Q: I have two Dell desktop systems. One fried during a lightning storm, but the HD is still good. What is the best way of using that HD as a 2nd HD in my other system which uses Windows XP? Do I have to format it first, or is that something I can do after installation (I can swap drives and access the HD that way, if I have to for formatting)? Being able the existing data on the would-be 2nd drive would be nice, but not essential.
A: just attach the old drive to the second connector of your IDE cable on your computer...you dont have to disconnect your current drive. yes..as mentioned ..you need to set the "jumper" which is a removable little plastic tab on the back end of the disk drive. There are diagrams on every drive to show you how to do this. So, then you have a primary drive, and the new one you put in becomes the slave, or secondary drive. The pc will auto detect your slave drive and you should be able to access all data, as long as disk is ok. You can then re format it if you want to wipe it clean. Good luck ! PS : do not forget to plug the disk into a spare power connector too.