Computer newbies forum: Install old hard drive as slave drive?

I have a 160 gig hard drive and an additional 40 gig attached to my computer, I use the 40 gig to image my 160 gig as a back up and store all my extra info (i.e. pics, videos, dowloaded software and updates and the like). I have had no problems with the using my 40 gig as a slave drive. I would personally recommending using your extra drive to store the same as I do if you need to.

Make sure you configure the jumpers on the old drive correctly and connect only as a slave. Booting a PC with 2 hard disks, each with it's own OS and logical DOS partitions, without one configured properly as a slave, can irrepairably damage a PC, so I'm told...

So I can save all the data on my 98 hard drive by installing it as a slave on the new XP computer. Good deal.

Kees, I don't understand your comment, "Today's machines derail people as they set the drive to SLAVE and new spiffy machines actually need the drive set to CABLE SELECT and then plugged into the SLAVE CONNECTOR." How does that impact me and what I want to do?

With respect to 's post, "Make sure you configure the jumpers on the old drive correctly and connect only as a slave. Booting a PC with 2 hard disks, each with it's own OS and logical DOS partitions, without one configured properly as a slave, can irrepairably damage a PC, so I'm told...". I'll mention this to the tech who will do the work and just hope he is competent.

I would like to put an inexpensive hard drive in my old computer and give it to someone. Is this something I can do? I suppose there are even used hard drives available that have been replaced.

grandpaw

I don't have CD Rewrite on my 98 computer but will have one on the XP computer (which hasn't arrived yet). Is there some way to copy info on my 98 drive to CDs using the CD-R on the XP comuter?

For the most part any new PC purchased will have a 80 gig or above HD. They might even come with a 160 gig or above HD. For most home users who don't play every 3D game on the market it will very hard to fill up a 40 gig HD in 3-5 years worth of use. I don't think you will ever need the extra 4-20 gig of storage that your old drive will provide.

You could install the old HD in your new PC. You could then have a directory made called "Old HD" and copy the whole thing into it. The old HD could be placed back in the old pc. You could remove any files you do not want to have anybody else have access to, or just re-install win98 from your original CD. If you do that, make sure you have all your driver disks for your Video, sound and what ever else is in there.

Something to keep in mind... If you are permanently installing an old drive on a new computer you may be slowing the system down a bit. At minimum, make sure you put the drive on IDE 2. That's where the grey cables from the harddrives plug into the motherboard. Otherwise it's possible you're slowing an ATA 100/133 down to ATA 66/100. In laymens terms it could be slowing down the transfer rate of the newer drive.

I've decided to transfer the stuff on my old computer that I want to save to my new one. I'm getting a 64MB USB memory key that should do the job because I have USBs outlets on both and I don't have a great deal of data to transfer. I will have a CD-R on my new computer also. Thanks for your input and interest. grandpaw

I haven't discarded keeping the old drive for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I want to put the computer into the hands of some kids I tutor. Not having that available when I have been at their house tutoring has often been a problem.

I did the very same thing. Followed the MFG. instructions, set the jumpers correctly I even had Windows XP install running. However, I was unaware that the "Old Drive" was infected with a virus. This may sound trivial, but beware, even as a "Slave" it could infect the new system.

Hi,

Generally speaking, when you upgrade a hard drive in a system, it's best to do a "clean install" of your operating system onto that drive. It will probably be the fastest drive (as it's newest) & as it's newer- will generally be more dependable storage for your data.

Placing the current hard drive as slave allows you to leisurely browse through your old data & get it organized into new folders/locations on the new hard drive. At that point, I would wipe the old drive clean & use it for storage of things that do not require daily access.

T Fortune

It is a great idea, and I have done it myself. HOWEVER - The drive that I used was strictly a data drive to begin with and had no operating system installed on it. You need to take some things into consideration:

1. Is the speed of the old drive compatable with the new system? If it is too slow, it will negate one of the big reasons for buying a new computer - faster computing. If it is over 2 or 3 years old, I would be cautious.

2. Who is going to install it? You? Do you know how to change the settings to make the old drive a slave (all single drives are 'masters'; second drives are 'slaves'). This usually involves setting DIPS or jumpers. I haven't done it for a while, (after I retired from IT, I decided to let someone else do it!) so the newer drives may have something different.

3. Are you going to leave the old drive in permanently, or do you just want to get the data off it? If this is the case, there may be a better way to transfer the data.

4. What are you going to do with the operating system that is installed on the old drive? Can it be deleted without destroying the data you have stored on it? Is it the same as your new computer? If it is, perhaps you could have the system set up to look to the 2nd drive as an alternative boot drive if there is a problem with the primary.

5. Are you hoping to avoid re-installing all of the software on the old drive? Forget it! Your new PC is probably running a new version of Windows, and all the software installed on your old computer will need to be re-installed in order to have the proper connections and settings for the new OS. Also, having software running on a different drive (other than C:\) results in its own set of problems when configuring where things go.

6. Finally - Say you decide that it is worth keeping the old drive, and you are willing to go through the hassle of deleting the OS from it, then deleting the software, leaving just the data you are trying to keep. Now you have to do a serious defrag on the drive to get everything in order AND after you install the software on your new C:\ drive, you have to go into each program and tell it where to look for the data. If you are good with this type of work, you are probably looking at a minimum of one day of work. If you run into any problems, you could easily go 2 or 3 days.

Are you sure you want to do this? Remember to export or back up ALL of the data you want to save BEFORE removing the drive from the old computer. You never know what might happen.

Hope this doesn't sound too pesimistic. Usually, when someone does this, they just put the drive in and wipe it clean. Then they have a second drive for data storage and don't have to go through all the hassle of removing each program. If that is what you really want to do, then all you would have to do is to take that backed up data you saved and put it on the clean drive.

Good luck!!!

Merryann

I HAVE DONE THIS FOR YEARS WITH NO PROBLEM! I HAVE ALWAYS USED THE SLAVE HARD DRIVE AS THE BACKUP DRIVE THUS THERE IS NO WEAR AND TEAR PLACED ONTO THE OLDER DRIVE ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS. IN OTHER WORDS, I PLACE ALL THE INFORMATION THATS IMPORTANT TO ME, THAT IS CRUCIAL NOT TO LOOSE DUE TO HARD DRIVE FAILER ONTO THE SLAVE. IT WORKS FOR ME, IT SHOULD WORK FOR YOU. JUST ENSURE YOU SET YOUR JUMPER TO SLAVE SETTINGS PRIOR TO INSTALLATION. VR KENNETH

As I did mention in one of my posts, I have foregone the idea of installing the old drive on my new computer for a number of reasons, including the fact that I wouldn't touch doing it myself with a ten foot pole, given the dire results of previous adventures into self-help; having gone to the expense of getting a new computer, I'd rather not have to pay someone to do it; and, the clincher, I want to give the old computer to come kids I work with. So, I am going to transfer the data I want to save from the old 98 to the new XP computer via the 64MB memory key I got with the new computer (I should have opted for the 128MB, I suppose, but it's too late now). Then, I will undertake a clean install of the 98 computer before I give it away. One problem I am having is that I have a low capacity brain, and as I learn new stuff, the old stuff gets pushed out to make room for the new. Oh well. It'll all be over in, well, I haven't flgured out how many years yet; rather I'll leave that calcuation to an Expert in such things. grandpaw