Secondary hard drive

[Kristijan]

Hi everyone. I recently installed Linux Lite and I am quite new to linux in general. Before i installed Linux Lite i used windows 7 and all the files i needed i back them up in an old hard disk which i used as secondary on win 7. Now that i installed Linux Lite on my primary hard drive i want to retrieve my files and i was wondering if it may cause losing files when i connect the old hard disk to the mother board?

[bitsnpcs]

Hello Kristijan,

Welcome to the forum 

I do not have an exact answer for you as I have not moved an internal hard drive to Linux Lite, it will be best to await further replies from other members.

I can answer saying I have connected an external hard drive I used to use on Windows 7 to the usb on Linux Lite, I did not have any problems and did not lose any files.
The files I had on the external hard drive were, jpg, png, pdf, txt, iso, mp3, avi, and mp4

Specifying the file types on your internal hard drive will assist members to help you.

You will need to move the jumpers to set the new hard drive to slave, it's probably done as you've used it as a secondary drive previously.

[Kristijan]

Files that are on that hard disk are the ones you mentioned.
Is there a way i can connect this hard disk to usb instead of sata?
Thank you

[bitsnpcs]

Yes you can use a sata to usb cable and power cable.
You can also get hard drive box, to make the internal hard drive look like external one on the desk so it looks nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGbrDoRWChk


Fitting it into a box

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml3qagT0YLE

[tek10]

Hi Kristijan

I've installed Lite on an ssd and have a secondary hard drive that I've used as a data drive for Windows 7, Kubuntu, SolydK, Manjaro and now Lite. Each time I have been able to access files with no problems. The hard drive box mentioned above is also a great way to go. I use one with a 1TB hdd as an external data backup for all my systems.

[firenice03]

You can attach directly within the PC or by some sort of USB interface - Linux Lite will mount accordingly and you'll be able to access your files just as you would on Windows with most file types being accessible...
If going USB you have the option to unmount/eject directly from Thunar/File Manager.

I've used the 3 USB options I've posted below.. Just food for thought  ;D
A Cable -- A Dock -- An Enclosure

A couple things to be mindful of... Which will be determined by how you use it and the alike..
Remember hard drives do heat up and they don't like to be jarred about (especially while spinning)..

This is just my take...

• Cable is probably least expensive and great for quick connects or short term connections.
  
• I like the dock for longer term with the ability to change drives, more stable than the cable.
  
• An Enclosure would be best for portability and extended use; most have heat dissipation features, changing drives can be done but not as easy as the above...

Stability increases, the Dock has a base, the Enclosure has rubber feet or lays flat and the most stable as compared to a drive laying with cable attached..






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[Kristijan]

Thank you everyone for helping.
I just connected it with SATA cable first it showed me BOOTMR is missing i disconnected it and tried to start with only one hard disk it worked fine then i connected it again and wetn ti BIOS and changed hard disk priority and the pc boot up the hard disk was there and there were no files missing.
This topic can be marked as solved.
Thanks again.

[bitsnpcs]

Hello Kristijan,

good to read you have your second hard drive working, and no missing files

You can mark it solved by, modify your first post in the thread, and select "Solved" from the drop down menu.