Need Advice for Replacing a Harddrive

TGx · Nov 14, 2004, 09:54 AM

I currently have a Maxtor 6Y16OPO Ultra ATA Hard drive that I have been having some problems with, I finally ran PowerMax on it after getting some floppy disks and apparently it is failing. I am looking at the new Seagate Barracude 200GB drive as a replacement. If there is something wrong on my HD, is it bad to transfre data to backup... can I transfer the corruptions or cause problems by transferring some data that could be corrupt?

Also, what is the best strategy for doing this, installing the second drive while the first is still isntalled and using some Windows based software to copy files to it?

Thanks a lot, I am very confused, any advice, even some I have not specifically asked for would be great!

Thanks in advance!

TGX

Nacht · Nov 14, 2004, 10:05 AM

that all depends...are you wanting to ghost your current install or just wanting to save stuff you've downloaded and such?

i would recommend a full re-format, and just copy over all the old files that you want. to do this, install your new HDD and reformat windows onto it. after you startup with your new windows, copy all of your old files and then just remove your old HDD. you should be set to go from that.

TGx · Nov 14, 2004, 10:29 AM

Ok, thanks a lot, I will do that. Do you have any suggestions for HD cooling, is this normally why they fail?

~~HawK~~ · Nov 14, 2004, 11:50 AM

you may wan't to look at this post to thouroghly check your HD lot of utils on the bootable CD to do just that. burn it with a low speed (max 8x) though, to make sure it stays bootable

Nacht · Nov 14, 2004, 04:53 PM

Personally, I've never had a HDD directly fail on me, nor had one really "Overheat". They have always seemed way cooler and less "heat prone" than many other devices in the computer. However, in my new case there is a 80mm intake on the front of it, and my HDD a little above and below it, so they stay relatively cool due to the fan. The most common cause of failure IMO would probably be overworking the drive (Alot of data, never defragment, move stuff around alot).

Judas · Nov 14, 2004, 05:53 PM

IMO, best way to do it..

buy your new HD.... Move User Specific files on your old one (such as files in MY Documents/Favorites/E-mail, things that you would need to actually load windows up on that drive to get full access too) to were they can be accessed without being denied..... pull the old one out completely.. install the new one.... leaving the old one out..

Setup the partitions the way you want.... and then format and install windows..... update it.... install nessary drivers... you name it...

Shutdown and install the old hardrive as a SLAVE on the same IDE as your CD-ROM drive.. (don't put it on the same cable as your new hardrive)

You DON'T technically have to screw it all in and everything... just let it sit somewere that you won't have to worry about it... either slide it in and connect the cables and don't worry about it... or i've even gone as far as just setting it on my desk and connection the cables to it..... which ever works for you (just DON'T disconnect your cd rom... technically not a must, but recommended to keep possible problems from serfaceing)

fire up your system, boot into windows and the new drive should emerge.... copy over what you want.......

Vampyromaniac · Nov 14, 2004, 06:06 PM

If it were me, I'd connect the new drive as slave, and use PartitionMagic to copy the entire old drive to the new one, then take out the old drive and connect the new one as master.

Or, if you want, you can make 2 partitions on the new drive, one for installing Windows, and the other to copy the old drive's contents to (depending on how much data you have.) Then connect the new drive as master, install Windows on it, and when you're done, copy over whatever you need from the partition with the old drive's contents in it, then finally delete that partition. (I'd do it this way just to get the old drive out of the system faster, and then can take your time picking stuff out of the partition with the old data.)

swimtech · Nov 15, 2004, 02:41 AM

I more or less use Vampy's method too, but only do that if you really want to use your computer exactly like you already do AND you have no problems running any of your software AND you're sure you don't have any viruses.

Your choice of drive is a solid one - they're not the absolute fastest, but the Seagates of late are very reliable, very quiet, have a great (5 years!) warranty, and run fairly cool in comparison to other brands.

Granted, the purchase of Partitionmagic is 50-70 dollars, but you will likely appreciate the flexibility it gives you in managing your drive(s) without consuming your time and your data to fdisk and format procedures, then reinstallations of all applications.

PangingJr · Nov 15, 2004, 06:52 AM

there're so many ways to do this, really.
but i'd not ghost anything from the OLD HDD to the NEW one in this case,
i'd do something like Vampy said too..
actually, all of the above comments are good and helpful.

make sure that there's no virus or virus-like on the old HDD and all of its files.

connect the new HDD as anything you like just leave the old HDD as boot drive,
turn on your PC and boot to Windows, then use win XP's disk management to partition the new HDD,
for the new 200 GB HDD, i'd partition it to 4 partitions.
20 / 60 / 60 / 60 (aprox numbers),
format and reboot, then COPY all the files that you want to save and/or you like to use it, from the old HDD to the new HDD using space in the 3/60 GB.

Vampy has talked about the Partition Magic software, it's an easy to use program and i'll use it.
shutdown and turn off your PC, disconnect (remove) the old HDD from your system,
reset the new HDD jumper to master, then connect this new HDD as boot drive,
turn on your PC, go to the bios seeting, reset it to boot from floppy drive,
place the Partition Magic rescue disk in your floppy drive and reboot your PC,
then use the Partition Magic to convert the 20 GB. from logical drive (partition) to PRIMARY partition, format the partitiom using NTFS, set ACTIVE to this partition.

then reboot and reset your bios to boot from CD-ROM drive, put in the win XP CD and reboot, when the setup program asks you to select partition to use for setting up, you select this 20 GB. partition and choose to format it again, continue to finish the setup.

-------------------------

once you sure that all the files you needed are all in the new 200 GB,
erase everything in the old HDD, do it in Dos,
reset your bios and connect the old HDD again, boot your PC with the Partition Magic rescue disk and use it to delete every partitions on the disk,
be sure to select the right disk/partition with the program, and try to create a new partition (logical drive) using the whole HDD space and format this partition, reboot your PC, once the Windows detects and assigns drive letter (just reboot whenever it asks you to) re-format this partition again within Windows using Windows's disk management before using this partition. this is in the case you like to try to use the old HDD as a storage disk/partitions. and see how's it goes..

---------------------------

TGx · Nov 16, 2004, 08:33 PM

Thanks for all your help. I am now confident I now how to install it, but I am deciding on a Seagate, I don't know what to do as far as speed or size, do you think 2 7200 or 1 Big 7200 or should I make the jump to SATA?

I really appreciate all your guys quick help and suggestions!

pr0digal jenius · Nov 16, 2004, 10:03 PM

SATA offers no speed improvements, but is more future proof, as well as imporving airflow/reducing cable clutter

As for one or 2 drives, if you have 2 you mgiht can run RAID if your board supports it, if not, it's up to you as a preference thign in most cases

MiDKnYtE · Nov 16, 2004, 10:25 PM

if you're unsure about replacing a drive, I don't recommend you go with RAID0 just yet. it has NO FAULT TOLERANCE and only improves performance in specific situations. It's safer to just use single drives.

pr0digal jenius · Nov 16, 2004, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MiDKnYtE

if you're unsure about replacing a drive, I don't recommend you go with RAID0 just yet. it has NO FAULT TOLERANCE and only improves performance in specific situations. It's safer to just use single drives.

very true. But if size isn't a problem for him, he coudl get 2 medium sized drives and go RAID 1 and have a mirror drive

swimtech · Nov 17, 2004, 02:50 PM

Does your mainboard even support SATA? If not, I would go with 160G single PATA drive - fast, reliable, simple. The 160G size is at a nice price point right now...

If your mainboard does support SATA - for the future - you should consider buying a drive with that interface. It allows for more flexibility in drive configuration possibilities down the road.

TGx · Nov 17, 2004, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swimtech

Does your mainboard even support SATA? If not, I would go with 160G single PATA drive - fast, reliable, simple. The 160G size is at a nice price point right now...

If your mainboard does support SATA - for the future - you should consider buying a drive with that interface. It allows for more flexibility in drive configuration possibilities down the road.

I have a Gigabyte GA-8KNXP, I went to the website it says I have:

1. Silicon Image Serial ATA chip
2. 4 x Serial ATA connectors

So I could go Serial ATA, but apparently there is not much benefit right now... and it is more expensive?

swimtech · Nov 17, 2004, 07:07 PM

Yes, it appears that Serial ATA drives are $10-20 more expensive per unit, which is about 15%.

Nov 14, 2004, 09:54 AM	#1
TGx DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6 Rep Power: 0	Need Advice for Replacing a Harddrive I currently have a Maxtor 6Y16OPO Ultra ATA Hard drive that I have been having some problems with, I finally ran PowerMax on it after getting some floppy disks and apparently it is failing. I am looking at the new Seagate Barracude 200GB drive as a replacement. If there is something wrong on my HD, is it bad to transfre data to backup... can I transfer the corruptions or cause problems by transferring some data that could be corrupt? Also, what is the best strategy for doing this, installing the second drive while the first is still isntalled and using some Windows based software to copy files to it? Thanks a lot, I am very confused, any advice, even some I have not specifically asked for would be great! Thanks in advance! TGX

Nov 14, 2004, 06:06 PM	#7
Vampyromaniac confutatis maledictis Join Date: May 2002 Location: somewhere dark Posts: 5,974 Rep Power: 77 System Specs	If it were me, I'd connect the new drive as slave, and use PartitionMagic to copy the entire old drive to the new one, then take out the old drive and connect the new one as master. Or, if you want, you can make 2 partitions on the new drive, one for installing Windows, and the other to copy the old drive's contents to (depending on how much data you have.) Then connect the new drive as master, install Windows on it, and when you're done, copy over whatever you need from the partition with the old drive's contents in it, then finally delete that partition. (I'd do it this way just to get the old drive out of the system faster, and then can take your time picking stuff out of the partition with the old data.) __________________ *Digitalis 3.3* Athlon 64 3000 // ASUS K8V SE Deluxe // 1024MB PC3200 (2-2-2-10 1T) ATI All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro // 20" Dell 2005FPW (DVI) M-Audio Revo 7.1 + Philips Acoustic Edge // Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 320/16 Western Digital WD3200KS + 120/8 Seagate 7200.7 NEC ND-3550A 16x DVD±RW + Lite-On 52x24x CD-RW Antec Sonata case // 480W Antec TruePower personal bests \|\| Aq'3: 46796 \| 3D'01: 20461 \| 3D'03: 6336 \| 3D'05: 2677 \| PC'04: 4605 \| PC'02: 7691,9092,1250

Nov 15, 2004, 02:41 AM	#8
swimtech HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,040 Rep Power: 124 System Specs	I more or less use Vampy's method too, but only do that if you really want to use your computer exactly like you already do AND you have no problems running any of your software AND you're sure you don't have any viruses. Your choice of drive is a solid one - they're not the absolute fastest, but the Seagates of late are very reliable, very quiet, have a great (5 years!) warranty, and run fairly cool in comparison to other brands. Granted, the purchase of Partitionmagic is 50-70 dollars, but you will likely appreciate the flexibility it gives you in managing your drive(s) without consuming your time and your data to fdisk and format procedures, then reinstallations of all applications. __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

Nov 15, 2004, 06:52 AM	#9
PangingJr Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 5,989 Rep Power: 71	there're so many ways to do this, really. but i'd not ghost anything from the OLD HDD to the NEW one in this case, i'd do something like Vampy said too.. actually, all of the above comments are good and helpful. make sure that there's no virus or virus-like on the old HDD and all of its files. connect the new HDD as anything you like just leave the old HDD as boot drive, turn on your PC and boot to Windows, then use win XP's disk management to partition the new HDD, for the new 200 GB HDD, i'd partition it to 4 partitions. 20 / 60 / 60 / 60 (aprox numbers), format and reboot, then COPY all the files that you want to save and/or you like to use it, from the old HDD to the new HDD using space in the 3/60 GB. Vampy has talked about the Partition Magic software, it's an easy to use program and i'll use it. shutdown and turn off your PC, disconnect (remove) the old HDD from your system, reset the new HDD jumper to master, then connect this new HDD as boot drive, turn on your PC, go to the bios seeting, reset it to boot from floppy drive, place the Partition Magic rescue disk in your floppy drive and reboot your PC, then use the Partition Magic to convert the 20 GB. from logical drive (partition) to PRIMARY partition, format the partitiom using NTFS, set ACTIVE to this partition. then reboot and reset your bios to boot from CD-ROM drive, put in the win XP CD and reboot, when the setup program asks you to select partition to use for setting up, you select this 20 GB. partition and choose to format it again, continue to finish the setup. ------------------------- once you sure that all the files you needed are all in the new 200 GB, erase everything in the old HDD, do it in Dos, reset your bios and connect the old HDD again, boot your PC with the Partition Magic rescue disk and use it to delete every partitions on the disk, be sure to select the right disk/partition with the program, and try to create a new partition (logical drive) using the whole HDD space and format this partition, reboot your PC, once the Windows detects and assigns drive letter (just reboot whenever it asks you to) re-format this partition again within Windows using Windows's disk management before using this partition. this is in the case you like to try to use the old HDD as a storage disk/partitions. and see how's it goes.. --------------------------- Last edited by Ctrl-Alt-Del; Nov 15, 2004 at 08:04 AM.

Nov 17, 2004, 02:50 PM	#14
swimtech HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,040 Rep Power: 124 System Specs	Does your mainboard even support SATA? If not, I would go with 160G single PATA drive - fast, reliable, simple. The 160G size is at a nice price point right now... If your mainboard does support SATA - for the future - you should consider buying a drive with that interface. It allows for more flexibility in drive configuration possibilities down the road. __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

Nov 14, 2004, 10:05 AM	#2
Nacht ein Krieger Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Clemson Uni Posts: 3,127 Rep Power: 0	that all depends...are you wanting to ghost your current install or just wanting to save stuff you've downloaded and such? i would recommend a full re-format, and just copy over all the old files that you want. to do this, install your new HDD and reformat windows onto it. after you startup with your new windows, copy all of your old files and then just remove your old HDD. you should be set to go from that.

Nov 14, 2004, 10:29 AM	Thread Starter #3
TGx DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6 Rep Power: 0	Ok, thanks a lot, I will do that. Do you have any suggestions for HD cooling, is this normally why they fail?

Nov 14, 2004, 11:50 AM	#4
~~HawK~~ Banned Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 2,092 Rep Power: 0	you may wan't to look at this post to thouroghly check your HD lot of utils on the bootable CD to do just that. burn it with a low speed (max 8x) though, to make sure it stays bootable

Nov 14, 2004, 04:53 PM	#5
Nacht ein Krieger Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Clemson Uni Posts: 3,127 Rep Power: 0	Personally, I've never had a HDD directly fail on me, nor had one really "Overheat". They have always seemed way cooler and less "heat prone" than many other devices in the computer. However, in my new case there is a 80mm intake on the front of it, and my HDD a little above and below it, so they stay relatively cool due to the fan. The most common cause of failure IMO would probably be overworking the drive (Alot of data, never defragment, move stuff around alot).

Nov 16, 2004, 08:33 PM	Thread Starter #10
TGx DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6 Rep Power: 0	Thanks for all your help. I am now confident I now how to install it, but I am deciding on a Seagate, I don't know what to do as far as speed or size, do you think 2 7200 or 1 Big 7200 or should I make the jump to SATA? I really appreciate all your guys quick help and suggestions!

Nov 16, 2004, 10:03 PM	#11
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	SATA offers no speed improvements, but is more future proof, as well as imporving airflow/reducing cable clutter As for one or 2 drives, if you have 2 you mgiht can run RAID if your board supports it, if not, it's up to you as a preference thign in most cases

Nov 16, 2004, 10:25 PM	#12
MiDKnYtE Caffeine Machine Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Hell is empty. All the devils are here. Posts: 670 Rep Power: 0	if you're unsure about replacing a drive, I don't recommend you go with RAID0 just yet. it has NO FAULT TOLERANCE and only improves performance in specific situations. It's safer to just use single drives.

Nov 17, 2004, 07:07 PM	#16
swimtech HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,040 Rep Power: 124 System Specs	Yes, it appears that Serial ATA drives are $10-20 more expensive per unit, which is about 15%. __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.