mike13 Posted May 8, 2003 Share Posted May 8, 2003 The hard drive in my P4 computer with XP Pro. is dying. I received an exact HDD replacement. This is my plan of attack. Bolt in the new HDD. Move the IDE and power cables to the new HDD. Install the OS system and all drivers on the new HDD. Move the IDE and power cables "back" to the old HDD so I can use the computer for the rest of the night. When I get time, move the IDE and power cables back to the new HDD, and install more of my programs etc. Move the IDE and power cables back to the old HDD so I can use the computer again. Question----will I mess up anything in the BIOS etc. by switching these cables back and forth ? I guess the easiest way would be to just SLAVE the old HDD and drag and drop the files I wanted to the new HDD. But can I do what I planned above, or will I mess up something ? Many thanks !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Posted May 8, 2003 Share Posted May 8, 2003 Moved to Hardware & Overclockers Hangout Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gamehead200 Posted May 8, 2003 Share Posted May 8, 2003 Probably not, as long as you TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER BEFORE DOING THAT! I remember there was a post that said someone had unplugged something in a computer while it was on... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techguy21801 Posted May 8, 2003 Share Posted May 8, 2003 ??...why go through that kind of hell, why don't you just clone the drive . saves time, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThA_FiLeR Posted May 8, 2003 Share Posted May 8, 2003 I'd reccomend Ghost for doing the cloning, will work great.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipp51 Posted May 8, 2003 Share Posted May 8, 2003 Drive Copy from Powerquest works like a charm.Install software on old hard drive,shut down install new hard drive and make it slave while the old as master(can differ-sometimes no jumper).Go into bios and have it recognize the new drive by running the standard cmos settings and selecting "auto"and save and exit.Be sure that your old drive is recognized also.You can run fdisk and format on your new drive first.Boot into windows and run Drive copy.(follow instructions).Worth having just for upgrades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPerties Posted May 9, 2003 Share Posted May 9, 2003 I wouldn't suggest any other 3rd party software except the manufacture software which is light and uses DOS to copy all files. If its a Wester Digital you can grab it HereThe Downloadable Data Lifeguard Tools was written specifically for Western Digital EIDE hard drives. It can perform the following tasks on a drive: tests it for problems and errors, fixes certain errors, scans for bad sectors, and provides drive information (serial and model number). New features: Certified to work on all current WD drives (model numbers starting with "WD") Friendly user interface and easy to use GUI Interface Drive Installation Software Compatible with Promise card and driver solution for 137 GB barrier Drive to Drive copy capability with new NTFS support Fast Format Installation for 98 and MEOther software installs unnecessary items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techguy21801 Posted May 9, 2003 Share Posted May 9, 2003 or use Maxtor for maxtor drives Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike13 Posted May 9, 2003 Author Share Posted May 9, 2003 Thanks everyone for your replies. After I load the OS, and then the drivers that came with the computer from another disc, I probably only have about two hours work remaining. I really did not want to GHOST the drive, because I wanted to change the partition size that I had on the first HDD.I will probably be able to do everything one evening after work without having to switch the cables back and forth like I was asking about, but I just wanted to be sure that I could, if I wanted to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rstryker Posted May 9, 2003 Share Posted May 9, 2003 Thanks everyone for your replies. After I load the OS, and then the drivers that came with the computer from another disc, I probably only have about two hours work remaining. I really did not want to GHOST the drive, because I wanted to change the partition size that I had on the first HDD.I will probably be able to do everything one evening after work without having to switch the cables back and forth like I was asking about, but I just wanted to be sure that I could, if I wanted to.you can resize the partition even using a ghost or clone image ar even the manufaturers software Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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