sata hdd configuration

[usspfnorman]

ive been doing some research for my first build and need to decide on my hdd im going to get 3 hdd one for os, one for programs and one for media/data but how much room does a os take, like how many gigs and then i want them to be sata but how do you hook up 3 sata hdd, my guess is to just hook up each of there cables to a sata port but how do i make the computer read all those in the bios and set it for wat i want

 

[boonality]

To answer your first question, you will need a minimum of 10GB for the OS but you SHOULD have a minimum of 50GB for the OS.

As long as your motherboard has enough SATA ports for your SATA drives then you will be fine with the number of drives, don't forget though that you should get SATA DVD drives as well.

 

[usspfnorman]

i plan on the sata dvd drives already, wat do i have to do in the bios to make it recognize it or will it do that automatically?

 

[vibe]

SATA drives in IDE mode (that means the are not in a RAID setup) are just plug and play, windows instalation should just pick them up nothing special. Far as I know, all BIOSs will have this mode selected as normal so you wont have to do anything, same is true of SATA DVD drives.

To chuck a spanner in your works, if you are planning on 3 drives OS, programs and files, why not RAID 0 the OS and Program disks and install to that keeping 1 disk for files. This will give you a performance bost for OS and programs.

V

 

[boonality]

I do not recommend a RAID 0 for anything other than "work area". The LAST thing you should put your operating system on is a RAID 0 array. You will NOT see ANY performance gain with a RAID 0 array unless you move huge files (1GB or bigger). So unless you do that routinely, a RAID 0 array is a waste of administration effort.

 

[usspfnorman]

i dont think im going to do a raid 0 arrangement because ive researched and apparently it doesnt help unless u move giant files like boonality said and also mainly because i dont know how, but if someone could explain it to me that'd be much appreciated, my quest for knowledge always seems to be endless

 

[vibe]

RAID setup can be a pain and if your not doing anything that is going to use it then as boonality said, no point. However seen as you ask, to setup raid you have to 1st turn on the function in BIOS, then make a RAID array using the a RAID manager, normaly accessed once RAID is enabled by pressing a certain F key or key combo during the boot up. Once this is done you need to load the correct RAID driver from a floppy disk when the M$ Windows setup process starts, that about it.

Back to your origional post, an OS claims needs 5-15 GB depending on what OS you use of install space but for it to run propperly, 50GB is a good allowance. Basically almost any SATA disk is going to be fine for it space wise as only the expensive SSD and some raptors dont have more then 50GB on.

BIOS should auto detect your drives

Your other 2 disks can be setup in no time using windows "computer manager" in "administative tool" under "Control Panel" you can format, parttion and asign your drive letters here.

V

 

[usspfnorman]

thanks for all the info guys, one last thing what is a partition exactly and what do you use it for, i know some guys have 2 os's using a partition but idk y theyd need 2 os's

 

[vibe]

2 OS is probably dual boot, that can use a partition but partitions are not always to do with dual boot.

You must place a partition on a disk before you can use it, say you a 100GB disk fresh out the box, you need to partition some or all (normaly all) of that space for your computer to use it.

When you install windows on a fresh HD you'll see a message at the screen where you select what drive to install it to kinda like this

"100GB of unpartitioned space, create new partition Y/N"

This is windows asking what drive do you want to make your C:

If you stick with you plan of 3 HDs, then windows installer will show you 3 disks completley blank and ask where to create the C: partition.

Windows will defult use all the space on a disk and you just have to agree (kinda like the next key being selected on instll screens) however you could choose to only partition half the disk and install to that, leaving the other half free to be partitioned into another drive once windows is loaded, basicaly giving you a C: with windows on and a blank D: however should your HD fail you loose both drives.

That help?

 

[usspfnorman]

yes thank you very much, but then how do you partition the other 2 drives once windows is installed