Adding An External HD And Need A Little Help

Wiley Coyote · 05 Mar 2017

Good morning. I've been away from PCs for nearly four years. My last system was an XP Pro setup. Now I've got a new machine with Win 10 and it is all so very new to an old guy and I need a little guidance here.

Over the next day or two I have a Western Digital Elements 2 TB External drive coming in. The website "quick installation" guide is simple enough. My question is: Should I power the system down, hook up the drive and let Windows detect new hardware on boot up? Or hook it up "on the fly" with everything up and running?

Thanks, I appreciate your time and advice.

lx07 · 05 Mar 2017

You can just plug it in - no need to power down.

If you mean this one it comes formatted NTFS so there is nothing else to do.

Wiley Coyote · 05 Mar 2017

Yep, that's it. Noticed the NTFS format and no software to install when I ordered it. Shouldn't even need to create another Restore Point.

Thanks for the response.

Wiley Coyote · 06 Mar 2017

This has to be the easiest hardware install I ever did! A far cry from the old days of DOS and configuring ports.

lx07 · 06 Mar 2017

Good news :)

You can plug the drive in at any time.

Just remember to eject it before you disconnect it. You can do this through file explorer (right click on the drive and select "Eject") or in the notification area on the right hand side of the task bar.

If it won't eject for some reason then shut down before you pull the lead in case it is using it.

Bree · 06 Mar 2017

lx07 said:

...You can do this through file explorer ... or in the notification area...

No, an external HDD is not classed as 'removable media' so File Explorer doesn't offer the Eject option for USB HDDs, only for USB memory sticks. Use the 'safely remove hardware and eject media' icon in the notification area.

lx07 · 06 Mar 2017

Indeed, my mistake.