hard drives

Please move as needed. How are 2 hard drives set up in the same tower so that both are used as storage devices? One to hold the OS and programs, downloaded software, and the other for mostly downloaded software and temp downloads. In other words 2 40 gigs acting as if it were one 80 gig. When I download does a dialog appeare every time asking which hdd I wish to use? One or Two? E or F? Is c drive used first until full, then F drive is used until it is full? Then I can erace selected data on either or both to reclaim space? In my case an 80 gig is enough. I have never filled one. I have 2 40 gigs and parts to build another functional tower. It will be equal to a dell dimension 8100 or an optiplex gx 400 depending on which board I use.

 

Each drive appears as a different letter in your Operative system. You can choose to install any programs in what ever drive you preffer as needed. In case I did not answer your question could you please rephrase it? I did not understand it fully.

 

I will try. Please bare with me as I am not very technical. I am currently using a dell optiplex gx 400. I installed ONE 80 gig drive as "C". I am going to build another tower out of spare parts. I am going to use TWO 40 gig drives on the same ribbon cable. Should I move the jumpers to MASTER and SLAVE. Or will CABLE SELECT work for both? When I load the OS will the system ask which drive I wish to use? When I download programs, does the system ask the same question? Or is the choice of hard drive left to the system to determine on its own?

 

Use MASTER and SLAVE for the drives. Both drives will probabbly appear as C and E (or G or F) in your computer.

When you load your OS your system will ask you on which drive you want to install your operating system.

In that same when you download or install programs you will have the option of choosing which drive you want to use.

Only system files like DLLs or libraries will by default be installed on the drive on which you first chose to install your OS.

 

Not to hijack Paztelu's fine answer, but a couple of minor suggestions,
Look at your ribbon cable if it is an IDE-PATA cable as I suspect with the jumper info and the ribbon description, usually the one on the end is the master plug and the plug 2/3rds from the MOBO plug is the slave plug. The Dell systems that I have used deem to like the Master/Slave relationship on the IDE/PATA cables better than Cable Select.
My kid's Dell 4400 assigns the letters C,D as the hard drives, and E, F as the two optical drives, both hard drives are on the same ribbon, and both Optical drives share the other ribbon. I have never tried running one hard drive and one optical drive on each ribbon because of the limitations of the length of the cable does not allow me to plug them in in that configuration.
Just my humble opinion.