How to setup second hardrive

NotAGolf · 30 Jun 2006 at 18:59

I need to format my computer and I need some way of backing up my data so the easiest way I can think of is to use a second hard drive. I have one in another computer, i believe its a 120gb seagate barracuda 7200.7. My hardrive in this comp is a 160gb Samsung Sinpoint sata II. I'm just wondering how I would setup the second hard drive as i think its an IDE drive, i had a quick look at it and its got one of those big ribbon cables plugged in rather than the smaller sata cables. Any advice on how i should set it up? Thanks

SiriusB · 30 Jun 2006 at 19:37

Put in PC
Plug in Power
Plug in IDE Cable
Switch on PC
Enter BIOS
Set SATA HDD as first boot device
Save settings and exit BIOS

That's it. You should boot into Windows just fine and see the new HDD in My Computer.

SiriusB

NotAGolf · 30 Jun 2006 at 20:03

Thanks for the info sirius B, perfect.

I read something about jumper settings, what are they? Do I have to change the jumper settings or anything? Thanks

Naj · 30 Jun 2006 at 20:09

mpledge52 said:
Thanks for the info sirius B, perfect.

I read something about jumper settings, what are they? Do I have to change the jumper settings or anything? Thanks

Yes, if you intend to use the new hard drive as just a storage device, then you need to set the jumpers to "slave" for this drive and "master/primary" for your drive with the OS. That is how i do it anyway, though i think there should be an "auto" option and it should boot up depending on how set in the BIOS. Jumper settings could be on the sticker on the HDD itself. If not, go to manufacturers website.

SiriusB · 30 Jun 2006 at 20:32

Naj said:
Yes, if you intend to use the new hard drive as just a storage device, then you need to set the jumpers to "slave" for this drive and "master/primary" for your drive with the OS. That is how i do it anyway, though i think there should be an "auto" option and it should boot up depending on how set in the BIOS. Jumper settings could be on the sticker on the HDD itself. If not, go to manufacturers website.

His OS HDD is SATA. So it doesn't really matter whether the IDE drive is Slave or Master - unless you have put the drive on the same channel as another IDE device such as a CD/DVD-Rom Drive. If this is the case then you set the jumper to the opposite of the device already on the IDE cable.

SiriusB

Naj · 30 Jun 2006 at 20:44

Doh, i didn't read that bit. I thought both where IDE. Guess aslong as its set up on BIOS, no need to worry too much about jumpers.

NotAGolf · 30 Jun 2006 at 20:54

Thanks for clearing that up guys.

When backing up is there a way to backup a whole program? Its just that i've got some stuff that i had to download off the internet (legally i swear!) so i dont have the cd to install from, meaning i would have to download huge files ( Like Visual Studio for my uni course which is 3gb+ :eek:

), so i dont fancy downloading all these again on a slow connection.

Also free tools like spyware, media players etc that are all free but i dont want to download them all again if possible. Thanks for your advice, you've been really helpful so far!!!

Naj · 30 Jun 2006 at 21:11

mpledge52 said:
Thanks for clearing that up guys.

When backing up is there a way to backup a whole program? Its just that i've got some stuff that i had to download off the internet (legally i swear!) so i dont have the cd to install from, meaning i would have to download huge files ( Like Visual Studio for my uni course which is 3gb+ ), so i dont fancy downloading all these again on a slow connection.

Also free tools like spyware, media players etc that are all free but i dont want to download them all again if possible. Thanks for your advice, you've been really helpful so far!!!

Well i just installed my new hard drive today and also would like to know that. I know there are several progarms that can do this for you but i don't think they are free. Besides i want to pick and choose which programs i want on my new hard drives.

Funny though because smaller programs like media players and various tools, you can simple drag the folder from one hard drive to the new one and it works. But i think with programs that require CD key will not work this way!

Kazatan · 30 Jun 2006 at 23:16

may not help you here, but i always keep the installer if its big. plan for the future!!

SiriusB · 1 Jul 2006 at 00:01

I once read a thread or a guide [can't recall] where someone said they rarely had to reinstall software or games as most do not require registry entries in Windows. For the small amount of software that did, he found the relevant entries and created .reg files for them, so after he freshly installed Windows he could run these .reg files and they would add the necessary keys to the Windows Registry.

Of course, this only works if you have the apps on a separate partion or HDD. Otherwise the software gets nuked with it. The only easy way i can see of preserving software along with Windows is to create a disk image. Using something like Norton Ghost or Acronis TrueImage.

SiriusB

NotAGolf · 1 Jul 2006 at 11:13

SiriusB said:
His OS HDD is SATA. So it doesn't really matter whether the IDE drive is Slave or Master - unless you have put the drive on the same channel as another IDE device such as a CD/DVD-Rom Drive. If this is the case then you set the jumper to the opposite of the device already on the IDE cable.

SiriusB

I've just looked inside my pc and the CD/DVD Drive is on the primary IDE drive, can i just connect it to the second IDE channel (which is free at the moment) without adjusting jumpers etc, or will i have to change them? If so how do i do it?

SIriusB said:
The only easy way i can see of preserving software along with Windows is to create a disk image. Using something like Norton Ghost or Acronis TrueImage.

I have nero 7 ultra edition can i do it with this? Is there any free software which will do this? Or will i have to buy specialist software?

Thanks very much guys.

Richiev4 · 1 Jul 2006 at 11:29

mpledge52 said:
I've just looked inside my pc and the CD/DVD Drive is on the primary IDE drive, can i just connect it to the second IDE channel (which is free at the moment) without adjusting jumpers etc, or will i have to change them? If so how do i do it?

Yes that should work

mpledge52 said:
I have nero 7 ultra edition can i do it with this? Is there any free software which will do this? Or will i have to buy specialist software?

Thanks very much guys.

I'm not sure if nero has this facility