Adding HDD space for more programs

[Jerrych57]

My HDD is getting full enough that I can't defrag it or add programs. I have a 120G HDD that I'd like to add. Can I install programs to the added HDD, or do programs have to be on the same drive as Windows?

I have an older system and I'm happy with the way the computer works, just want to add more programs. I use it for finances and low-end photo storage / printing, no heavy graphics.

Info:
Windows XP SP2
IDE drives
Compaq S5314ST
1G RAM
ATI X1050 Radeon

- Jerry

[glc]

You *can* install programs to it, but some of the installation will still wind up on "C" - system files and profile data. You *can* move your entire "My Documents" structure to it with a few mouse clicks and all your programs that use it will still know where it is. That is probably the easiest thing to do to get space back, especially if you have a lot of files in it. A good disk cleanup will help too, I recommend CCleaner for that. You can also reduce the amount of space allocated for system restore. In order to *move* programs already installed to "C", you have to uninstall and reinstall them.

Another option is to replace the drive with a bigger drive, and "clone" the old one to the new one. Before using a drive larger than 120gb, make sure it's supported by the bios.