Adding Additional Hard Drive

[System~G]

Can someone please walk (talk/write) me through adding an extra (larger) hard drive to my PC please?

I have downloaded a couple of "How-To's" and done a fair bit of reading, but the more I look at the more confused I get So I need an "Idiots Guide" please.

I would also like to eventually transfer my OS across to the new drive and use the old drive as extra emergency space. I don't have the original OS or Boot disk for this PC, although I still have original Win98SE software (OS & boot) for my old machine, but would like to keep XP-Pro on this machine.

How long could I expect this whole process to take?

[mrrandom]

if a "how to" guide confuses u, my advice would be to get a professioanl to install it, one simple mistake could **** up your computer

[T V O R]

Here is the answer!

It’s called the ICY BOX, costs £30/£35; you put your internal hard drive into the ICY BOX and plug it in using USB2.

So effectively you have an internal hard drive externally!

Cheaper than a dedicated external type and a lot cheaper, easier to install and it’s portable.

Internal drives are dirt cheap, 200gb for about £70 plus your ICY BOX.

Review...

[jaxx]

open it up

set the hardisc as 'slave'

plug into the slave side of the harness on the original hardisc

fire it up

check bios has picked it up

and thats about it!

with the software issues id say back up your docs and wipe the old drive

then fresh install the new drive as a master and revert your old one as the slave

[GT4 BOOSTER]

take the old one out , set the new 1 to master on the jumper settings , then put it in place ,leave the old 1 out for now, reinstall xp pro from boot up ( dos mode ) once all installed set the old hard drive to slave via jumper pins and switch off the pc and install it , when you reboot pc will pick the old drive up and you're done, i doubt very much an o/s can be transfered as the hard drive needs a boot data sector.

[dj_davo]

you could slave up your new drive to the old one by plugging it into the spare connector on the hard drive cable - in the middle somewhere, and use some software like drive image to transfer your old OS across

BUT

as you claim to be not too technical this way i would recommend getting your new hard drive and swapping it for the old one. (simply swap them on the cable), then install your OS i.e windows 98 onto this fresh new drive.

once you are happy with it you will need to reinstall all your programs that you have on the other drive.

then slave up your original drive in the same way as mentioned above, saving all your new data to the old drive. you could uninstall windows from the original drive to create more space - copying your favourite files across to your new drive first, then copy them back once the original is blank.

yikes this is a simple thing, but i made it sound difficult!

good luck, i'll get my coat

EDIT: 2 more peeps jumped in with answers while i was typin this damned essay! :D

[System~G]

Sorry guys, It's not that I am technically incapable of doing the work. Every guide I read says something different. I see the same is happening here. Everyone has their own way of doing things I suppose

I did a bit more online research and found a good comprehensive guide that makes sense.

A few things:

* The original H/D is only 5gig. The new H/D is 40gig (more than enough space for what I need)

* This PC was a gift that came with now software discs

* The new H/D was also a gift.

* I have XP-Pro on this machine but no discs etc... to format and re-install XP Pro and I want to keep XP Pro on this machine.

* Manufacturers (of new H/D) says their software I have downloaded will move everything (OS and other progs) to new drive from old drive and keep old drive as extra storage if need be.

* I will install the new H/D as a slave for the time being and see how the PC runs with it installed and then at a leter date attempt to move all OS and prog files across.

* If all goes !Removed! up I will have no choice but to format and install Win98SE onto new drive - something I don't really want to do.

Wish me luck and hopefully see you'ze later when it's done

[Leeky]

Here is the answer!

It’s called the ICY BOX, costs £30/£35; you put your internal hard drive into the ICY BOX and plug it in using USB2.

So effectively you have an internal hard drive externally!

Cheaper than a dedicated external type and a lot cheaper, easier to install and it’s portable.

Internal drives are dirt cheap, 200gb for about £70 plus your ICY BOX.

Review...

←

I got one of these, problem is it slows the disk down as USB doesnt have the bandwidth :(

[System~G]

All done :D B)

Well partially done... It's currently installed as a slave drive. Will see how it gets on before I decide to transfer all OS and prog files across to the new one.

Thanks for the tips

[GT4 BOOSTER]

Sorry guys, It's not that I am technically incapable of doing the work. Every guide I read says something different. I see the same is happening here. Everyone has their own way of doing things I suppose

I did a bit more online research and found a good comprehensive guide that makes sense.

A few things:

* The original H/D is only 5gig. The new H/D is 40gig (more than enough space for what I need)

* This PC was a gift that came with now software discs

* The new H/D was also a gift.

* I have XP-Pro on this machine but no discs etc... to format and re-install XP Pro and I want to keep XP Pro on this machine.

* Manufacturers (of new H/D) says their software I have downloaded will move everything (OS and other progs) to new drive from old drive and keep old drive as extra storage if need be.

* I will install the new H/D as a slave for the time being and see how the PC runs with it installed and then at a leter date attempt to move all OS and prog files across.

* If all goes !Removed! up I will have no choice but to format and install Win98SE onto new drive - something I don't really want to do.

Wish me luck and hopefully see you'ze later when it's done

←

if on broadband win xp pro is readilly available to download , failing this pm me your adress and i can send you a copy in the post .

[Leeky]

Dunno if this helps but thought i'd mention it. Easy way to shift an OS from one drive to another without using 3rd party software or anything is as follows -

Open command prompt

type -

xcopy c:\*.* d:\ /e/c/i/h/r/y

(assuming c: is your current os drive and d: is the new drive)

(also if using win98 at the moment type xcopy32 instead of just xcopy)

after all files have been transfered type -

sys d:

this transfers any system files which were not copied before

Now you should be able to remove the old hdd and make this new one the master :hokus-pokus:

[System~G]

if on broadband win xp pro is readilly available to download , failing this pm me your adress and i can send you a copy in the post .

←

Cheers dude Still on dial up... I have found out a mate just down the road has XP he doesn't mind letting me use (worst case scenario). My girlfriend (Nicola) also has XP, but she refuses to let me use it and keeps going on about piracy laws

Dunno if this helps but thought i'd mention it. Easy way to shift an OS from one drive to another without using 3rd party software or anything is as follows -

Open command prompt

type -

xcopy c:\*.* d:\ /e/c/i/h/r/y

(assuming c: is your current os drive and d: is the new drive)

(also if using win98 at the moment type xcopy32 instead of just xcopy)

after all files have been transfered type -

sys d:

this transfers any system files which were not copied before 

Now you should be able to remove the old hdd and make this new one the master  :hokus-pokus:

←

Cheers dude I'll keep this one in mind

I don't know why I was getting so worried about fitting a new H/D, it really was so easy Here I am tinkering with thousands of £££ worth of motors on a regular basis, but too worried about a £20 H/D