Adding a new Hard Drive

[pbdr]

I have been reading these forums for a little while and the gestalt knowledge base here seems to be very good and the members seem helpful. I use that as preface because I have decided tthat I am going to upgrade my computer one component at a tme, rather than buying a new system (this is for a couple reasons, one to spread the cost around and I like the idea of getting in there and doing it myself) and I will probably have questions at each stage. In the past I have added a case fan and upgraded memory (yeah I know, no big whoop) and think I can manage something a little more complex at this point. I have already started a thread about MOBOs, but think I will probably hold off on that for a little while. If I'm crazy or if upgrading is a bad idea, let me know and we can nip this whole thing in the bud...

But, anyhoo, on to my first project/question.

My hard drive is getting full at this point. I have about 10 gigs left and my wife has a digital camera and likes to take the pictures...

So, I am planning on adding a second hard drive (or just a bigger single). My current drive is a a 4 year old Western Digital (I believe), 40 gig 7,200 rpm drive.

I can get an 80 gig drive for not too much and am thinking adding that thus far.

The install (at least physical) isn't too tough, but I am wondering about which to use as primary and which to use as secondary (slave, right?).

I would like to use the newer one as primary and slave the second. The quandry is, I don't want to reinstall all of my programs and such onto the new HD (call it laziness).

Is it possible to somehow just copy one drive to the next then use the drive I copied to as the mian (C:/) drive?

Basically, I want to shift everything from the main drive to the new drive and have the system stillwork. I wonder about the .dll files for the OS (XP), I have the disk if that may help.

Thanks for any help.

 

[suprasteve]

you could potentially copy the entire hard drive to the newer one, but the only reason I see for doing that would be if you're worried about your old one failing. I personally would keep all my files (your wife's pictures for instance) on the second bigger drive away from the OS in case you need to reformat. You aren't going to see any big differences in terms of performance making one master over another.

 

[pbdr]

you could potentially copy the entire hard drive to the newer one, but the only reason I see for doing that would be if you're worried about your old one failing. I personally would keep all my files (your wife's pictures for instance) on the second bigger drive away from the OS in case you need to reformat. You aren't going to see any big differences in terms of performance making one master over another.

The existing drive is about 4 years old; should I worry about it failing?

The age is the reason I was thinking about trying to put the major stuff on a new drive.

Oh, and does Seagate make good HDs? I'm thinking of getting a seagate 80 or 120 GB drive (either is <$75).

Thanks.

 

[DCIScouts]

I've heard some stuff that Seagate isn't as good as they used to be, but I personally think they are still fine. Maxtor and Western Digital seem to be two other companies that most people are happy with.

 

[Geoff]

I've heard some stuff that Seagate isn't as good as they used to be, but I personally think they are still fine. Maxtor and Western Digital seem to be two other companies that most people are happy with.

I had a seagate 80GB sata and it failed after a few days. If your buying it at a store, you should have 14-30 days to return it, so i dont think it matters a whole lot what brand, what ever is cheapest.

 

[Jet]

Right now the best deals are in the 160-250gb range ($ per GB) so for just a small additional amount you can double or triple the space.

 

[pbdr]

I am leaning toward this drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148103 (seagate has a facility just down the street, so it's kind of the local company; plus I've heard good things about Seagate in general)

My question now is, will this have compatability issues with my PC Chips K7SEM MOBO?

The MOBO will be upgraded soon, but not for a couple of months.

 

[Yeti]

If I'm looking at the correct mobo, you don't have SATA ports, and that hard drive is SATA (as opposed to PATA, aka IDE). To use that drive you'll either need a PCI hard drive controller or a new mobo.

 

[pbdr]

If I'm looking at the correct mobo, you don't have SATA ports, and that hard drive is SATA (as opposed to PATA, aka IDE). To use that drive you'll either need a PCI hard drive controller or a new mobo.

Yeti,

Yes you are and I actually caught that while looking at cables. I changed the link to an ATA interface hard drive. I was hoping no-one would reply in the meantime.

Sorry about That.

I think it should be OK now?

 

[Yeti]

Yeti,

Yes you are and I actually caught that while looking at cables. I changed the link to an ATA interface hard drive. I was hoping no-one would reply in the meantime.

Sorry about That.

I think it should be OK now?

Lol, yeah that drive should be fine. Personally I would drop the extra $20 or so to get a 250 GB, but then not everyone needs that much space. I've never had a problem with a Seagate drive. Currently running an 80 GB in an external enclosure that gets pretty beat up and still runs fine.

 

[pbdr]

Lol, yeah that drive should be fine. Personally I would drop the extra $20 or so to get a 250 GB, but then not everyone needs that much space. I've never had a problem with a Seagate drive. Currently running an 80 GB in an external enclosure that gets pretty beat up and still runs fine.

It took me 4 years to get my current 40 gig drive u to about 32 gigs, so the 160 is hugh for me (even with my wife taking lots of digital pictures...)

The only tough part now is going to be installing it and trandferring my files. I am trying to figure out a way so I will not need to reinstall all my software (hopefully even OS, but hat could be a long shot). I have a few ideas (Norton Ghost), but don't want to mess anything up.

 

[Yeti]

The only tough part now is going to be installing it and trandferring my files. I am trying to figure out a way so I will not need to reinstall all my software (hopefully even OS, but hat could be a long shot). I have a few ideas (Norton Ghost), but don't want to mess anything up.

Installing should be as simple as plugging it in and setting the jumpers (master or slave). Norton Ghost should work for transferring the data. There's some free software that can do it, but I just spent the $10 on an older version of Ghost.

 

[pbdr]

The computer guy at my company (I work at a satellite office 500miles fro him, so I can't bribe him with a 6 pack to help) sent me a link to an article in "Information Week" that seems to have what I need.

Actually, I am doing this myself as part of the "fun". I've never done more than installing a fan or memory sticks in a computer and am looking forward to upgrading (read as completely rebuilding, but slowly) my computer. First is a new case (with power supply) and HD. I went ahead and ordered the 160 gb seagate and a Raidmax scorpio case, plus some round cables, from newegg.

Next is the MOBO, which will unfortunately mean a new CPU and memory (my K7SEM uses 168 pin) and will be the expensive part. Follwed by graphics card and CD/DVD/other drives.

That's the plan anyway...