Harddrive question

[PilotMan]

On my current system I run 2 10GB HD's. They are both at least 7 years old. I think that they are the culprits of my system running slower than it should. I am running a Sempron 1.6mhz with 512 Mem, and a 64MB video card

Anyway, if I was to get a 40, 60, 80GB or bigger HD, what is the best way to transfer all my info from the 2 old drives to the new one? Second, I have only ever used one partition. Is there a 'best' way to partition a HD this big? Or is it ok to leave it as 1?

[Draft Dodger]

as for the first question, it kind of depends on how much data you'll want to move over. you wont be moving your programs and os (those will need to be re-installed on new HD) so it's more just what data you want. if it's a large amount, the easiest way is to network the two together and copy the files. if it's a smaller amount, you could use usb flash drives to move the data over.

as for partitions, I recommend having at least 2 partitions - one for the OS (approx 6 gigs), and one for everything else. that way, if something happens where you want to reinstall the OS, you don't have to wipe out all your other data in the process (you'll still need to reinstall any apps you have afterward though). I personally like to have a few partitions - one for games, one for programs, one for documents, one for my music. I even keep a separate partition for my text sims (FOFC and OOTP) to make defragging easier. That's all a personal preference though, and having the additional partitions doesn't really help performance, it's more about organization.

[Castlerock]

Is there a 'best' way to partition a HD this big? Or is it ok to leave it as 1?
There is no 'best' way. It's personal preference. I always use one giant partition.

[Castlerock]

Anyway, if I was to get a 40, 60, 80GB or bigger HD, what is the best way to transfer all my info from the 2 old drives to the new one?
I would install the new one and then copy the data over and then remove the old one.

[PilotMan]

as for the first question, it kind of depends on how much data you'll want to move over. you wont be moving your programs and os (those will need to be re-installed on new HD) so it's more just what data you want.
So I am keeping all my docs, spreadsheets and misc files. What about save games and the like? Are those just considered lost?

Another option I have would be a complete reformat, but I was afraid that I would lose important info somewhere by forgetting to save it, and all the trouble it would be to pick through every folder to find anything important that I wanted to keep.

If I go with a new HD will I need to do this anyway?

[thetrilogy]

There is a fabulous program called Norton Ghost which would allow you
to make an exact image of everything to the new drive.

Ghost also has a gdisk.exe utility that will allow you to format and partition the drive into x of partitions and then you use Ghost to move the old drive image onto the new partition. It is an excellent utility.

[Draft Dodger]

So I am keeping all my docs, spreadsheets and misc files. What about save games and the like? Are those just considered lost?

Another option I have would be a complete reformat, but I was afraid that I would lose important info somewhere by forgetting to save it, and all the trouble it would be to pick through every folder to find anything important that I wanted to keep.

If I go with a new HD will I need to do this anyway?

yes, you should be able to save your save games - copy them out, and then copy them back in to the right directory when the game's been reinstalled.

you're going through the usual stuff when a hard drive move is upcoming - basically having to ask yourself "what do I need to keep?". Don't rush it - I usually start planning some time in advance, to give me time to think about what I really want to keep and what I don't. Again, this is where having a good organization of your hard drive comes in handy (why I use several partitions). thinking in advance means you're more likely to think of stuff you weren't thinking of - emails, favorites, save games...

[gstelmack]

Most new hard drives come with software that will do all of this for you. Plop in the new drive, hook up your old OS drive, boot the floppy/CD that came with the new drive, select the option to make a duplicate of your old OS drive, let it run, pull out the OS drive, put your second drive back in, boot up from the OS drive, copy everything you want from the old second drive over, shut down, pull the second drive, and you're done.

[hhiipp]

If you're going thru the trouble of getting a new drive, I'd take this opportunity to not make an image of your current drive and to actually start from scratch and then load your other stuff back on. Always nice to have a nice clean load every now and then.

As for copying data, after you've got your new HD loaded with an OS, attach your old drive to the CD rom cable (this makes it so you don't have to make any changes in the bios to set up the slave drive) boot the PC and your old HD will show up in My Computer and you'll be able to pull all your documents, favorites, etc.

[PilotMan]

Alright I jumped in and decided to get a new HD. I ended up with this one from newegg.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=totalPrice>Samsung 160GB 7200RPM Hard Drive, Model SP1614N, OEM Drive Only
</TD></TR><TR><TD>
Model# SP1614N </TD></TR><TR><TD>Item # N82E16822152014</TD></TR><TR><TD>Specifications:
Capacity: 160GB
Average Seek Time: 8.9 ms
Buffer: 8MB
Rotational Speed: 7200 RPM
Interface: IDE Ultra ATA133
Features: Fluid Dynamic Bearing Spindle Motor Technology
Manufacturer Warranty: 3 years
Remark: OEM Drive Only


87.99 and free shipping seemed to good to pass up. Even if it is just an IDE. Now I need to plan what is worth keeping. Thanks for all the help, and anyone who has anymore to add feel free to chime in.

I will probably be going with a clean install, and moving from there. I just wish my current hard drives weren't such a mess.

If I understand:

1: Disconnect both hard drives.
2: Connect new HD in master HD.
3: Format and Partition new HD.
4: Install OS, which for me is Win 95, 98 upgrade, XP upgrade.
5: Place old master HD in CDROM slot.
6: Copy desired files to new HD.
7: Repeat for old slave.
8: Reformat old master and slave.
9: Hope it all works. :)
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[sterlingice]

I don't suppose you have a DVD burner. That's how I move everything :)

SI

[MizzouRah]

The symptom of your pc running slower is very unlikely the HD's, but time for a reformat and reinstall of your OS and programs.

Has it been 7 years since you've installed your OS and programs?


Todd

[PilotMan]

The symptom of your pc running slower is very unlikely the HD's, but time for a reformat and reinstall of your OS and programs.

Has it been 7 years since you've installed your OS and programs?


Todd
No, I did the OS upgrade in december, but it was a very sloppy upgrade and there are a lot of things that seem messed up. For instance windows recognizez the maser as the D: drive and the slave as C:, even though I swear I didn't change anything. Just showed up like that. I haven't worried about it enough to work to fix it. The list of things is too long to mention. I think that you are probably right about the reformat issue. I only went to a 2 HD system about 4 years ago, and the second HD was reformatted then, but I think it probably has been that long on the master.

I have always been leery about reformatting because I was afraid that I would miss something that I needed. Or not be able to find the right file to copy to keep what I wanted to keep and screw it up. When it comes to file types and names, software and programming I am a dud.

I should get a new drive anyway since I have been struggling for space on these for a year now. I seems easier to get a new drive set up and then gradually move the needed files over.

As far as CD-ROM's, I have 2 of those, one is a normal 50x, and the other is a 16x/12x/40x CD/RW. No DVD ROM as of yet on this system (although my new laptop has one).

[OldGiants]

I recently went through the agony of installing a new HD to use along with old external. I wanted the new one to be my main drive and the old to become the backup, with most programs on C: but games on (for me) F:

My Windows SE machine couldn't copy over all the files in a huge batch, so I did it essentially game by game. What I found was that the games that required a disk in the drive had to be reinstalled, but any games that didn't require a disk (like Hearts of Iron, FOF and Europa Uni) worked immediately. Curiously, TCY had to be reinstalled.

Just a heads-up on a possible time saver.

[Eaglesfan27]

I have a hard drive question as well. I'm getting a new desktop computer that should arrive soon. I was going to use Norton Ghost to copy everything from the old desktop to the new desktop, but I just realized that that old computer has Windows XP while the new computer has Windows XP Media Center Edition. Since these are different OS, I assume it would not be a good idea to use Norton Ghost to copy an image of the old comptuer's hard drive to the new computer. What would be the best way to move all of my games, documents, settings, etc?

[MizzouRah]

I have a hard drive question as well. I'm getting a new desktop computer that should arrive soon. I was going to use Norton Ghost to copy everything from the old desktop to the new desktop, but I just realized that that old computer has Windows XP while the new computer has Windows XP Media Center Edition. Since these are different OS, I assume it would not be a good idea to use Norton Ghost to copy an image of the old comptuer's hard drive to the new computer. What would be the best way to move all of my games, documents, settings, etc?

Hook it up as a slave and copy like that.


Todd

[Eaglesfan27]

Hook it up as a slave and copy like that.


Todd

How do I do that?

[hhiipp]

Norton Ghost in your case would likely also be a bad choice to use because you're not likely going to another pc with the same hardware. I still think the easiest thing to do, put your old harddrive into your new pc but hook it to the cables the CD rom are plugged into. Doing this you avoid having to mess with your Bios and your jumpers, almost every HD sent out now is defaulted to Cable Select and if you plug into the CD rom cables it already knows it's #2. Then when you boot your primary HD will be C and you old HD will be D.

Doesn't get much easier.

Edit: This is the same as slaving.

[MizzouRah]

Well...

1. If your new pc has a SATA drive, just plug your old drive into an IDE slot. (most system boards have both)

2. If your new pc has an IDE drive, there should be an open connector on the cable for your 2nd HD, just plug it in to that open spot.

On older pc's you would have to set the 2nd HD as a slave, but on a newer pc cable select is the standard so no need to mess with the jumper on your old HD unless it's set to 'master'. You can physically look on the drive to see how your jumper is setup.

Once you transfer your data to the new drive - I would format the old one and use it as a second drive for important files as backups. That's what I do. In fact, I also put all of the setup files for games like FBCB - OOTP - FOF, etc.. on that drive for future reference.


Todd

[Eaglesfan27]

Well...

1. If your new pc has a SATA drive, just plug your old drive into an IDE slot. (most system boards have both)

2. If your new pc has an IDE drive, there should be an open connector on the cable for your 2nd HD, just plug it in to that open spot.

On older pc's you would have to set the 2nd HD as a slave, but on a newer pc cable select is the standard so no need to mess with the jumper on your old HD unless it's set to 'master'. You can physically look on the drive to see how your jumper is setup.

Once you transfer your data to the new drive - I would format the old one and use it as a second drive for important files as backups. That's what I do. In fact, I also put all of the setup files for games like FBCB - OOTP - FOF, etc.. on that drive for future reference.


Todd
Thanks hhiipp and Todd. The new computer has a SATA drive, actually dual SATA drives with automatic backup of data to the second one. I lost over 70 hours of research a few years ago, and I determined at that point I would always back things up. I also decided that when I got my next computer, I would get the most fullproof data storage system I could think of. The dual SATA drives would appear to meet that requirement at this time.

[Mr. Wednesday]

The only completely foolproof system is offsite backups. What you're doing is a good choice but still subject to loss under certain extreme circumstances.

[Eaglesfan27]

The only completely foolproof system is offsite backups. What you're doing is a good choice but still subject to loss under certain extreme circumstances.

I know. However, between this system and my occasional (once a month) backup of my important data to an external harddrive, I think I'll be covered well enough that I'll feel good about the low chance of losing my data.