Dudley said:
I have a very old (1998) desktop which I hardly ever use anymore. Still,
I want to transfer the system and programs from a 20 GB HD to a 160 GB
HD. Can someone point me to good online instructions on how to do so?
Also, instructions on finding out whether my existing hardware/software
can handle the size and speed (7200)of the new HD.
Thanks.
WinXP 2002 SP3, Intel Celeron 334 MHz, 256 MB RAM
The general point at which IDE interfaces supported >137GB, was
hardware from the year 2003 (or more modern). The SP3 service pack,
provides the support from the OS side, but there are still hardware
issues to consider.
*******
So you might want to check whether your hardware supports 48 bit LBA or
not first. In a limited number of cases, there is information online
about whether it's true or not. (Note - do *not* pay some joker,
for a 48 bit LBA checking program... Waste of money.)
(Really old motherboards... 32GB limited designs, patched around.)
http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/J.Steunebrink/k6plus.htm
(Some old Asus motherboards, and 32/64/128GiB limits. 128GiB = 137GB decimal
"Uber 128GB" means "Up to 137GB drive, as specified by manufacturer".)
http://web.archive.org/web/20100502040645/http://rma.asus.de/support/FAQ/faq076_32gb_ide_hdd.htm
(The magic of the year 2003. >137GB support after that date. Selective
support via BIOS update.)
http://support.asus.com.tw/technicaldocuments/technicaldocuments_content.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&NO=501
(The Seagate doc, is no longer on their site, but is available from the archive.
This is good for understanding your options, including adding a PCI IDE card.
I had to read this document *many times*, before it gradually began to make
sense. They try to overwhelm you with info.)
http://web.archive.org/web/20070121085230/http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/disc/tp/137gb.pdf
*******
One fix for that, is to purchase an IDE controller card. Such as the
(now extinct) Promise Ultra133 TX2 card. There are still PCI IDE cards
for sale, but you should read the reviews to determine how easy they are
to use. If they're ATA6 standard or later, then they handle 48bit LBA,
and drives of >137GB capacity. A 160GB drive, is slightly larger than 137GB.
****
(This is a SIL0680 based card, 133 speed implies 48 bit LBA. Some
of these old cards, you play around with firmware... In fact, that's
endemic to adding storage cards to computers, a right PITA.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815104214
http://www.koutech.com/proddetail.asp?linenumber=105
****
(This one is VT6421a based, and has one IDE connector. It also
has two SATA connectors. Usually, VIA has good "old OS" support,
but figuring out what driver to use, is a challenge.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815124022
The VT6421a is SATA I compliant. You can "jumper down" a SATA II drive
and connect it to the SATA port. (Seagate SATA drives have a four pin
jumper area. Force150 jumper is available there.) As I understand it,
a SATA III hard drive, may not work with those connectors, as SATA III
can only be jumpered down to SATA II (mistake), while the autodetection
bug in VIA silicon won't automatically negotiate SATA I rates. In summary,
while that card has SATA connectors, there are issues with them. VIA does
make at least one chip with that issue fixed, and there is one other poster
here, who has a table of which chips are fixed. I don't have the info.
****
You can still use a 160GB drive, even on a 137GB limited system.
What you'd do, is avoid creating partitions, between the 137GB and 160GB
points. Effectively wasting a tiny bit of space at the end. That's cheaper
than having to buy a PCI IDE card as well.
*******
To use a PCI IDE card, you would:
1) Shut down, install PCI IDE card. Leave the original drive
connected to the motherboard.
2) Boot up, insert the CD that comes with the PCI IDE card.
Install a driver. Open device manager (start:run: devmgmt.msc)
and verify there are no yellow marks, and everything is happy.
Now, the OS you're about to clone, has a driver which allows
usage of the new IDE card.
3) Shut down, connect new drive to PCI IDE card connector. Set
drive to Master (or Cable Select). Connect drive to the
end connector of the cable. Boot up. Check disk management
(start:run: diskmgmt.msc) and see if a new, blank disk is present.
It may have a partition on it already, from the factory.
Delete the partition on the new disk, if you're going to clone.
4) Now, you could try Macrium Reflect Free, as I think it supports cloning.
It should be able to do that "live", while WinXP is running.
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx
Alternately, go to the Seagate or WDC sites and get a copy of
Acronis software they provide for free.
Use the software, to clone the old disk, to the new disk.
5) Important. At this point (cloning complete), you have the
old low capacity disk connected to the motherboard. And the
new high capacity disk, connected to the PCI IDE card. With
the power off, *unplug* the old IDE drive from its motherboard
connector. Now, when the computer next boots, only the new disk
is connected. Enter the BIOS, and set the boot option. As long
as the BIOS is set for INT 0x13 capture or INT 19 capture, and
has an option like "boot from SCSI", or you can see evidence
the new card and drive are seen, set the new drive as the boot option.
Boot the new disk successfully (see the WinXP desktop) at least *once*.
After this step is complete, you have freedom to connect the
old drive again and do whatever you want with it. You don't want
the new drive, to "see" the old drive, on the first bootup only.
On later bootups, it is OK for the new drive to see the old drive.
Without a new PCI IDE controller, you'd do steps 4 and 5, with the
new disk connected to an existing IDE interface. And perhaps limit
yourself to using 137GB, for safety. If you know the hardware has
no problems and can do >137GB, then do steps 4 and 5 and don't
worry about it.
HTH,
Paul
