Windows 10
Hi
I bought a new desktop computer as the old one died (12 Years old) but my problem is the new machine has only 237 GBs of hard drive.
Is it possible to use an external drive as a second hard drive on this machine?
Like the internal drive is a letter 'C' so the external drive would be 'D' but would it be able to run software like 'C' would?
I'd be grateful if someone could verify this for me.
Best regards
Michael.
As it's a desktop, can you not equip more internal drives? Fit a bigger system drive? Did you really order the machine with just a single 256Gb drive?
And of course, a single drive could be - oh- 6Tb... and if you believe this:
What is the biggest internal hard drive you can buy?
If you're looking for something striking to supplement your SSD or hard drive collection, you've come to the right place. As of August 2023, the largest storage component you can buy is a 5-year old 100TB solid state drive from Nimbus and it will cost you a cool $40,000 but currently listed under special orderRather - could you install programs on at as you do with 'C:' ?would it be able to run software like 'C' would?
No, not install- I'd never try to do that. But you could put completely portable (no installation) programs on it and run those from an external drive.
Last edited by dalchina; 03 Nov 2023 at 16:03.
It's not straight forward if you install more software even on d it writes a lot of files to c. Even ssd drives are so cheap now 500 gig less than £50
Please edit your profile with ALL your hardware specs. It will help us to help you
System Specs - Fill in at Ten Forums
Use an external drive as a backup drive only. USB external drives aren't reliable as internal drives.
Your new desktop probably came with a 256 G M.2 NVMe drive. You can replace the drive with a bigger one or add a SSD or HDD to a SATA port. We need to know the computer brand and type
I do not understand why some people will not fill out their hardware specs. It seems like every post it is ask for but some just will not do it.
Yes. But the it depends on the how. @Megahertz and @gmcgee78 are right on what they said, in fact, when you post a new thread the forum reminds you on the importance on filling the details about your computer.
Back to yes? yes.
- Desktops often have an extra connector inside for power and for data (for a second hard drive)
- NOT all desktop computers are the same, some don't have this
- Some desktop computers only have a second data connector for DVD, in that case, you can remove your DVD and replace it with a HDD caddy, obviously with a hard drive inside
- If none of those are options for you, then use your USB port and buy a HDD enclosure for your extra drive, or just buy an external hard drive
Michael, nobody can verify if no details are posted. Replying like I did covers all possibilities, and that's extra work that can be easily avoided with the needed details. Remember: you will always get more information and help the more detailed your post is.
So, you mean connecting a disk via USB, and then use it to installing software on it.
Yes ... if that disk always has the same driveletter (challange 1),
and if the disk is always powered on (challenge 2)
then ... it would technically work.
Keep in mind USB is very slow, so at least then you must have USB 3.0
But for these kind of solutions, they have something like external SATA cables. These are faster than USB (well, I hope so), but most of all they would make your device "internal", even if it is outside of the computer box itself.
- - - Updated - - -
That's fair, but some people work on several computers, and then you'd need to each time state which computer is relevant.
For example, let me see, I work on 4 laptops and 4 desktops on nearly daily basis.
Is that foreseen ? None of these machines are the same, they're actually extremely different. OK, none is a Mac.
In my case W10 plus many programs have a size of about 40 Gb. A volume of 237 Gb is more than enough to work with. My SSD has a size of 120 Gb and I have still plenty room available. But I write all my data on a separate HDD and not onto C.
Quote