transferring files from old hard drive to new one

[Guest]

I had a e machine that the motherboard and power supply went bad. We bought a
new cpu with windows xp Version 2002, service pack 2. 2.66 ghz, 40gb hd, 128
mb. We were told at the electronics store that we could add our old hard
drive of 2.30 ghz, 80 gb. I did not want to lose my old files and have to
reinstall everything. We added the old drive as the slave. The guy told us
the computer would use the windows xp from the new drive and our programs and
files would come up from the old drive. This did not happen and the system
did not assign a drive letter for the old drive. Can anyone help me with
this. ty

 

[Martmcd]

Start>Run type diskmgmt.msc and tell us if the disk is listed in there.
you may also want to check the jumpers on the drive, make sure that it is
set as a slave.
check in the bios that it has been recognised.

Good Luck
Martin

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

Marcy

Point number one.. you didn't buy a CPU, you bought a computer.. the
CentralProcessingUnit is the chip inside that gives life to a computer..

OK.. when you add a drive as a slave, the computer has to have some way of
recognising that it is not the boot drive.. on the back of each drive is a
series of pins, two of which can be connected at any one time.. depending
upon the position of the small plastic 'jumper', the drive will be seen as
the boot drive or a second 'slave' drive..

When the second drive was fitted, did you ensure that the jumper was set
correctly?.. if using master/slave configuration, did you ensure that the
master 'boot' drive was on the END of the cable, the slave being fitted to
the MIDDLE connector on the IDE cable?.. Western Digital drives have jumper
settings for standalone and when used in a dual/master setup.. check all of
this out..

Also, some motherboards require that you enter the computer BIOS to register
the extra hardware.. have you done this?..

Finally, any programs installed on the 'slave' drive are unlikely to work as
programs , when installed, place all kinds of entries into the WORKING
operating system.. your operating system on the new drive will not be aware
of existence of any programs or the various elements required to run them..

Life will be way easier for you if you have the original installation media
for all of your software other than the operating system.. by original
installation media, I make no reference to manufacturer 'recovery' CD's,
which probably (99.99%) would not work on your new system..

You will be able to recover e-mail and other user generated files after you
get the system to recognise the old drive as a slave.. go to the hard drive
manufacturer website for jumper details, and if you are unsure of the drive
make and model, go to http://www.lavalys.com and download and run Everest
Home edition to get the info you require on hardware make and model..

 

[Guest]

Both disks are listed in diskmgmt.msc. The new one shows in C drive and is
disk 0 and status is heathy (system). the old hard drive is listed as Disk 1,
no drive letter listed and status is Healthy (Active). The jumper on the old
drive is set as a slave, the new drive has two jumpers on it, one set in the
first slot for primary, then there is a empty slot and then another jumper. I
checked the biosand don't know enough to know if everything is set right. It
does list both hard drives but don't know what else to look for. I am hoping
not to have to take this in to repair as I am on disability and really
appreciate you trying to help me. Any suggestions on what to do next. What
setting should I be checking on in the bios.
The yellow cable for the drives can only hook up one way for the slave and
primary. I had called the electronics store and they said that was ok
because it does not state slave or primary on the cable itself, like our old
cables did. Hope I am making sense

 

[Guest]

thank you Martin and Mike. I hope you both continue to help me. I did check
everything and have responded to what I have done so far. thanks again

 

[Richard in AZ]

You need the exact pin setting for each drive. You MASTER drive may have
setting for "master only", "master with slave" or "cable select" You
SLAVE drive must have the pins set for "Slave" or for "Cable Select" If
cable select is used, the Master drive must be on the end connector and the
Slave drive on the middle connector. If you use the pin setting for Master
and for Slave, the location on the cable is not important. The correct pin
setting will be printed on the drive label, but that means pulling both
drives out of the machine. You can also go to the drive manufacturer's web
site and get the pin configuration for your model number.

No, your programs on the old drive will not run!! They all have to be
re-installed as there are critical files placed on the Master drive system
folders and the "registry" on the master drive has to be changed. The
program installation makes these changes. You documents and data files will
be readable off the old drive, but you will have to import your mail and
address book into the new computer drive.

 

[Richard in AZ]

The clerk at the electronics store is a jerk and told you wrong. Follow
the help you are getting here.

 

[Guest]

thank you so much. Tomorrow my husband is going to help me verify the pin
settings on both hard drives. I appreciate all the help everyone is giving
me. I will write more on this when we verify the pin settings.

Thanks again to all three of you guys. It is great to have a place to go.
My husband agrees with you about the clerk and has told me that from the
beginning.

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

Marcy

Just for interests sake, what was the name of the store where the clerk fed
you this crap?..

 

[Guest]

Mike, The name of the store is Fry's Electronics in Az. I just downloaded
Everest Home Edition and got the names of both harddrives. Now I am going to
have my husband help me check out the jumpers.
I will keep all informed

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

Marcy

Fry's is a great name for a computer store.. is that what they do to them?..