Adding 2nd sata hdd

Hi:

Want to add a 2nd sata hdd for a clean W7 installation keeping my current SATA hdd as an XP drive. Lots of conflicting info out there so figured I'd better ask.

Current installed:
CPU-Athlon 64x2 4800+
O/S-XP3
RAM-2gb pc 5300, to be replaced with 4gb pc 6400
mobo-bios:
Motherboard
Manufacturer MICRO-STAR INTERNATIONAL CO.,LTD
Model MS-7501
Version 1.0
Chipset Vendor AMD
Chipset Model 780G
Chipset Revision 00
Southbridge Vendor AMD
Southbridge Model SB700
Southbridge Revision 00
BIOS
Brand American Megatrends Inc.
Version V1.4
Date 06/04/2008

According to Seagate, I can pick up a DIY 500 or 1gb Sata hdd install kit including cables, etc for $50-60,

(http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/internal-storage/barracuda-7200)

Instruction seem to indicate ALL I do is plug it in & be fine without worrying about jumpers, etc. I have separate data/power cables available from my current hdd to do the connections. I assume I'll have to format the new drive & assign designation to it.

Questions are:
-will it really be that easy?
-best method to format new hdd? I have Acronis installed so would that hard disk management tool be the way to go? Or thru XP disk management?
-can the current BIOS handle it?
-nothing needs to be done to bios settings?
-how do I set which drive will be the auto boot drive when powering up? Or can I make a choice when powering up?
What have I forgotten/missed that will have me pulling out what little hair I have left?

TIA

 

Yes. It's really that easy to add a second sata hard drive.
Use XP disk Management to partition and format the HD. No need to use anything else.
BIOS should be no problem
You might have to enable the SATA port in your system's BIOS. In most cases this is not necessary.
Your system already has the boot drive selected, so adding another drive won't confuse the matter. If, however, you ever need to change which drive you boot from this is done simply through the BIOS.

 

Many thanks Abekl-sounded almost too easy to be true. Now guess all I have to do is order the kit.
Just to be safe & hopefully not have to bug anyone again, how would I enable the SATA port in the system's BIOS if necessary?

Thanks-again.

 

Without the menus in front of me I can't say how to enable the SATA port (should it even be necessary), but a quick look through the menus should make it obvious.

 

k-thx again

 

Little additional info,if you choose hard drive in bios as your first boot device it may still boot from your IDE drive,you need to enter boot menu by hitting F12 just after your bios screen and select your sata drive as first boot device.

SATA controller enable/disable is usually in 'integrated peripherals' in bios.

 

Thx Rikki:
I'm obviously a newbie at this so, I please bear with me-I want to add a 2nd sata drive-already have a Seagate st3250410AS installed with unused power/data cables coming from it- so I don't understand what the ide drive would have to do with it?
Thx.

 

Rikki's advice only applies if you happen to have an IDE drive installed in addition to the sata drive(s). Since you don't have an IDE drive, that part of what he said doesn't apply to you.

 

OK-thx-again.
Given my extremely limited knowledge, I really appreciate the assistance.
Only problem I'm running into now is the $ of W7-almost better to buy a new $400-500 machine with W7 on it-only going to be used for email, surfing, some light wp & keeping house records, etc. Oh well, the joys of computing.

 

My bad:-D I was sure I read IDE.

 

No problem-Thx for the rest of the advice. Now-to make this happen successfully--