Need How-To on HDD install

Here is the deal:
I have a 20 gig HDD, and am nearly out of space. I am anticipating getting an new HDD for my B-day soon, and want to install it.
Issue:
I have a HDD
CD-rom
CD-RW
ZIP-250

These take up all of my IDE spots, and I prefer not to remove any of them. So I want to swap out the old HDD with the new one, not slave it.

So the next issue is, I don't want to reinstall all of my data/progs, etc. Is there a how-to or way to x-fer all data from one HDD to the other, and have it run just as the other?

There are many ways to do this.....Using Ghost or Drive Image will do this for you if you want to buy a new program to accomplish this task for you...however if you get a new drive be it Maxtor or Western digital there will be a disk with software inside that will allow you to copy the contents of your old drive to your new drive....

If you want to add up to 4 more ide devices, Get a ATA66/100/133 PCI Adapter card. And that allows us to have 8 devices. But I only put the hdd's on the card, faster there. And each hdd will be limited to about 127GB in size though.

Promise, maxtor and SIIG are just 3 of the many makers of them.
Also, have hit mobos that did not let one brand work right, switching brands took care of that problem.
For w2k install on The ATA card is a little tricky, best to install on the ide, add the ATA drivers then switch to the card. Anyway that is how I handle it.

mrman,

If it were me, this is what I would do - presuming you are running WIN98 OS and your existing HDD & ZIP are on the primary IDE cable.

1) Create startup boot disk for your OS. Shut down.
2) Remove existing HDD & Zip from primary IDE cable
3) Set new HDD jumper as master and install (either in an empty internal bay or in place of the ZIP) on the end of IDE cable.
4) Boot using startup disk, Type FDISK at prompt - FDISK new HDD (single partition or mutiple, your choice) and format (single or each partition if partioned). To format at the prompt type format c: then enter (if partitioned do this for each drive letter C, D, E, etc.).
5) Install existing HDD as master on end of IDE cable, set new HDD as slave and connect to middle IDE connection. Using Maxtor Max Blast or WD Data Lifeguard Tools (or similar floppy supplied with whatever brand of HDD you buy) and copy (clone) your old HDD to new HDD.
6) Shut down, remove old HDD, set new HDD as master, reinstall ZIP drive, reboot and you should be good to go with the new HDD.

This is simplistic explanation - if you have any questions post back.

You can do as Train suggested re the PCI adapter card, but won't do much good if you have no empty bays to install hardware. However, if you do have any empty internal HDD bay, you could make use of the adapter card and use your old HDD as a second storage device without losing any of your existing components. Adapter card about $40-50, but sometimes comes free with HDD after rebates. There are some other advantages, but won't go into it now.

If you partition your new HDD, one of the advantages is that you can Ghost an image of primary (c) to another partition to use as an emergency restore if things go south (restore to the date image was made) or, if you do get an adapter card to use your old HDD you could Ghost to it. Ghost as stand alone program can cost $60 or so, but can be had at $20 (after rebates) if you buy Norton System Works PRO which includes Ghost, GoBack, NAV and some other programs that may or may not interest you - you can install only the programs you want from the NSW PRO disk.

OK, I'm gonna shut up now. Hope this answers your question and/or helps.

Thanks for the replies. Sorry it took so long to get back, but I have a newborn in the house and my time in the 'puter is limited.:p

First of all, I have XP pro OS (see sig). Can I do the boot disk, etc option the same way? I don't know how to do a boot disk for XP since I have never needed too.

I have both Ghost and Drive Image. I use Drive image and monthly create a backup of my C partion to a D partition. (hence the free space shrinkage).

How does the Maxblast program (or similar) work?

So I guess what I could do is remove the ZIP, slave the new HDD and restore the image to the new HDD. Then, remove the old HDD, reinstall the ZIP and set the new HDD as Master. Would that work? :confused:

Also, would there be any WPA issues with that? That would only be 1 hardware change, and I believe you get 5 or 6 before having to call M$.

Thanks,

I use Drive image and monthly create a backup of my C partion to a D partition. (hence the free space shrinkage).


Are you not deleting the previous's months image, which you no longer need?? Would free up bunch of space.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Murf

Are you not deleting the previous's months image, which you no longer need?? Would free up bunch of space.

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Yes, I replace the file.