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Question

Trying to install new hard drive?

Oct 4, 2012 6:32AM PDT

Dell Dimension 4700. Running Windows XP with SP3, H/edition. Existing hard drive Maxtor sata 160 GB. New hard drive Hitachi sata 1TB.

I have installed a back up copy of C. drive from my external hard drive using DriveImage XML (private edition) version 2.02. to the new larger hard drive which I made F. drive.

As this is meant to be a full copy of C. drive I assumed (obviously wrongly now) I would only have to remove the original C. drive and fit the F. drive in it's place.

As this didn't work am I missing something. Do I need to change the F. drive letter to C for it to work, or am I miles off?

I did change the BIOS settings to allow both hard drives to be recognised, and back again when I was only trying to use the new hard drive.

Any help and or advice would be very much appreciated!

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Keep in mind that XP
Oct 4, 2012 6:44AM PDT

XP is rather a dunce about drive connections. You can't restore an image and then boot it if it's on another connection than the original.

Just a reminder from me and not to repeat all those prior discussions.
Bob

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So if I understand you
Oct 4, 2012 7:26AM PDT

correctly I cannot plug the F. drive into the motherboard where the C. drive was plugged in originally?

If I've got that right any suggestions on how I should install a copy of the C. drive onto the new hard drive?

Many thanks for you very quick reply Bob,

Chris.

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Hope it's that simple.
Oct 4, 2012 7:32AM PDT

The problem with having booted that drive with another XP on the boot position is it could rewrite information on the 1TB drive.

It's an old issue and one where you learn quickly to set up the machine the way you want it, restore the image and boot normally.
Bob

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Seeing as that is the case,
Oct 4, 2012 6:42PM PDT

is it best to format the 1TB drive. Remove the old C drive and fit the 1TB drive in it's place. Then install XP on boot up?

Many thanks for your help Bob,

Chris.

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Re: install
Oct 4, 2012 7:40PM PDT

I don't think there's a need to do a fresh install.

If you clone the drive again (the old small one - does still work, does it?) to the new big one. When the copy is ready, shut down, disconnect the old one and connect the old one in its place. Then in should boot from the new one, because it's an exact clone.

You can use the old one for any purpose you want, as an internal or external disk. But to avoid confusion, it's best to format the partition on it.
It might make sense to wait a few days until you know the new one works flawlessly.

Kees

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This might
Oct 5, 2012 7:05PM PDT

be worth another try using a cloning software this time. Yes the original hard drive is still working at the moment. Good advice not to format the original drive too soon.

Many thanks for your reply Kees_B.

Chris.

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Seeing as that is the case,
Oct 4, 2012 6:46PM PDT

should I format the 1TB drive. Remove the old C drive and fit the new 1TB drive in it's place. Then reinstall Windows XP on boot up?

My apologies if I sound a bit thick, but this is all new to me.

Many thanks for your support Bob,

Chris.

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Your choice.
Oct 5, 2012 12:31AM PDT

I see Kees noted the clone method. It's all your choice and what I've found is that XP is rather unforgiving if you install XP to said drive then move it to another connection or from IDE master to slave.

Sorry but there's a lot of prior discussions about that so I keep it short.
Bob

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Fair enough Bob
Oct 5, 2012 7:13PM PDT

I'd better do some more searching.

Many thanks for all your help Bob,

Chris.

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HD support s/w?
Oct 10, 2012 11:46PM PDT

Didn't the new 1Tb come with any s/w? if not, then check the Hitachi support website and look for utility s/w that provides the easier install process as you're querying about. As already posted to you, you can image or mirror the data over from old to new drive with cloning s/w. Clonezilla is a freebie that does this or any of the "ghosting" s/w out there that you pay for.

http://www.hgst.com/

From HGST FAQ area:
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

How do I make an exact copy my old hard drive and put in on the new hard drive?
A: There are several alternatives available depending on your hardware platform and operating environment.
PCs
Symantec Norton Ghost
Acronis True Image
Miray HDClone
Many laptops only have one internal drive bay. One solution is to mount the drive into an external enclosure and clone the drive. Apricorn and CMS both offer reasonably priced packages. Please visit the following sites for details:
EZ Upgrade Universal Hard Drive Upgrade Kit by Apricorn
CMS Data Transfer Kit for 2.5" Laptop Drive by CMS Products

The advantage of using an external enclosure is that you can use your original drive as additional storage once the cloning process is complete.
Mac
The most popular software is Carbon Copy Cloner by Mike Bombich:
Carbon Copy Cloner


tada -----Willy Happy

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I did have a look
Oct 14, 2012 5:19AM PDT

online for Hitachi s/w as the new h/d didn't come with any, before posting this thread. This is what I found from here:-

http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/hdinstall.htm

From that link:-

Cloning and Transferring Data from Old to New Hard Drive
Drive cloning applications are available online from outside vendors.
I like the tip about using the old hard drive for more storage by using an external enclosure. The only downside with my original h/d is that it has a bad cluster (4kb).
Many thanks Willy for your help and suggestions.
Chris.