Should I forget about adding/replacing my current HD and just use this FreeAgent Go and let my current HD die at will....whenever that might be..??

0

Pga Any HDrive could quit tomorrow. You should always have a backup plan in place. As far as the life of a drive goes it varies but the numbers usually are in the neighborhood of average mean time of 100,000 hours or more. Using your supplied time numbers you have run the drive for 29,000 hours. That is not to say it will run another 12 years, these things are unpredictable. However IMO the two things that kill HDrives are power surges and heat. To reply about Ghost. Ghost is primarily a utility to image your drive/ partition for easy restoration. You can use it to clone a drive but it is overkill to buy for just that reason. Your cooling solution may be OK even after the addition of a second HDrive. Too many variables but it sounds like you have suffiecent cooling. What type of Windows installation are you using? Pre-installed with restore disks and hidden partition? Or possibly a full version CD?

0

OtheHill... I got the Pre-installed with restore disks and hidden partition. I'm not sure about the hidden partitions but I would guess it came with the pre-installation. I'm in southwest Texas, in the summer I open the case and have a 20 inch fan blowing directly into the opening. I do this in case the A/C fails for some reason while I'm gone. In the winter the computer room stays cool. Okay....Ghost is out but should I return the FreeAgent Go and get a HD and do a HD-to-HD copy just to protect myself? Tks

0

Well backup/ imaging is largely dependent on how much you value your files. I image periodically and also backup personal files to optical disk. I feel optical disk is the most reliable of any backup media. Also very easy and cheap to create more than one copy to store possibly offsite. The USB external drive you have would work as a image/ backup target. I am not a big fan of these drives with the pre-installed backup software. However, you already have the drive so why not use it. If you archive most of what you consider to be personal files to optical disk there is no particular reason to even need more space other than allowing you more time between your burning/ wiping sessions. Some external harddrives have no on/off switch and are intended to run the entire time the PC is on. That may be what you have in the box. I am not sure the cloning software would copy any hidden partitions, if that is what you have. Not familiar with the brand of computer. What does Disk Mangement show for your storage devices? If you are not familiar with disk management: Right click on My Computer> manage> storage> disk management. Post all that shows there.

0

The Device Manager shows my HD as a: Maxtor 2F040l0 Is this what you're asking.....I also posted this data in response # 5. I don't have a Disk Management....at least I'm not able to access/find it, I have no option like this when right clicking. Here's what I get from System Info: Drive C: Description Local Fixed Disk Compressed No File System NTFS Size 38.28 GB (41,101,688,832 bytes) Free Space 22.43 GB (24,082,251,776 bytes) Volume Name Volume Serial Number CC37E8D9 Description Disk drive Manufacturer (Standard disk drives) Model Maxtor 2F040L0 Bytes/Sector 512 Media Loaded Yes Media Type Fixed hard disk media Partitions 1 SCSI Bus 0 SCSI Logical Unit 0 SCSI Port 0 SCSI Target ID 0 Sectors/Track 63 Size 38.29 GB (41,109,949,440 bytes) Total Cylinders 4,998 Total Sectors 80,292,870 Total Tracks 1,274,490 Tracks/Cylinder 255 Partition Disk #0, Partition #0 Partition Size 38.28 GB (41,101,691,904 bytes) Partition Starting Offset 32,256 bytes Description Disk drive Manufacturer (Standard disk drives) Model USB 2.0 Flash Disk USB Device Bytes/Sector 512 Media Loaded Yes Media Type Removable media other than floppy Partitions 1 SCSI Bus Not Available SCSI Logical Unit Not Available SCSI Port Not Available SCSI Target ID Not Available Sectors/Track 63 Size 243.17 MB (254,983,680 bytes) Total Cylinders 31 Total Sectors 498,015 Total Tracks 7,905 Tracks/Cylinder 255 Partition Disk #1, Partition #0 Partition Size 249.98 MB (262,127,616 bytes) Partition Starting Offset 16,384 bytes

0

You must be doing something wrong. You have to have computer management. Try going to control panel> administrative tools> computer management> storage> disk mangement.

0

Sorry..... Here's what it shows; C: Layout: Partition Type: Basic File System: NTFS Status: Healthy (System) Capacity: 38.28 GB Free Space: 22.43 GB Free: 58% Fault Tolerance: No Overhead: 0%

0

If you do have a Maxtor drive then all you need to do is use Seagate`s free Discwizard. Seagate now owns Maxtor, and all you have to do is have at least one Maxtor drive, and you should be able to use discwizard to clone your drive. It is found here. http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.j...

0

OK, if your harddrive is a 40GB it would appear to me that you DON'T have any hidden partition. What do the disk/s you have for restoring the computer look like and how many are there? I ask because I am trying to determine how you need to reinstall Windows, should the need arise.

0

I have a question on this same topic. I have a PC that is almost full and I need to install a larger hard drive. I want to copy everything over and have the computer boot up and remember all saved passwords, have all applications already installed etc. I would like for the PC to see the new hard drive just like it was the old one. Will one of those utilites do this?

0

Hoboman For best results you should start your own thread. I will state that a clone utility will do just what you want it to do. Go to the website for your harddrive brand and look for such a utility there and download it. Instructions on how to configure and perform the cloning should accompany the utility. If you have read this entire thread you see the potential issue when switching from an IDE drive to a SATA drive. If you have addition questions, please start your own thread in the hardware forum.

0

The recovery disk is as follows: Single Disk CYBERPOWER Inc Recovery CD-ROM For Distribution with a New PC Only Portions CR 1985-2001 Microsoft Corporation Windows XP Home Edition Version 2 "The software included on this Recovery CD-ROM was pre-installed on your hard drive at the factory and may only be used for backup and recovery of your Cyberpower Inc. computer system. performance of the software is the sole responsibility of Cyperpower Inc." I also have a Drivers and Utilities CD Single Disk for nVidia Chipset Mainboard Version N.04B-1R That the goods.....

0

Sorry, I'm new here. Next time I will start a new thread. Thanks,

0

PgapRanger,OtheHill If i can cut in here.... What about this scenario? ::: Open the back up drive and remove it from the case.. (get the HD manufacturer's info and go there and download the installation or set-up utillity program and burn it to floppy(assuming that he has one) Open the computer and remove the old harddrive. Install the new (160) in place of the old one....slave the old hdd to the new one and boot to the floppy set-up disc. It will partition and clone the old drive to the new partition on the new drive... I would further suggest that the partitions be set up as 40 gig as C or main partition and then split the remaining drive into 2 more partitions set up as: Video = 60 gig music = 60 gig or remainder of drive space He can do his streaming with the original C 40 gig main partition and for those streams that he likes copy and save them to the video partition. Same thing for the music files but save to music partition. His old 40 gig drive could then be checked and formatted and used for a slave/back-up installed in the back up case that he got the 160 gig drive from. In The Matters Of Style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, Stand Like A Rock "People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid."

0

lurkswithin That sounds like a good plan except for one thing. These exterior drives are many times no name cheapos so there may not be any cloning software available. With the price of drives what they are the OP could also just leave all as is and throw in another IDE internal harddrive. Still could use the Maxtor. It is ATA133. Partition the second drive into at least two partitions and accomplich the same thing without ripping apart the USB drive.

0

Hmmm, must have wasted my time on this one, not even a reply to my contribution. Good luck.

0

Ike, the OP is still weighing their options. They may well do what you suggest. BTW, you can't get upset when folks don't reply. In todays world there may be many reasons why the OP never comes back. It is an irritant when that happens but it is part of the process.

0

To be quite honest, I didn`t suggest they do anything hardware wise, all I did was give a link to a manuf site to try to save the OP some money, why pay for Ghost, when you can get a manufactures software to do the job for you. I did notice that no one else supplied that link. I can`t get upset???? what`s with that. It`s called common courtesy when someone tries to assist to say at least "hey thanks", or that at least I noticed you tried to help. And that is probably what is wrong with this society as it presently is, not enough please, and thank you. Just my opinion, and I am sticking with it.

0

I am not disagreeing with you about anything you posted. Response #2 did suggest other free alternatives.

0

IKE, maybe the OP was too busy with the incoming info. Note: no response to HoboMan either. There have been 25 responses in this thread. There is nothing to learn from someone who already agrees with you.

0

Ike... You are due for props; Thank You Sir BTW I did rule out Ghost prior to your post however, I was in the middle of an exchange with OtheHill so I wanted to stay on thought. Actually, I read the info in the link in it's entirety....all good stuff and I most likely will go that route. I did a search, for local dealers, on availability of Maxtor internal drives...haven't found one so it'll be an on-line order. I know you mentioned only one Maxtor drive is required for the software but I've been unable to substantiate this in their articles/website. Therefore, I may as well have/use two Maxtor drives. Anyway, it was at this point where/when I got called to work....obviously, I've returned to continue my obligations of the thread. Let the truth be known, my abilities to tackle some of the suggestions are beyond me. I maybe able to labor thru most however, the least expensive/easiest route is for me. OtheHill...we were talking about my recovery disk. Is the info provided in my response # 18 what you expected..??...it appears to be a limited resource. I'm asking in case I do have a problem with Windows. Thanks to: The_Oracle Dingo_Tush and lurkswithin....I can't say you're idea is a bad one but I will say; when you start talking about partitioning I'd need a little more info and confidence before jumping on that thought. Can't rule it out but I don't know what I'm doing at this point. So in summation; OtheHill...please get back to me on the recovery disk question. Ike....I'll let you know what happens as soon as I track down an internal Maxtor drive. Everyone else...thanks for the input. I've been using this sight for 3 or 4 years and it's the best. Again, thanks. Continued thoughts are appreciated. /R Bill

0

Dumbob, HoBoMan's post was a mild attempt to hijack the thread. Nothing for me to comment on....and I certainly did not take offense at his sense of urgency. /R

0

Your WinXP home CD sounds like a complete version but can only be used with that computer. That means if you wanted to install a larger harddrive it would be fairly easy to re-install Windows on the new drive and not even bother with cloning. I personally wouldn't bother swapping harddrives. If you need more space to store stuff you can use the external USB or add a second internal drive or do both. As far a partitioning goes it isn't that difficult. Any new drive you buy needs to be partitioned and formatted. You don't need to buy a maxtor drive just because the current drive is Maxtor. Well it is getting late here in Michigan so I will pickup on this tomorrow.

0

OtheHill...Good Morning Sir, Following your train of thought appears to be the least intrusive. Let me see if I got this right; I could install an extra serial ATA internal drive making it a slave, if/when the master fails I could recover the OS with the recovery disk on the slave at that time. Or, do I need to load the recovery disk on the slave at the time of installation? Or, can I just continue as things are....using my external HD while I await for the internal HD to fail. At that time, install a new HD and load the OS with the recover disk? If this is doable, do I need to make a boot disk in the meantime? You're right....I don't need a mirror of the drive as long as I can recover my OS when the initial drive fails; the external HD will do the job as backup....as for the slave, I can add it now or later based upon when/how to load the recovery disk. Anyway, is my approach to loading the OS on the slave valid? Tks

0

Pga I am back. If you decide to add a second HDrive you need to buy ATA IDE type 3.5" drive, Not serial (SATA). I don't beleive you have any SATA connectors. I need your to download a program called SIW and use it to determine the model of you MBoard. There is something called 48 bit LBA compliance. This replaced 28 bit LBA compliance. These numbers refer to the maximum size of an installed harddrive. 28 bit LBA has a max size limit of 137GB. This means if your MBoard is not 48 bit LBA compliant you can't install a drive larger than 137GB unless you connect it to a PCI controller card. In the meantime drive makers continue to increase the arial density of the platters in new HDrives. This means new, smaller capacity IDE harddrives are becoming scarce. Find SIW.exe at the link below. http://www.download3k.com/SIW/Downl...

0

OtheHill.. Here's the data off SIW.....let me know if I left something out. Yea, I think I'd like to get an additional HD....continuing my thoughts on reloading the OS, will it boot from the slave after the recovery disk is loaded? Tks Model: nVidia-nForce Chipset Vendor: Nvidia Corp Chipset Model: nForce2 AGP Controller South Bridge: nForce2 ISA Bridge SMBus: Nvidia Corp nForce MCP-T SMBus Controller @5000h SMBus: Nvidia Corp nForce MCP-T SMBus Controller @B000h CPU: AMD Athlon XP Cpu Socket: Socket A Processor Upgrade: ZIF Socket System Slots: 5 PCI, 1 AGP Memory Summary Location: System board or motherboard Maximum Capacity: 1536 MBytes Memory Slots: 3 Error Correction: None Use System memory Maximum Memory Module Size: 32 MBytes Warning! Accuracy of DMI data cannot be guaranteed

0

OtheHill... I have the User's Manual for the motherboard in front of me: quote... Hard Dis Connectors: IDE1/IDE2 The motherboard has a 32-bit Enhanced PCI IDE Controller that provides PIO Mode 0~4, Bus Master, and Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133 functionality. It has two HDD connectors IDE1(primary) and IDE2 (seconday). The IDE connectors can connect a Master and a Slave drive, so you can cconnect up to four hard disk drives. The firs hard drive should always be connected to IDE1. ....unquote M7NCD Pro Slots: Fine 32-PCI bus master slots. One AGP 1. AGP3.0 8X interface at 533Mb/s 2. Supports AGP 2X, 4X, 8X On Board IDE: Supports four IDE disk drives. Supports PIO Mode 4, Master Mode and Ultra DMA 33/66/100/133 Master Mode I take it that I can't go beyond a 137GB HD..?

0

Pga None of that information is relevent to the 48 bit LBA issue. Unfortunately I couldn't find any verification on the Biostar or nVidia websites. When I ran nForce2 chipset MBoards I was using smaller harddrives and the issue was never resolved. The only way I know to determine for sure is to buy a $10 program that is supposed to definatively tell you if your BIOS is 48 bit LBA compliant. I guess we could post here and ask if someone has the answer. The only other wasy is to actually connect a large drive and watch the startup screens. If the BIOS in non compliant the drive will be identified as 127/137GB in size, regardless of the actual size. The last coupls of times this issue came up I recommended 120GB drives to the OP. When searching my favorite online store I found that 120GB IDE drives are not available. 40 & 80GB are still availble. Drives in the 250GB range are only slightly more than the 80GB. The way most people used large drives when they have non compliant MBoards is to install a controller card. That is a PCI card that you connect the harddrive to internally. That overcomes the limitations of the BIOS. External drives are not subjected to the limit. That means your 160GB USB drive will function fine on your computer regardless of the BIOS. The problem with the USB drives is that there are two USB speeds. 1.1 & 2.0. 1.1 runs at 12mbps, 2.0 at 480mbps. That is 40 times faster. Your MBoard has a combination of both USB types. Buying a controller card would allow you to migrate a large drive to a new system in the future. Virtually all newer MBoards are now using SATA ports for most of the harddrive connections. If you find an IDE controller at all there will probably only be one, for a total of two drives. That is provided so optical drives can be reused. Post the BIOS brand and version. Maybe I can learn somthing from that. Post your thoughts on what I said in this response.

0

OtheHill, So far I follow everything.... Small HDs are hard to find, if available. W/out knowing the bios, if I purchased a HD over 137G it will show as a 127/137G if the bios are in fact a 28 bit LBA. If I proceed with out knowing the 28/48LBA compliance it would behoove me to purchase a PCI card for use with the HD. At this time, I have no objection to purchasing a PCI card and HD. However, my previous question is still out there.... "....continuing my thoughts on reloading the OS, will it boot from the slave after the recovery disk is loaded?" Will there be complications in booting and running the OS from the new HD/slave once I get it install (w/recovery disk)? Do I re-configure the HDs, switching the master to slave and so on? You wrote this: "If you find an IDE controller at all there will probably only be one, for a total of two drives." ....so you think the card will be hard to find? ------ Here's what I got on the bios; http://www.phoenix.com/en/Home/defa... Nvidia 42302e31 General Information : Manufacturer : Phoenix Technologies, LTD Version : 6.00 PG Date : 24 April 2003 Address : E000h on 256 Kb DMI Version : 2.2 Characteristics : Flashable : Yes Socketed : Yes Functionnality : APM : Yes ACPI : Yes ESCD : No PnP : Yes PCI : Yes ISA : Yes AGP : Yes USB : Yes PCMCIA : No Smart Battery : No Boot Information : Selectable Boot : Yes CD-ROM Boot : Yes PC Card (PCMCIA) Boot : No I20 Boot : No LS-120 Boot : Yes 1394 Boot : No ATAPI ZIP Boot : Yes Network Boot : No ------------ Property Value BIOS Version Nvidia - 42302e31 Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG BIOS Date 04/24/03 BIOS Web Page http://www.award.com BIOS Vendor Phoenix Technologies, LTD Version 6.00 PG Release 04/24/2003 BIOS Size 256 KB Characteristics - supports booting from ATAPI ZIP drive - supports booting from LS-120 - supports AGP - supports legacy USB - supports ACPI - Multi Processor supported by BIOS - supports INT 10 CGA/Mono video services - supports INT 17 printer services - supports INT 14 serial services - supports INT 09 and 8042 keyboard services - supports INT 05 print-screen - supports INT 13 3.5-inch/2.88M floppy services - supports INT 13 3.5-inch/720K floppy services - supports INT 13 5.25-inch/1.2M floppy services - supports INT 13 5.25-inch/360K floppy services - supports Enhanced Disk Drive specification - BIOS ROM is socketed - supports selectable boot - supports booting from CD-ROM - allows BIOS shadowing - upgradeable (Flash) BIOS - supports APM - supports Plug-and-Play - supports PCI - supports ISA DMI Version 2.2 @000F0BE0

0

OtheHill, Did I mention that I have a CD (never open), Drivers and Utilities CD for nVidia Chipset Mainboard Version N1.04B-1R Label shows: Auto Installation See "README.TXT" File Contain User's Manual Would there be something in there you need?

0

No, you may need that if you re-install Windows though. Those are the MBoard chipset drivers and the integrated hardware drivers. Addressing the large harddrive there are more things to consider. If you buy a SATA drive you are more future proof. IDE controllers will eventually disappear from MBoards. On the otherhand, if you buy an IDE drive you may be able to use it without the controller card. If you need a card it can be added after you find you are not 48 bit compliant. SATA II drives are the norm and are theoretically faster than IDE. When installing a second harddrive you would reconfigure the cabling and jumpers to make both IDE drives Masters. When using SATA drives there is no Master/slave relation. All SATA drives are Masters. If you use a SATA drive connected to a controller card a couple of things need to be in place. First of all the BIOS must have the abaility to boot from the controller card. I believe your BIOS can do that but you can easily verify. You need to see if one of the boot options is to boot from SCSI. Next you need to make sure any controller card you buy is bootable. As far as controller cards go there are many compinations. Straight SATA, straight IDE, a mix of both. Some controller cards allow the use of optical drives connected to them, some don't. I am posting some links below for various things. Doubleclick the link to go to that page. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...

0

OtheHill, I understand. I've been....and still am.....rummaging thru the Newegg site. I settled on a HD but I'm having troubles sorting out the cards. The one you linked to had a review/testimony to its inability to boot from the card. This card, based upon reviews, appears to be bootable. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... Here's the HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... I'm recording stream till 11pm at which time I'll check my BIOS options to see if it'll boot from an SCSI. After that, I'll place an order with Newegg. I guess for now this thread is closed, unless you have something to add or my thinking is wrong. I'm sure I'll talk to you again after I receive the goods. I'll either post here or send a PM. Thanks for the help in sorting this out. /R Bill

0

Pga What drive and card are you considering? SATA? Keep in mind the SATA cards for the most part are SATA I and the drives are SATA II. Normally this doesn't create problems but it can. For my money I would go with an IDE setup. That way later on you will have a way to recycle optical drives. If you are looking at combo cards the ATA IDE side should include specs that support ATAPI. This means optical drive support.

0

OtheHill, This is the card...an SATA + ATA and it supports ATAPI or so it says. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... This is the drive....an SATA http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... I'm ignorant to the difference of SATA I to SATA II? Which category does this drive fall into? Will these two items not work together?

0

OtheHill, My BIOS does allow/have a boot option for an SCSI. The current sequence is : 1. Floppy 2. HDD-0 3. CDROM 4. Other-Enable So, I take I can select the SCSI option for # 1 or # 4....# 1 'cuz I don't have a floppy boot disc. Furthering my education, I take it the drive I selected above is a SATA III. Tell me if I'm wrong; the drive will work with the Rosewill RC-212 card but the transfer rate will max out at SATA 1.0: up to 150MB/Sec. Therefore, the two are compatible up to a certain point. Is this a serious detractor, do you see addition problems. The IDE setup you mention is no less attractive however, I can't find a PCI card on the Newegg site that's bootable or one with favorable reviews. I refer to the reviews due to my limited knowledge on the mechanics of the installation/setup, at this point that's all I got to go by. As for an IDE setup, I'm willing to try this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... ....if the card is bootable but reviews indicate problems. Maybe you can see otherwise. Maybe the IDE drive and the card mentioned in post # 38 will work....here it is again; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... As you see, matching this stuff is the remaining problem. Tks

0

First generation SATA controllers sometimes save trouble configuring SATA II drives. For this reason the drive makers sometimes add a jumper to the drive to force SATA I performance. Usually it isn't a problem but I have heard of instances of compatibility issues. SATA II drives have a theorical burst speed of 300MBps. Sometimes folks have experienced issues with booting to the controller card. That isn't an issue if the IDE drive will work without a controller card but would present similar possible issues with a card. Eventually you will need to upgrade to something newer. SATA II will most likely be able to connect to any MBaord you would select without the use of a controller card. The controller card could still be used to run optical drive/s. In response to the two links for IDE stuff. The controller card looks to be problematic, I would stay away from that one. However, the 80GB HDrive should work in your system just fine WITHOUT the use of a controller card. The other Rosewill controller card you link has eSATA ports, which you have no use for. eSATA is an external SATA removable drive. I know this is confusing but you are almost there. If you can live with an 80BG drive then just get the one linked and forget the card. You can also use your external USB drive to store files. If going with a card you might as well get some size out of it. 250/320 or even 500GB are all reasonable in price. IDE is the safer choice for now. If in the future you need to connect an IDE drive with no available ports you can then get a controller card. Don't know if you noticed but the cost effective cards ard based on VIA chipsets. I am not a fan of VIA but I can't state there is anything wrong with that chipset as I have no personal knowledge of it. I simply swore off VIA years ago.

0

OtheHill, I can live with an 80G drive but I don't have an empty slot. The board has two IDE slots, one is currently attached to the existing HD and the other is being used for my two optical devices; a DVD player and a CD-RW via a rounded splice IDE cable. I don't need the DVD player. Can I take that out and use the rounded cable for the two HDs, take the current HD ribbon cable and use it for the CD-RW? Earlier you stated; "When installing a second harddrive you would reconfigure the cabling and jumpers to make both IDE drives Masters." Without out knowing, I would venture to guess that the spliced cable would work. If not, then I gotta look over the cards once again. Tks

0

Pga Each IDE controller can support TWO drives. Sounds like you currently have a total of three drives. I am not sure what a spliced cable is. Look at the link below for a picture of a standard 18" 80 wire cable. Note the colored end. That is how to tell if a cable is 40 wire or 80 wire. You would normally separate the optical drives so that when copying from on to the other you aren't slowed down. You could arrange the cables and jumpers so that the boot drive is configured as a Master on the primary controller with one of the optical drives as a slave on that cable. The seconondary conroller would be configured the same way. When using Master/ slave jumper settings the location of the drive on the cable is not important. When using CS (cable select) then the drive on the black end connector will always be the Master. Using Master/slave allows more flexibility with the routing of the cables. You can also use 24" cables or better yet shielded round 24" cables which should allow you to configure most any way you need to. I assume you hae another drive bay available? You can get adapter so you can fit a 3.5" harddrive into a 5.25 drive bay if needed. You also need to check for available 12V molex power connectors. If you don't have any spares you can buy a splitter to get two from one. You may need to buy another IDE cable. If your cables aren't colored on the MBoard end you need to discard them. If you need a source for longer or round shielded cabled just ask. edit to add: Forgot to post the link. http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/i...

0

OtheHill, I misspoke, the "spliced round IDE cable" I referred to earlier is in fact an 80 wire cable. The connectors on the MBoard are colored (yellow and blue). The rounded cable end is blue, the ribbon cable end appears to be black...it's hard to tell, my view is obstructed. If I can use the 80-pin cable for the two HDDs and the ribbon for the CD-RW then I won't need cables. If not, I'll need a longer 80-pin cable; the bays of the 3.5" hard drive and 5.5" CD-RW are too far apart. The current cable has only 7" or less of travel between the two at the IDE end, the CD-RW and HDD bays are approximately 14' apart. If the above configuration is okay then I won't need cables. Once the DVD player is removed I can swap cables; ribbon to the CD-RW, rounded 80-pin to the old HDD and new 80G HDD. The same goes for the 12V molex power connector, it was built to match the 80-pin cable; only 7" or less of travel at the IDE end. So I need nothing there if again my configuration from above is acceptable. Everything is Master/Slave pin jumper'd, no CS. How am I doing, did I make things clear? If there's nothing else then I'll order the 80G drive. Tks

0

For now you can connect the new drive as a slave if that works better for you. Normally, you want the OS drive to be Master. If you have a failure then you can reconfigure at that time. Nothing else except to ask if you understand what I said about the drive location on the cable. Some folks believe the Master must be on the end connector. That isn't true. Many times it is easier to route cabling if the master can be connected to the center connector. Why are you going to remove one of your optical drives? I don't understand.

0

OtheHill, The DVD drive is not a writer, I haven't used the player in years....I have no use for it. When I purchased the computer I had no TV so I was using the player to watch movies. I now have a TV which for 10 years prior I went without. If I keep the drive I'll need to purchase an additional cable, removing it I can work with what I got. I didn't give your discourse on drive location much thought after you mention there was no need for concern where the drive is located on the cable. Using my existing cable, with both HDs on the 80-pin, I'll be able to attach them either way. I'm confused about the new HD being a slave. If this is so, can I still load the OS with the recovery disk and switch it to master? Isn't the new drive going to improve performance therefore, the desire to have it as the master? Tks

0

Your existing drive is ATA 133, the new drive is ATA 100. The other specs may be better but overall it isn't a real issue. IDE cables are cheap. Are you saying you want to use the new drive as your boot/OS drive? Or are you intending to install Windows on the 80GB as well as the existing 40GB. There are some issues with the boot.ini if you want to install to both. What you may want to do is this. Physically install the new 80GB drive jumpered as Master Alone. Connect the power and data cables from the 40GB to the 80GB. Boot to your CD with the recovery disk. When prompted partition the new drive maybe 50%/ 50%, making both partitions PRIMARY. This is normally an option when installing. Then install WinXP to the first partition on the new drive. After installing the MBoard chipset and intgrated hardware drivers update the WinXP install to fully patch it. Now you can connect the old drive after setting the jumper as needed. The second partition on the new drive will need to be formatted as well. That will be done once you are up and running Windows. You will now have three drive letter designations of about 40GB each. Any programs that were installed on the original drive will no longer work. You could leave them as is anyway if you don't need the space. That way is something happens to the new installation you can just recable and be back like the original. You will need to install any programs you need to the new C drive which is what the new WinXP installation will be. The other two drive letters can be reassigned if desired, as well as the optical drive letter. Hope this isn't too confusing.

0

OtheHill, Okay, we can put my misconception of the new HD's performance to rest. Nope, I'm not confused but I do have a question. After I reconnect the old drive how should I do it; with a single 40-pin or does it matter, meaning can I do it the way I stated in my last reply....HD to HD on a 80-pin cable? At this point I would rather go with your suggestion. I'm just trying to get the cable issue straight cuz I'll need to purchase one or two as well as an additional 12V molex power connector/cable. Also, as stated eariler, when reconnecting the old HD there is no need to make it a slave....it won't matter, correct?

0

Are you now going to keep both optical drives? I will now throw you another curve. Why not spring for a DVD burner. You can get one for less than $30. Take a look at this one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ... You will still need to buy a cable. For some reason the retail package doesn't include one. If you read the reviews you need to take some with a grain of salt. Many folks don't know what they are doing. For instance one states they couldn't get Windows to burn DVD disks. WinXP doesn't have that capability. That is what the Nero essentials is for. Another stated the software is bloatware. I can't state for sure but other Nero software I have installed can be custom installed to only use the features you want. That is what I recommend. I am off track here. I only mention this because you seem to perform alot of burning. Eventually your present burner will die. This unit will burn CD and DVD media. DVDR is cheap and holds over 6 times as much as CDR. In order to advise you on the best configuration for ALL your drives I would need to know where you store the files you eventually burn. The burner and source work best when on opposite channels.

0

OtheHill, I'm going to address your pitch at the DVD burner but first I gotta ask you to respond the question in my last reply, # 49. I'm not interested in playing around with DVDs as a viewing medium. Maybe sometime in the future but for now I don't have the inclination to expand my hobby. I know the storage capacity is larger than a CD but for what I do I use CD-RWs over and over. Up to this point, I've not stored files for longer than a week or so. I eventuality burn them to a CD-RW, listen to them and reuse the CD-RW on the next program. My intentions is to start compiling files/programs/books that I want to save. Currently, what files I am saving are on a CD-RW. I don't like this, I don't want to mess with a bunch of disks sitting around somewhere. I do have some files on my HD but they are almost all audio books. I use a program called Total Record... http://www.totalrecorder.com/ ....to edit and record stream in an mp3 format. I've been using this software for about 6 years now. It the best for what I do. Anyway....take a look at Response # 49 and tell me what you think. BTW, I've looked at this same LITEON DVD/CD recently, WalMart $30.00. I know my CD burner will go out sooner or later but it's not like the HD, I won't lose anything. Anyway, I was doing foot work looking at prices for a new CD-RW when it came to my attention they are no longer a stand-alone item. I'm sure I'll get the LITEON somewhere down the road. Tks for the sales pitch.

0

How you cable the old drive doesn't matter as long as it is jumpered correctly. If you burn from the HDrive to the burner then having both HDrives on the same cable would give best performance. If you transfer data from one HD to the other then they should be on different controllers for best performance. IDE ATA (Parallel ATA) controllers allow two devices but they share the resources so only one can operate at a time. Does that answer your question? BTW, the drive I linked to is a dual layer drive. Dual layer DVDR are 9.4GB capacity. They are much more expensive than single layer DVDR media. I buy DVDR for $15 per 100 count sleeve on sale. That isn't much more than CDR media. You may want to consider using DVDR for permanent archival of some of your hobby. DVD media suffers from the same mis-lableing as harddrives. DVDR says 4.7GB on the media but is only 4.4 give or take.

0

The specs on the DVDR are duly noted. Thanks for the input on the cabling.....Thanks for all the help. The school call, the education I got from this thread is much appreciated. I'll talk with you when the drive gets in. Again, thank you sir. /R Bill

0

OK then, good computing to you.

0