How to install a new hard drive in Windows.
Select Disk Management.
- Right-click on the unallocated disk drive.
- Choose New Simple Volume from the context menu. The New Simple Volume wizard will appear.
- Click the Next button.
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Specify the size of the new disk drive using the Simple Volume Size in MB textbox. The size is already preset to match the entire disk capacity, which is recommended. If you need to set it to a smaller size, you can do so. The remaining space on the drive will remain unallocated. Click the Next button.
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In Windows, you can assign a drive letter to the drive or mount the drive on an NTFS volume as a folder. You can choose not to do it as well, depending on how you fill out the wizard.
(Optional) Select a letter for the new disk drive. My advice is to use the assigned drive letter. Click the Next button.
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Ensure that the option Format this volume with the following settings is selected. Confirm that NTFS format is chosen.
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Click the Next button.
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Click the Finish button to create the new disk drive. Windows prepares the disk by formatting it, setting up tracks (or parking spaces) for files. The time it takes to complete the action depends on the size of the disk drive. Formatting larger disk drives takes longer.
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The view in the Disk Management console shows the drive being formatted. You can monitor its progress in the Status column at the top center of the window. The drive will be assigned the new letter only after it is formatted.
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Once the action is completed, you can close the Disk Management console.
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The newly created disk drive will appear in the Computer window. It is immediately available for use.
Note: The new disk drive may have slightly less capacity than expected due to bytes indirectly used by the formatting process.