# Solved: Hard Drive Expansion



## blacksovereignty (Jul 2, 2008)

I recently purchased a brand new Dell T3500 Precision Workstation. My existing internal 3.5" HD is fine. I have an external USB HD plugged into an internal USB port and mounted inside the chassis. I find it is not large enough for my needs. I want to get a new HD, internal or otherwise, to replace it. My computer has space for another 3.5" HD with SATA interface. Would that suffice if I got another 3.5" SATA HD? IF not, I have an eSATA port on the rear panel of my computer...how would I use that for my needs?

Ultimate goal: second hard drive of 250 gb or more...preferably internal.


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## Je55y (Jul 16, 2010)

Yes you can get another sata HDD. just plug in the power and plug in the data. simple.

You can use esata, you would need to either a) find an external drive with esata interface or b) mount an internal HDD into an enclosure with an esata interface


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## blacksovereignty (Jul 2, 2008)

that's what I thought. but one little detail threw me for a spin.

When I customized the computer when I ordered it, i chose "CI All SATA or SSD drives, no RAID for 1 Hard Drive." That last part about 1 hard drive confused me. So, today, I went to dell's website and began building a T3500, just as I had done a month ago when I ordered the pc. once I got to the stage where you pick your hard drives, I picked two identical ones, instead of only one, like i had done when i ordered it. I got a message saying "you must update the hard drive configuration to 'CI All SATA or SSD drives, no RAID for 2 Hard Drives.'" what does this mean, and do you still stand by what you said in your last post?


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## helpful (Sep 18, 2009)

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/wsT3500/en/sfits/sfits_en.pdf

"Internally accessible two 3.5-inch SATA drive bays

NOTE: The platform can accommodate third and fourth
3.5-inch hard drives in the flex bay or the optical drive bay."

*Hard Drives*










Manual: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/wsT3500/en/SM/wsT5300sm_en.zip
Open td_hd.htm for instructions installing secondary in your precision workstation



> that's what I thought. but one little detail threw me for a spin.
> 
> When I customized the computer when I ordered it, i chose "CI All SATA or SSD drives, no RAID for 1 Hard Drive." That last part about 1 hard drive confused me. So, today, I went to dell's website and began building a T3500, just as I had done a month ago when I ordered the pc. once I got to the stage where you pick your hard drives, I picked two identical ones, instead of only one, like i had done when i ordered it. I got a message saying "you must update the hard drive configuration to 'CI All SATA or SSD drives, no RAID for 2 Hard Drives.'" what does this mean, and do you still stand by what you said in your last post?


Dell allows you customize your options at build time for the Precision Workstation (and others) for RAID configuration levels, RAID configuration needs to be decided and configured before the OS is installed.


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## blacksovereignty (Jul 2, 2008)

ok, so now, i'm sitting here with a nice 2nd hdd and it's not showing up in my computer. solution?


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## blacksovereignty (Jul 2, 2008)

model: wl750gsa3272

one of those dreaded white label HDDs.

750 gb, 3.5", 7200 rpm, sata.


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## blacksovereignty (Jul 2, 2008)

by the way: i did connect the sata power and sata data cables correctly. the hdd is on and spinning, but not showing up.


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## helpful (Sep 18, 2009)

You new disk needs to be initialized, and setup for windows before you can use the disk for storage. Please follow the below steps in order
*
Initialize:*

Please read below for instructions under the header "To initialize new disks"
_
*The new drive will be show as "not initialized", during the initialize wizard when asked Select the master boot record (MBR) option*_

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc782513%28WS.10%29.aspx

*Create a Partition:*

Please read below for instructions under the header "How to create a new partition or a new logical drive"

_*during the partition wizard, *__*Create a primary partition and assign all available space*
_
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309000

*Format:*

Please read below for instructions under the header "How to format a basic volume"

_*during the format wizard,*__* Use NTFS as your file system and label the drive as secondary for example*_

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309000

*Assign a drive letter:*

Please read below for instructions under the header "How to assign a drive letter"

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307844


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## blacksovereignty (Jul 2, 2008)

So, I go to disk management, and all that shows up is my primary internal hdd, my old external hdd, and my two optical drives. no sign of the new one at all.


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## helpful (Sep 18, 2009)

Hit < F2> key when the computer is booting up to enter system setup (dell bios). Under System Setup Options ---> Drives, please confirm the new drive is listed


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## replay (Aug 13, 2003)

might have to go in bios and enable 2nd sata port..............


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## blacksovereignty (Jul 2, 2008)

never really had to mess with bios except once. explain the procedure? i'm running win 7 professional.


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## helpful (Sep 18, 2009)

If the drive is not listed you can enable the sata port in most Dell_ BIOSes_ under:

System Setup Options ---> Drives ---> Sata Drives {port number} - Change the setting On


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## blacksovereignty (Jul 2, 2008)

where do i access system setup options?


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## replay (Aug 13, 2003)

when u 1st bootup it should say f10 or f2 or something similar to enter bios


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## blacksovereignty (Jul 2, 2008)

so, i went into bios and enabled it. i saw a black screen detailing both of my internal HDDs, with the appropriate model numbers and such. i went into computer management to initialize it, and a window popped up saying: "you have a disk you need to initialize." i checked the box detailing the MBR option and clicked ok. it didn't show up in the list of drives.


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## replay (Aug 13, 2003)

did u format it?


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## replay (Aug 13, 2003)

http://www.brighthub.com/computing/hardware/articles/22069.aspx


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## blacksovereignty (Jul 2, 2008)

looks like its formatting right now...i'll keep you posted


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## replay (Aug 13, 2003)

game over.................you did it, good job!


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## blacksovereignty (Jul 2, 2008)

yeah, it's probably all good from now on. thanks a lot everyone!


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