2nd hard drive added how do I set up 2nd drive to auto store data

[Guest]

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novist1

I have a 10 G HD, I added a 40 G. HD, I can save files to the second HD,
but my computer does not use the 2nd hard drive to store files, I am getting
low disc space warnings, and the HD is almost full, is there a setting or
program that will cause my computer to automatically save files to a 2nd HD,
thanks

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

novist1 wrote:

"I have a 10 G HD, I added a 40 G. HD, I can save files to the second HD,
but my computer does not use the 2nd hard drive to store files, I am getting
low disc space warnings, and the HD is almost full, is there a setting or
program that will cause my computer to automatically save files to a 2nd HD,
thanks"


First of all, please do not write your message below your signature. When
you do that, lots of newsreaders strip your message from the quote. I had to
cut and paste your message here.

No, there is no universal setting that tells the computer what drive to save
files to. However, many applications will remember where you last saved a
file and will default to that place in the future unless you override the
default.

For example, when you download a file from the internet, if you change the
default to a folder on your second drive, it will henceforth save all
downloads to that folder, until you change the setting again.

 

[Guest]

A friend of mine helped me when I purchased a new used computer. I'm no
expert but he installed a old hard drive from my old pc into new used one.
There is micro switches on front or rear of hd's. These switches can be used
to determine wich hard drive will be the default or primary hd.

 

[JS]

You may want to consider moving the location of the 'My Documents' folder to
your second drive.
How to do this: http://www.techsupportalert.com/how_to_move_my_documents.htm

JS

 

[Rock]

I have a 10 G HD, I added a 40 G. HD, I can save files to the second HD,

but my computer does not use the 2nd hard drive to store files, I am
getting
low disc space warnings, and the HD is almost full, is there a setting or
program that will cause my computer to automatically save files to a 2nd
HD,
thanks

Another way to gain space on the smaller drive is to uninstall programs that
are currently installed on the C:\ drive, and reinstall them on the other
drive.

All of these are just temporary solutions. I suggest you backup the data,
change the configuration of the drives so the larger drive is the primary
master, then reinstall XP and programs to that drive, using the second drive
for data storage.

 

[dobey]

--
novist1

I have a 10 G HD, I added a 40 G. HD, I can save files to the second HD,
but my computer does not use the 2nd hard drive to store files, I am
getting
low disc space warnings, and the HD is almost full, is there a setting or
program that will cause my computer to automatically save files to a 2nd
HD,
thanks

Your computer does what you tell it.

When you install a program, or save a file, in most cases you have control
over where that information is stored. Usually when you are asked to save a
file, it will be to the last directory you saved to.

As others have said, if you use My Documents, then you can change the
default directory for that, but otherwise any file saved will be to where
ever you tell your PC to save it.

You might want to check your temp directories are empty, or maybe even move
your swap file to the second disk. You could reduce the amount of space
reserved for the recycle bin, or system restore functions, but it's probably
not large at the moment because they are based on a percentage of the
HDD/partition.

10 GB isn't much these days, and depending on the amount of RAM you have
it's even less.

I have 1 GB of RAM, and my swapfile is 1.5 GB.

I would suggest you retire the 10 GB drive and get another HDD and put your
system on a larger HDD.

I use a 40 GB drive for my system and my data drives are separate. That way
I don't need to worry about my data and can do a quick system restore if
need be. It also means I have plenty of room to install new programs without
having to worry about disk space. Don't forget most setup programs use the
system drive for setup purposes, so the amount of space needed can go up
dramatically, when archived files are extracted etc.