# nother n00bie question **URL:** \ **Category:** NYSpeed Off Topic\ **Created:** [July 22, 2007, 5:02pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784 "2007-07-22T17:02:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JDMAllstars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/76d3ee/32.png) [@JDMAllstars](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JDMAllstars)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2007, 5:02pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784/1 "2007-07-22T17:02:55Z")
ok i have a dell 3200 POS it has 2 hds in it 1 has 20 gigs the other has 60 and im almost up memory wise how can i add another HD to this? do all internal HD’s connect via that ide ribbon thing with a plug in it? if so can i still keep both HD’s and get an ide ribbon with more connectors to it? also what kind of HD do i need? ata/10 or 100 or whatever? how do you figure this stuff out? ☹ i want to upgrade and get another HD but i dunnno where to begin. ---
**Author:** ![ZOMGVTEK](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/zomgvtek/32/5063_2.png) [@ZOMGVTEK](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ZOMGVTEK)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784/2 "2007-07-22T17:38:56Z")
HOLY CRAP… 80GB! WOOT! Anyways… With that kind of a computer, the hd’s arent going to matter much as far as speed. Just get some cheap one, it should be fine. Your going to need a ATA hd, ata 100 or 133 would work, it dosent matter. Basically, you can get just about ANY hd as long as it dosent say SATA on it. And no, cant have more than 2hd’s on your comp. Your going to need to swap out the 20gb one and transfer the files… HD’s are cheap as hell, just get a 250 or something 😉 ---
**Author:** ![itsJim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@itsJim](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/itsJim)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784/3 "2007-07-22T17:59:47Z")
[quote=“02AccordCoupe,post:2,topic:32784"”] And no, cant have more than 2hd’s on your comp. Your going to need to swap out the 20gb one and transfer the files… [/quote] You can have more than 2 hdd’s on your computer, you just need an ide pci controller, they’re pretty cheap I think. Finding room for the 3rd hdd might be tricky tho. ---
**Author:** ![ILCisDEAD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a87d85/32.png) [@ILCisDEAD](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ILCisDEAD)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784/4 "2007-07-22T18:42:10Z")
um… 1. if room is an issue… an external HD 2. Lots of cases have room for 3 Hd’s 3. probably better off just purchasing somehing like 300gb and your needs for HD will probably be fullfilled for a while. Remember to get the HD format that your computer supports 4. PCI IDe controllers are like 10 bucks for two channels (potentially two more HD’s ) 5. soo many options its not even funny… Post what you intend to spend ---
**Author:** ![JDMAllstars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/76d3ee/32.png) [@JDMAllstars](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JDMAllstars)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784/5 "2007-07-22T19:40:07Z")
price isn’t an option like i don’t care about how much it costs this pc was the was most basic edition one dell sold it is my mothers delll demension 3200 just using it to store files on and i ate up those hds how do i tell what my pc has installed Sata or ata or whatever? and where would i hook up a pci cintroller? EDIT: since its dells most basic edition there is a TON of room inside the tower, its almost empty actually except for all the shit it needs in there to run thats about it. You can put a fridge mate pack of pepsi in there and still have room for desert. ---
**Author:** ![ZOMGVTEK](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/zomgvtek/32/5063_2.png) [@ZOMGVTEK](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ZOMGVTEK)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2007, 8:33pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784/6 "2007-07-22T20:33:29Z")
Well… you CAN have more than two hd’s easy, but if he was asking what kind of hd he needed, one would assume just replacing a useless old 20gb hd with a new bigger one would be a better bet than relying on him to find and figgure out a controller, then having three hd’s to manage files on along with the added potential for failure… Two is easier and about $10 cheaper 😉 Unless you REALLLY want that extra 20gb drive… ---
**Author:** ![FightinMike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@FightinMike](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/FightinMike)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2007, 8:36pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784/7 "2007-07-22T20:36:36Z")
if price is no option go with an external…no mess no fuss. Then when you decide to get some real m3g4hur7z for teh interwebs you wont have to fuck around. ---
**Author:** ![JDMAllstars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/76d3ee/32.png) [@JDMAllstars](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JDMAllstars)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2007, 9:08pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784/8 "2007-07-22T21:08:33Z")
how do i figure out which HDD i have and what i need though? thats the thing or will either one work? EDIT i found this > **[How to Add a Hard Drive to Your Computer in 8 Steps](https://computer.howstuffworks.com/adding-a-hard-drive.htm)** > > Is your computer more than a year old? If so, there's a good chance you're running low on disk space. Adding a hard drive will help -- we'll show you how. ---
**Author:** ![Skurge](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/skurge/32/7285_2.png) [@Skurge](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Skurge)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 8:27am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784/9 "2007-07-23T08:27:03Z")
if you only have one CD drive then you should be able to plug a 3rd HD in without changing anything ---
**Author:** ![ILCisDEAD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a87d85/32.png) [@ILCisDEAD](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ILCisDEAD)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 9:41am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784/10 "2007-07-23T09:41:21Z")
[quote=“FightinMike,post:7,topic:32784"”] if price is no option go with an external…no mess no fuss. Then when you decide to get some real m3g4hur7z for teh interwebs you wont have to fuck around. [/quote] :tup: definitely approve [quote=“Skurge,post:9,topic:32784"”] if you only have one CD drive then you should be able to plug a 3rd HD in without changing anything [/quote] I’ve had nothing but a horrible time with that ---
**Author:** ![JDMAllstars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/76d3ee/32.png) [@JDMAllstars](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/JDMAllstars)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 4:46pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784/11 "2007-07-23T16:46:41Z")
so i guess its external for me then. ---
**Author:** ![MaXiMuS](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/maximus/32/4971_2.png) [@MaXiMuS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/MaXiMuS)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784/12 "2007-07-23T17:39:45Z")
yea i have 6 HDD’s in my computer 2 are IDE and 4 are SATA, plus one External one. but finding room is a problem. ---
**Author:** ![ZOMGVTEK](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/zomgvtek/32/5063_2.png) [@ZOMGVTEK](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ZOMGVTEK)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 7:23pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784/13 "2007-07-23T19:23:35Z")
[quote=“MaXiMuS,post:12,topic:32784"”] yea i have 6 HDD’s in my computer 2 are IDE and 4 are SATA, plus one External one. but finding room is a problem. [/quote] I have 16 fiber chanel drives sitting on my floor in my closet… Anyone got more? ---
**Author:** ![MaXiMuS](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/maximus/32/4971_2.png) [@MaXiMuS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/MaXiMuS)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 1:36pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784/14 "2007-07-25T13:36:43Z")
yea but if there on the floor there not in use, correct? ---
**Author:** ![MaXiMuS](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/maximus/32/4971_2.png) [@MaXiMuS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/MaXiMuS)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2007, 1:37pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/nother-n00bie-question/32784/15 "2007-07-25T13:37:06Z")
and what do you mean by fiber channel?