Auto mount hdd @boot

$ ll /dev/disk/by-uuid/

then for the UUID you want to mount automatically at boot:

# echo UUID=xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx /mnt/backup auto defaults 0 0 >>/etc/fstab

A detailed explanation can be found @
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?&t=283131