Can you replace CD ROM drives with Hard Drives?

[Dugger69]

The reason I ask is because I am a video editor and I need all the hard drive space I can get.

Over time I have worn out my two internal DVD/CDROM drives and I currently use an external DVD burner.

I was wondering if it is possible to replace my two internal DVD/CD drives with two internal hard drives.

I do have two HDs running master/slave on c: and d: but like I said I need extra space.

I realize I can simply buy two external enclosures and add my drives that way but I was curious if what I have mentioned here is possible since I'm not using the two bays in my tower anyway.

Thanks in advance for help on my first post here.

Dugger69

 

[edfair]

Yes. Just be aware that the drive identifications may move. Previous operating systems call master primary c:, master secondary d:, slave primary e: and slave secondary f:.
You may also need to make a change in CMOS setup if the drives are not set for auto.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[Dugger69]

thanks Ed

How about if I have one DVD ROM and 1 hard drive on the same cable, would that work?

 

[Freestone]

Yes, you can mix any two IDE devices on one cable. Just ensure jumpering is set correctly on the devices. One must be Master and the other Slave, or both set to Cable Select (CS). When using Cable Select, position on the cable determines Master/Slave roles: the Master will be the device at the end of the cable, with the Slave on the middle connector. When using only a single device on the cable, it is best to place it at the end of the cable to help with noise reduction.

Ed Fair's concern about drive letters changing is valid, but Disk Management should allow you to assign different drive letters to drives so your current D: assignment can be reestablished, if necessary. You cannot change the drive letter of your system and boot volumes (usually C: drive).

 

[RICHINMINN]

Dugger69:
Another thing to bear in mind is that if you replace the 2 internal optical drives with 1 hard drive and 1 DVD-ROM drive, both drives will be accessed at the same (slower) speed. An IDE hard drive is usually accessed at speeds of ATA100 or ATA133 (100 or 133 Mbps - Megabits per second), while an IDE optical drive normally accesses data at a speed of ATA33 (33 Mbps). This means that data going to/from the hard drive will be doing so at 1/3 or 1/4 of its potential speed. Often, you can't tell the difference, unless you're storing/retrieving *huge* files on this additional hard drive. If you're using this hard drive for backing up data from your other drives (where you start the backup process and walk away from it or it runs in the middle of the night), or for purely occasional use, you probably won't notice the difference in speed.

RichinMinn

 

[Freestone]

This is not true any longer. Modern IDE adapters support independent device timing.

See the section titled "Slowest speed"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Technology_Attachment

and

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/ide/confTiming-c.html

 

[G0AOZ]

And look at your PSU rating... Hard drives will generally require more power than CD/DVDs. You will also up the ambient temperature inside the computer case, so look to increase airflow to cope if necessary.

ROGER - G0AOZ.