Help replace hard drive

[Guest]

About a year and a half ago, I bought a "TIGER" desk top
from CompUSA. The hard drive was only 5400 rpm so I
bought a Western Digital 40 GB 7200 rpm HD as an upgrade.
I am trying to replace my existing 40 gb hard drive
(Samsung 40 GB 5400 rpm) to a newer and faster HD
(Western Digital 40 GB 7200 rpm). Using the Data
Lifeguard application I downloaded from Western Digital
webpage, I did a drive-to-drive copy of my existing HD
image to the new HD but I couldn't get it to boot. Using
Data Lifeguard application I did a "make HD a bootable HD"
command and after it set up 2 partitions (my existing HD
is partition into C: OS and D: drive annotated
as "DISE_BACKUP") and it recopied the existing image from
my old HD (C: & D: drives) into the new HD. I shutdown the
PC and then set the new HD jumper to Primary Master and
disconnected the old HD. I restarted my PC and checked
the bios settings and it looked good (it recognized the
new HD and had it listed as my Primary Master.), but after
exiting the BIOS, I tried to boot up but only got as far
as the first Windows Screen. After the new HD spun a few
times and it seemed that it was going to boot-up, nothing
happened.

I decided to use an alternate method, so I restarted my
PC with the XP CDROM to try to use it to assist the boot
up, but after it ask me if I wanted to boot up using the
XP CD and responding with a "yes", the HD spun a few times
but nothing happened !! Maybe what I'm trying to do
requires a program or technique that I am not aware
of.

NOTE: I'm not well versed in PC technology but can learn
fast. I'm a Engineering Technician (old Navy guy) by
trade and wish to learn. I know some of the basics and
them some, so any assistance would be appreciated. I
could take my PC to the local PC repair shop, but, not
only do I want to avoid the cost, I also want to use my PC
as a learning tool. I'm fascinated with the technology
and wish to expand my knowledge base.


What do I need to do, besides reloading XP and reloading
all my applications and data (I have 50% of my existing HD
capacity loaded) into the new HD. I use my PC mainly for
messing around with a bunch of photos of family and grand
kids (using "Photo Shop") so you can understand why I have
so much of my HD capacity used up.

I plan (if I can get it to work) to use my new HD (Western
Digital 40 GB 7200 rpm) as my new OS and re-format my old
40 gb hard drive (Samsung 40 GB 5400 rpm) as a data
storage unit. Maybe I should reformat my new HD and
start over again; but I need to know how to proceed the
correct way so that I can succeed. I haven't looked into
using a 3rd party program but maybe there is some
shareware out there (besides Western Digital Data
Lifeguard program) that would help. Thanks ! !

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Anonymous.

Without trying to follow your entire discussion, I'll skip to this line in
your final paragraph:

Maybe I should reformat my new HD and
start over again; but I need to know how to proceed the
correct way so that I can succeed.

If that's what you want to do, then just unplug your old HD and leave it
unplugged until after WinXP is installed on your new HD. Plug in the new HD
as primary master; set your computer to boot from CD; insert the WinXP
CD-ROM. Boot up and let WinXP Setup partition and format your new HD and
install WinXP on it. Be sure to specify how large you want your new Drive
C: to be; otherwise, Setup will probably use the entire HD, leaving you no
room for a second partition. If you want WinXP to be installed in Drive C:,
don't create any other partitions at this point; you can do that after WinXP
is installed, using Disk Management. Then shut down, install your old HD as
slave or secondary (check all the jumpers and cables) and reboot.

Every time the computer reboots, it detects the existing hardware and, among
other things, assigns "drive" letters according to what it finds installed
at the time. It has no memory of what HDs were there yesterday or this
morning; it starts from scratch again, so what was D: before might be E:
now. Then WinXP loads and might REassign drive letters based on its own
rules. But if we explicitly assign letters, using Disk Management, then
WinXP will attempt to use those letters each time it reboots. So, use Disk
Management to be sure your old HD is recognized, and that you know which
letters are assigned to the volumes on that HD - and change them if you
like. Also use Disk Management to create the second partition on your new
HD (if you want to), assign it a drive letter (D:?) and format it.

Since you are installing WinXP "clean" on your new HD, you will have to
install all your applications again, but they should be able to access their
data on your old HD.

I use my PC mainly for
messing around with a bunch of photos of family and grand
kids (using "Photo Shop") so you can understand why I have
so much of my HD capacity used up.

Yep, I've got a lot of pictures of my only grandchild, too. ;<) Where you
go next depends on your own likes and dislikes. You can copy all your data
from your old HD to your new D: (if there's room), then delete the existing
partitions on the old HD, and then create and format one or more new
volumes. But that's up to you. After you browse to them the first time,
PhotoShop will remember where your pictures are - until you move them and
help PS find them again.

RC

 

[PeteB]

Take a look at another thread in this forum nine below
your. Title is hard drive replacement.

I just did something very like what you want to do. I had
a cockpit problem the first time. Spoke with WD tech
Support via phone. They basically told me to download
their utility that wipes the new drive to zeroes and start
over. I did. Worked smoothly following their procedure.

So I'd either download their utility to wipe the new drive
and try again or call WD tech support to discuss with them.

 

[no_one]

You also need to know that WD drives usually need to have a slave drive
physically present when they are set to master. I have been caught by this
a number of times when I tried to do what you are doing.

 

[Ken S]

There is a product that you might be able to download a
trial version which will move all of your existing data,
programs and settings to the new HD. It is called Detto
Intellimover. I have never used it but it says it will do
what I just described.

As far as hooking up the drives. I always use the CS
(Cable Select) jumper setting when doing any HD installs
or swaps. That way you do not have to know what the other
drive is, unless it is not set to CS itself. What CS does
is it as long as you have it set to CS, you can plug it
into either places on your ribbon cable and where you plug
it in will decide if its a primary or secondary. If you
plug it into the end of your ribbon cable its primary and
the middle its secondary. That way if you follow this
logic and set all your drives this way, you never need to
check or change their jumpers.

 

[Ken S]

There is a product that you might be able to download a
trial version which will move all of your existing data,
programs and settings to the new HD. It is called Detto
Intellimover. I have never used it but it says it will do
what I just described.

As far as hooking up the drives. I always use the CS
(Cable Select) jumper setting when doing any HD installs
or swaps. That way you do not have to know what the other
drive is, unless it is not set to CS itself. What CS does
is it as long as you have it set to CS, you can plug it
into either places on your ribbon cable and where you plug
it in will decide if its a primary or secondary. If you
plug it into the end of your ribbon cable its primary and
the middle its secondary. That way if you follow this
logic and set all your drives this way, you never need to
check or change their jumpers.