (root kit) viruses. Always power down before adding or removing a drive.