replacing the hard drive

[Guest]

I want to replace my current hard drive (40 GB) with a larger one (maybe 250
GB or 300 GB). I am running XP Home. Will the file transfer wizard do this?
Or can I just copy everything (including the OS) to the new drive, then
remove the old drive?

 

[M and D]

The new drive will come with complete instructions and all the software you need.

Steven

 

[Anna]

I want to replace my current hard drive (40 GB) with a larger one (maybe
250
GB or 300 GB). I am running XP Home. Will the file transfer wizard do
this?
Or can I just copy everything (including the OS) to the new drive, then
remove the old drive?

The new drive will come with complete instructions and all the software you
need.

Steven


nova(etc.):
Steven is referring to a "disk cloning" utility that's (usually) included
with a retail, boxed version of a new HD that you purchase. You'll use this
utility to clone the contents of your old drive to the new one so that your
new HD will be, for all practical purposes, a duplicate of the old drive,
including the operating system, registry settings, all programs &
applications, etc. The file transfer wizard of which you speak will not copy
over the OS.

If you purchase an OEM version (bare drive) of the HD, it will ordinarily
not come with this disk cloning utility, but it's usually available for
download from the drive's manufacturer.
Anna

 

[Og]

1. Does your Motherboard's BIOS support drives that large?
2. If not, does the manufacturer have a BIOS upgrade that will enable
support for drives that large?

If the answer to #1 and #2 is "NO", then you will have to use a drive
overlay as supplied by the hard drive manufacturer. Drive overlays are
designed to fool your computer's BIOS into thinking that is a smaller size
that the BIOS will support. Some (perhaps many) people (myself included)
recommend against the use of overlays.

3. Win XP supports drives that large IF you have installed Service Pack
2.

4. If you use FAST: Run the utility from your old drive to copy files
and settings. Remove your old drive, install your new drive, install an
Operating System to the new drive, and install all of your programs to your
new drive. Then run FAST on the new drive to transfer files and setting to
the new drive.

5. Rather than using Files and Settings Transfer Wizard (FAST), you would
be better served (as others have suggested) by the Disk Cloning software
that comes with your hard drive, or is available for download from the drive
manufacturer's web site.

Good luck,
steve

 

[Anna]

1. Does your Motherboard's BIOS support drives that large?
2. If not, does the manufacturer have a BIOS upgrade that will enable
support for drives that large?

If the answer to #1 and #2 is "NO", then you will have to use a drive
overlay as supplied by the hard drive manufacturer. Drive overlays are
designed to fool your computer's BIOS into thinking that is a smaller size
that the BIOS will support. Some (perhaps many) people (myself included)
recommend against the use of overlays.

3. Win XP supports drives that large IF you have installed Service Pack
2.

4. If you use FAST: Run the utility from your old drive to copy files
and settings. Remove your old drive, install your new drive, install an
Operating System to the new drive, and install all of your programs to
your new drive. Then run FAST on the new drive to transfer files and
setting to the new drive.

5. Rather than using Files and Settings Transfer Wizard (FAST), you
would be better served (as others have suggested) by the Disk Cloning
software that comes with your hard drive, or is available for download
from the drive manufacturer's web site.

Good luck,
steve

Steve's comments re the possibility of your system not supporting
large-capacity drives > 137 GB are indeed pertinent. Hopefully, 1.your
motherboard's BIOS supports those large-capacity drives - virtually every
motherboard manufactured over the past four years or so does provide that
capability, and as Steve mentions, a BIOS upgrade is frequently available
from the manufacturer for older boards. And 2., hopefully your XP OS
includes SP1 and/or SP2. Those are the two requirements for the XP OS to
recognize the full capacity of those large drives.

But should your system *not* support large-capacity disks, I would take
issue with Steve's recommendation that you (or anyone else!) use the hard
drive's manufacturer's "drive overlay" program to provide this capability.
Simply stated, those programs are curses, especially so in an XP
environment. For a variety of reasons, they are virtually sure to cause you
trouble by & by. I would strongly advise you *not* to use a drive overlay
program to provide large-disk capability. You would be better served by
(best) purchasing a new motherboard or, if that's impractical, purchasing a
PCI controller card that provides large-disk capability, e.g., the Promise
Ultra133 TX2 which retails for about $35. Controller cards such as this are
simple to install and are effective.
Anna

..

 

[Og]

Anna:

A little tired when we read my post were we? )

My friends are always telling me that I do not need to put "too much Tact"
on my list of Character Defects. In my first ever effort to try that thing
called "Tact", I wrote:

"Some (perhaps many) people (myself included) recommend
against..."

"Recommend against" is hardly an endorsement of Drive Overlays.

steve

 

[Anna]

Anna:

A little tired when we read my post were we? )

My friends are always telling me that I do not need to put "too much
Tact" on my list of Character Defects. In my first ever effort to try that
thing called "Tact", I wrote:

"Some (perhaps many) people (myself included) recommend
against..."

"Recommend against" is hardly an endorsement of Drive Overlays.

steve

Steve:
I really can't tell from your last posting (above) whether you agree or
disagree with my opinion concerning so-called "drive overlay" programs, so
let me reiterate my previous comments re these type of programs.

I strongly recommend against the use of these drive overlay programs to get
around the large-disk barrier involving disks > 137 GB. The problem with
these programs is because they introduce proprietary non-standard
modifications to the user's system affecting the MBR in one form or another,
they are nearly sure to rise up and "bite" the user the next time that disk
is partitioned and/or formatted or a fresh or repair install of XP is
undertaken. Speak to computer repair technicians and you will find that
many, if not most, of them who have worked on computers over the years have
come to loathe these drive overlay programs. We continually run into
problems of one sort or another resulting from these programs and it's the
devil to diagnose them. More times than not, the only viable option is to
"zero-fill" the drive and reformat the disk in order to get a working hard
drive. Simply stated, in my opinion, these drive overlay programs have no
place in an XP environment.

As previously pointed out, there are two basic requirements for the XP OS to
recognize the full capacity of drives > 137 GB...

1. The motherboard's BIOS must support large-capacity disks, and,
2. The XP OS includes SP1 and/or SP2

Virtually every motherboard that I'm aware of manufactured over the past
four years (approx) supports these large-capacity drives. And if the user is
working with an older board there's frequently a BIOS upgrade from the
manuf. that will provide this support.

If the user is working with these large hard drives in an XP environment
with a motherboard that does not provide large-capacity disk support, I
strongly urge him or her, economic conditions permitting of course, to
purchase a new "modern" motherboard and upgrade their system. Failing that,
as I noted previously, to purchase an IDE controller card that can be easily
installed in the computer and provide large-capacity disk support.
Anna