Adding second HDD to desktop

[ckel1984]

Hello all,

I am new to the forums, but I've browsed some threads in the past to find answers to my questions and it seems like a great community. I figured it was past time for me to actually join up so I can ask my own questions.

It's been quite a few years since I've poked around inside a computer, so I'm a bit rusty. I recently picked up a 3GB WD Caviar Black HDD, as my current 1TB HDD is running low on space. My desktop has 7-8 hard drive slots, so my intention is to add the new drive as a secondary, not to replace the old one. As I intend to still boot from the original HDD and I merely want to move the bulk of my games and files to the new drive, do I even need to bother with any special software or procedures or is it a simple click-and-drag operation?


Thanks in advance,

Colin

 

[USAFRet]

Steam games can be moved via this: https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7418-YUBN-8129
Origin has a similar function.

Other games will need to be reinstalled on the drive in question.

 

[ThatVietGuy]

Depends on what you're trying to move.

If you're moving installed programs (e.g. Microsoft Office) you're going to have to do a full reinstallation - a drag-and-drop will just cause the program to not work.

Other files (videos, MP3s, documents, whatever) can be dragged-and-dropped just fine.

Some games may or may not work if dragged and dropped. For what it's worth, I know Steam games can be dragged-and-dropped to new locations as long as you tell the main Steam program where the new location is.

 

[cklaubur]

For the most part, adding a second drive is a plug and play operation. The problem will be if you want to move games that are already installed. The easiest way to move those is by reinstalling them, using the second drive as the install location. For games that use Steam, you may need to change your Steam Library location.

Casey

 

[ckel1984]

Thanks for the info, everyone. Most of my games are on Steam, so getting those moved over to the new drive should free up a great deal of space on the primary. Next step will be getting an SSD for the OS and a handful of important programs - that'll be a bit more challenging, though (and it'll require some additional funding), so I'll hold off for a little while.