[Ham-Computers] RE: Added second hard drive, but.........

[Hsu, Aaron (NBC Universal)]

In earlier posts, some suggested using the drive utilities that are included with the drive.  I generally recommend against this as some of these utilities may do/install things that complicate matters.  This was more true in the past with "drive overlay" software than it is today.  But I still recommend that drive utilities be avoided unless absolutely necessary - all operating systems have what it takes to *natively* partition and format a drive.

The drive utilities definitely make it "easier" to install a new drive - my last post might seem long, but it's really an easy process.  An example of when a drive utility might be required is if the system doesn't support the full capacity of the drive (rare these days).  In these cases, you'll need to use the drive utility's "drive overlay" software to "fake" the system into accepting the larger drive.  Another situation where you might want to use the drive utility is when you need to re-initialize the drive due to bad sectors or if you want to "zero" drive (formally known as low-level formating).


Just my 2 cents.

  - Aaron, NN6O


BTW, most "external" drives don't require partitioning and formatting as the vendors try to make the installation as simple (plug-n-play) as possible.  When using an "internal" drive, the vendors assume the buyer is a bit more computer savvy and leaves the partitioning/formatting up to the user.