How do I Install A Second Hard Drive on a HP pavilion 8533z the 2gnt hared drive is 1 out of a HP pavlion 4483? Some one help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks Fhistopher Coss

You can't upgrade or add anything with an HP.

Providng you have a spare bay/space for the second drive. Switch off PC; remove AC power - for safety(?) - and remove PC case. If you feel OK about it you can leave the AC plug installed in the PC - but power switched off. Provides a notional ground path (if your home electrics are wired according to current UK/N.Am AC wiring codes). Locate current drive in HP8533. Set the jumpers on the current drive in the HP8533 as the Primary Master with Slave; set the jumpers on the drive from the HP4483 as a Primary Slave. You 'may' have to remove current drive in order to reset its jumpers; all depends on ease of access? Be careful not to lose screws, or to damage threads when re-installing them. Also, when (re-)installing drives use correct screws for each drive; some drives seem to use slightly different size mounting screws to others? Perhaps use the HP4483 screws with that drive? Install drive into a vacant bay; connect the power and data-ribbon cables - correctly. Usually there is a spare power cable for a second drive; if not then buy a splitter cable (usually quite cheap). This will allow you to (share/split) the current drive power connector to provide two connectors - one for each drive. Note re' the ribbon/data cable: the coloured edge of the ribbon-cable goes to Pin-1; power connector is usually keyed (fits one way only). Set bios to auto-detect the drive(s). Reconnect AC and reboot; both drives should show up. If need-be run Fdisk/format routines (preferably via DOS/'9x boot-disk) to reconfigure Slaved drive. If drive has data you want to retain then transfer/save it elsewhere before the Fdisk/format routine. If not wishing to Fdisk/format but instead wish/intend to use drive as is (providing file formats are consistent with your current OS?) then there should be nothing more to do. More detailed how to's (which perhaps read): http://www.pcmech.com/show/harddrive/43 http://www.qsl.net/g3pto/two_drive.htm http://hwreviews.netscape.com/hardware/0-1016-414-1814-1.html http://www.infohq.com/Computer/adding-second-hard-drive-review.htm (This link refers to Maxtor kit; but applies equally to any make of EIDE drive installation.) If you do a search in google.com for: installing a second hard drive you'll get numerous links to very detailed guides on how to do it. Those above will probaly come up as well...

Alan - If I'd known that sooner - it would have saved me the above posting... Yours went in whilst I was putting mine together... I had a feeling it 'might' not be possible (don't know HP kit much if at all) - but then again it might have been? Still it may help someone else? Are HP's really that restrictive? Is there no spare bay (internal/'external') to accomodate 3.5-drive? Are there other makes equally so??? I know Packard's not user-friendly, and that Compaq is quite proprietry (i.e. restrictive about what will go in that isn't Compaq branded).

I've added/switched around drives, CD's, burners, mem sticks, etc. in HP's. No problem. I'm not familiar with the models, but...... I think Alan's comment was his idea of the product. Sort of like Comcrap's.