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[Suerte]

I've never had a PC with two hard drives in it, so I'm kind of confused as to how it would work. Does Windows XP work in that it'll allow you to save to the other hard drive? And am I right in thinking that I could install the new hard drive as the slave, then use a programme to copy all the data on the existing hd to the new one, so that the OS etc will be on the new HD, then set it to be the master?

*confused*

 

[Outlaw Pro Mod]

Correct on everything. I have a C: drive (master) for WinXP and a D: drive (slave) for all of my programs, downloads, etc.

 

[Felidae_Khrall]

One way of doing it.

Install an OS on the new drive. Copy everything over to it that you want. Swap the drives so that it's a master. TEST THE DRIVE.. and then format the old one.


*edit*

And make sure the drive with the highest RPM is the master. Faster loading for os/programs.

 

[The Shadow]

Windows XP has to be on the Master drive and on the primary partition if it's the only OS. Other than that, you can save to whatever drive you want.

I have a "System" drive where the OS and all installed programs are, and a second slave drive where I store all my multimedia stuff like music, movies, etc.

 

[Suerte]

I have a "System" drive where the OS and all installed programs are, and a second slave drive where I store all my multimedia stuff like music, movies, etc.

Yeah that's what I'm thinking of doing, which one is the bigger HD, out of interest?

 

[Killthee]

Yes, Win XP will let you save a file to another drive. Instead of saving to the C drive just go to My Computer and select the second hdd when saving a file. As for your second question, I believe the only program that will copy your files and XP over to another drive properly is Norton Ghost.

 

[The Shadow]

Yeah that's what I'm thinking of doing, which one is the bigger HD, out of interest?

They're both 120gb actually.

On the Master drive I have a "System" partition that is 40GB, and then a "Archive" partition. I put all the crap I haven't backed up yet in that partition and it takes up the rest of the drive.

On the second slave drive, no partitions. Just the whole 120GB for all my multimedia stuff in seperate folders.

 

[Suerte]

They're both 120gb actually.

On the Master drive I have a "System" partition that is 40GB, and then a "Archive" partition. I put all the crap I haven't backed up yet in that partition and it takes up the rest of the drive.

On the second slave drive, no partitions. Just the whole 120GB for all my multimedia stuff in seperate folders.

Aaaaah, if I get a second HD, it'll most likely be 120GB, my current one is 80GB, just not sure which one would be best to have as the master, and vice versa.

 

[The Shadow]

Aaaaah, if I get a second HD, it'll most likely be 120GB, my current one is 80GB, just not sure which one would be best to have as the master, and vice versa.

Which ever is the fastest should be the Master. If they're both the same speed, go with the smaller one as master.

That's just my preference anyway. I like the bigger drive as secondary because I don't store all my stuff on the primary for the sake of organization. Just the OS and programs on the master.

 

[Suerte]

Hmmm, I think the new one may be faster, I'm not 100% sure, the site I'll probably get it from has two different 120GB Seagate HD's, I'm not sure what the difference is!

Barracuda 7200.7 120GB UDMA100
Barracuda 7200.7 Plus 120GB UDMA100

Edit: The normal one has a 2MB buffer, the plus has an 8MB buffer...

 

[Felidae_Khrall]

Hmmm, I think the new one may be faster, I'm not 100% sure, the site I'll probably get it from has two different 120GB Seagate HD's, I'm not sure what the difference is!

Barracuda 7200.7 120GB UDMA100
Barracuda 7200.7 Plus 120GB UDMA100

Edit: The normal one has a 2MB buffer, the plus has an 8MB buffer...

Go on EBAY: they're selling some cheep Seagate Cheetah's. 10000rpm

 

[Outlaw Pro Mod]

Go on EBAY: they're selling some cheep Seagate Cheetah's. 10000rpm

Aren't hard drives very sensitive to jolts or bumps? Wonder how well the seller/s pack them.

 

[Suerte]

Go on EBAY: they're selling some cheep Seagate Cheetah's. 10000rpm

Nah, they're only like 36GB, I'd rather go for space than speed just now.

 

[maharg]

Windows XP has to be on the Master drive and on the primary partition if it's the only OS. Other than that, you can save to whatever drive you want.

If it does, that's a new restriction. However, you can't just move it from one to the other without some kind of special tool. It has to be installed to the drive in the configuration it'll be in in the end.

 

[Suerte]

Well I tried to install the second HD today but it turns out I've ran out of power connections, does this mean I need to buy a new PSU?

 

[DaCocoBrova]

No it doesn't.

Just get a 'Y' molex adapter. It'll split one power connection into two.

But... If you're power supply came with your case, then getting a higher powered one is always a good idea. But you don't have to.

 

[Suerte]

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll go for that option, since it'll be a bit cheaper than a new PSU

 

[DaCocoBrova]

Glad I could help.

 

[Suerte]

By the way, is it better to have the two drives on seperate IDE cables? It's just that I couldn't make the ones I have stretch from my CD drives to the HD drives, so is it that important?