How do I install a second harddrive

["Wathen, Metherion" <MWathen@bsalifestructures.com>]

Hi all,
I know that sounds stoopid, but I'm having trouble finding info
that tells me what I need to do to get a second harddrive on my system
recognized by linux.
When i boot the system dmesg clearly shows hdb as found.
however I don't know what to do to see the contents (if any) of hdb in a program
like gmc.
So my question is 
1) what do I use to 'see' the 2nd harddrive
2) how do I format it for use w/o messing up my 1st drive
3) how do I make it part of my existing filesystem

I checked the archives for installing a second harddrive but no matches resulted

thanks in advance
Any help at all would be great.
cc me your answers please
mw