2 hard drives... round 1... fighting.

[liquidfire]

When building my new computer I bought a new western digital 80 gig hard drive (XP PRO) and slaved my old maxtor hard drive (XP).
On my slave drive I still have a system password which disables me from getting to a lot of spots including and most important "My Documents" (where all my music is). Without the slave drive unlocked my add/remove programs does't recognise anything on the old hard drive to add or remove.

On my slave drive (old drive) I had Norton 2004, but it wouldnt work from the slave drive on my new computer (maybe because of the password?)... So I installed it on my new hard drive (2 copies on 1 computer). I had already registered Norton 2004 on my old hard drive and it prompted me to do it again on my new hard drive... so... I did without thinking. Now I'm having problems with the Regsvr32 file... which caused everything to go wrong. I did exactly as the Norton website told me too but it must run deeper than the .dll files being sent to the regsvr32 files... which leads to more problems.

Originally my computer made my slave drive the C: drive and my new hard drive the E: drive. But when I had the Regsvr32 problem they swapped names automatically. This left a lot of my links to programs confused and a lot of my programs just dont work now.

Microsoft Word is on my slave drive and I start school tomorrow.

How do I unlock my old hard drive?
How do I fix Norton's problem?
How do I get Windows XP Pro to operate both my hard drives?

Thanks,
LiQuid

 

[RealBlackStuff]

The best way to install a new harddrive is the following:
Install the new drive as SLAVE in your PC.
Set the hard-disk recognition in your BIOS to Automatic.
Now start up and make an Image (with e.g. Drive Image) of your old harddisk (one image per partition) and transfer that onto the new SLAVE. This means you can use that new harddisk the same way you did your old one, with all programs and files intact.
Now switch off your PC, make the SLAVE the new MASTER and the old MASTER now becomes the SLAVE. Restart your PC and bingo..., it works.

In your case you should do the same, meaning making your old Maxtor the master again, and the new WD the slave. Then proceed as above with the image. This would automatically solve your Norton problem, because the (junky) stuff that sits on your new WD will be overwritten with the new image.

Once your new WD is the master again, you can reformat your Maxtor and use it for other purposes.

To solve a problem with unaccessible files on another HD, you have to take "ownership" of your old Doc-files. Follow my (realblackstuff's) posts in this thread:
https://www.techspot.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=71715
You won't need to do this, because the image copied all your Doc-files over as well.

 

[Greeno]

Just gotta love this guy aint ya? (Realblackstuff) I don't think i've ever seen an un-helpful post by him :]

 

[chris935]

I have a similar but different problem which I posted under the OS section but seems directly related to this thread.

I too have installed a new second HD which I installed exactly like Realblackstuff suggested (and, yes, all his postings are spot on) except I used Western Digital's software to create the image. As realbalckstuff says "Bingo - it works".

Two issues now: firstly all my existing programs (including the Win XP OS ?) point to the old C: drive and although I have changed that to look in the new partitions (G: and H) I am worried about erasing the old OS etc from C - should I be concerned?

Secondly, I wanted to check something in the User Account settings and find that I cannot get in - I get an error message something like "Microsoft HTML has encountered a problem etc..." and I get booted nback to the Control Panel. How do I get around this?

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Well Greeno and chris935, I am really chuffed by your kind remarks! Thank you.

Chris, I think you forgot to make the new HD the master (where it becomes C). If it IS the master and the first drive on the first IDE-channel, then in XP (as far as I know) you can change the drive-letter of your harddisk-partitions.

As to your HTLM-problem on User Accounts, make sure the C-drive (Master disk) is connected to the END of the IDE-cable. (the middle connection is for slave-drives).

HTH

 

[chris935]

You're welcome realblackstuff - I have fond memories of when I lived in Dublin and sank a few too many pints of the blackstuff - chased down with a Paddy! My liver can't handle that anymore!

Back to my problem - I assumed that something like that was the cause - BUT when I first installed the new HD as Slave and copied the existing HD (partitioned into C: and D: ), the new HD's partitions were automatically named G: and H: Then when I swapped the disks the other way round (new HD as Master), the new one was still called G: and H: The system booted from the new drive (I can tell this because it is so much quieter than the old drive) and thus my problem - Windows boots from G: but everything is pointing at C: - I assume this is why the User Accounts (and probably other things I haven' discovered yet) don't work. I can confirm that the new drive is the first drive on the IDE-channel and connected to the end of the cable - the jumper settings are set to "Master with Slave"

Because of our Time Zone differences, I didn't get your response soon enough to try changing the drive letters last night - but I rememeber trying that before and it wouldn't let me, but that was when the new HD was still in the Slave position. I will try to do it tonight but assume I cannot change it to C: until I have changed the name of thh Slave from C: to something else - and I already tried that! This all seems a little circular - I must have missed a step somewhere otherwise others would have had this problem.

Any suggestions? It took 5 hours to copy the disk last time so I am not keen to go through the process again!!

 

[RealBlackStuff]

If you would use Drive Image, it would go much faster and cleaner.

As an example, my C-drive is 10GB with 2.5GB data on it (only Windows2000 plus some programs I always use) takes about 5 minutes to make an image of (onto my second HD) and takes the same time to restore from that image.
Everytime I install new software, I first take an image, because all the registry-stuff goes onto the C-drive, while programs go on the D-drive (D-partition really). If I don't like it, I restore the C-drive and delete the program's directory on D. Cleanest way I can think of to uninstall.

Back to your problem: with Drive Image you do litterally that: make an image, which includes the partition/drive e.g. C:.
You can restore it to e.g. the first partition on another disk, where it will come up as perhaps E or F or whatever, but the NAME is still C internally and all references to C are valid again, as soon as you make that disk the Master on IDE-1.
Therefore it is perhaps important to partition the TARGET HD in the same way as the SOURCE HD. With Drive Image, as long as there is enough space in the target, it will transfer its data and format the rest of that partition if it should be bigger than the source (are you still with me?).

If the drive/partition renaming under XP does not work, buy Drive Image, comes in really handy.

 

[chris935]

According to Microsoft Knowledge Base - I should be able to re-name the drives. Will trty it tonite and see if it works.

Wish I had read your post about Drive Image before I did the install - would ahve saved a LOT of time! When I have $60 bucks I will buy it - seems like a much better way to go - especially for removing unwanted installs.

 

[RealBlackStuff]

For what it is worth, I have 2 80GB HDs, Master CDEF and Slave GHIJ.
Master has:
C - 10GB - W2K with commonly used programs
D - 30GB - Programs
E - 30GB - Data such as Downloads, My Documents, Temp. Internet Files (which are emptied automatically every time I shut down my browser)
F - 10GB - second basic W2K for CD-burning and converting vinyl to CD, without any AV etc.

Slave has:
G - 20GB - Pagefile (used by both W2K's), DriveImage program and Images
H - 30GB - program-sources like W2K (slipstreamed with latest SP), IE6, other service packs, downloaded programs etc.
I - 28GB - space for making CD compilations and Vinyl-to-CD conversions
J - 2GB - a small FAT16 partition to allow me to use my old (vintage 1985) Cobol compiler

K is my DVD-ROM
L is my CDRW, for which I have made an On/Off switch for when I am not using it. Just idling, it still creates quite a bit of heat, even with its built-in fan.
To make such a switch, just cut the Yellow and Red power-connector wires and solder them to a double-pole miniature-switch. I mounted it on the front in the second (spare) 3 1/2" slot-cover.

 

[chris935]

I'm impressed - is your office that organized - lol

Actually I am so impressed that I think I am going to use this opportunity to get my filing in order. I want to start out fresh with the new HD and install only that - just wipe it clean with a completely fresh iOS install etc - I would like this to be called C, D etc. Having done that - can I simply install the old drive as slave (which is currently my C & D) and transfer the data files to the new disk, then wipe it clean and use for less frequently accessed storage and data back up? I am worried that because the old one is called the same name that windows won't recognize it and i won't be ale to transfer my data.

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Hi Chris,
thanks for the compliment.
As I work from home, my office IS that organised....

Yes, you can freshly install everything on your new HD, if you like along the lines of my above layout. If you have it, use Partition Magic to partition/format your HD. First create the primary C-partition and make it the active one. Then create a logical partition, using the rest of the free space on that HD. In there you create your other partitions, D,E,F etc.

When done, install the old HD as slave. If F was your last partition on the first master-disk, then the first partition on the slave will become G, next H etc. Just copy over all your data-files.
Don't try to copy over any programs. Re-install those afresh.

Then (using PM again) select the whole old slave-disk (all partitions) and create one big logical partition on that slave. In there you can create further partitions and afterwards use it for backup, storage or whatever.

Final tip: after you have installed your OS etc., also move the Favorites to the Data-partition. That way they will always stay up-to-date, regardless of how many images/reloads you make. Also (as in my setup) both W2K's on C and F use the same Favorites.

I'm sending you a private message with some more info.
Have fun re-organising.

 

[Liquidlen]

Blackstuff I have also been impressed with your replys.In fact I nominated you for President of U.S. but as I am a Canadian they rejected it .Sorry!
Actually if you kept a copy of the info you sent Chris I would like to see it also.
For years I have kept my O/S separate from data on partitions it has made my life easier especially using Drive Copy etc. But I am intrigued by your setup .
Also if you recall before Xmas you were settling on a new AV.Were you successful.
If you get time I would appreciate it.
P.S. I couldn't resist buttering you up a little, only in fun.
Liquid

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Hi Liquid,
I answered the AV question in the other original post, but here goes again.
I bought F-secure AV2004, but as I could not get the Help-function to work, and F-secure's assistance in this matter was NIL, I uninstalled it and asked (and got) my money back.

Went to Kaspersky, filled in all the info for trying out their AV-package, but never got an answer somehow. So then I D/L'd Kaspersky's free newest beta-version (good for 3 month trial), and I have that currently up and running with no problems. Seems to work perfectly and I will most likely buy it when it comes out around March 2004.

Thanks for your vote of confidence, by the way.
You too have a PM.

 

[harbormoon]

Along the same lines as the original subject...

This seems like the best place to post this question. I just purchased an HP Pavilion a820n (with Windows XP Home) and I wanted to take my 80 GB hard drive from my old Micron PC computer (that had Windows ME installed) and use it as a secondary drive in the new one. My new 200 GB hard drive is mounted to the front of the chassis and uses serial ATA hard disk drive cables for power and data (admittedly, I'm a little unfamiliar with these). My old drive uses the parallel ATA data cable but there is just one port on the motherboard and two optical drives are already tied in as the master and slave.

No problem, I thought; I have a PCI controller from my previous computer and I can just plug the old drive into the primary IDE port on the card. As the system boots, the controller locates the second drive and gives the thumbs up. However, now the computer "freezes" or at least won't progress to loading XP. If I remove the connection, it loads with no problem. What the...?

I'd like to think that I know something about computers and I've tried some obvious solutions (swapping jumpers, using the secondary IDE port on the card, etc.). It's not a HUGE deal if I cannot use the old drive in this new computer as I plan to save the Micron PC for my two year old to bang away on when he's a little older. However, I have ~ 10 GB of data on the drive that I'd like to transfer. Without having to fill countless CDs or network the computers at additional cost, are there any suggestions or does someone spot what I'm doing wrong? Or is HP just giving me the business? BTW, both hard drives are Western Digital and the "old" drive is only a year or two old.

Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. Thanks!

Jeff Moon

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Welcome to TechSpot
I think the easiest solution would be to network those 2 PCs with a crossover-cable.
Your new PC should have an ethernet port, and your old one probably has one as well.
If not, beg/steal/borrow/buy a NIC for about $10 and get a crossover-cable for about $7
Follow the instructions here:
Simple Networking of 2 PCs

In your new PC, there might be an option in BIOS, to set which HD to use at boottime, SATA or PATA

 

[harbormoon]

Hi, realblackstuff:

Thanks for the quick response. That does seem like the best solution; I had read the same answer on another forum and it's good to get an answer that backs that. If it's just ~$7 for the cable then I guess that there's no reason not to do that.

There was an option during the start-up to choose the boot disk and I made sure that the hard drive that came installed in the new computer ws the default but it still hung on me. ??? However, maybe I need to look closer at the set-up screen. Would the fact that the other drive was originally a boot drive be an issue? I wouldn't think so.

(BTW, I have to admit that I'm not much of a fan of Guinness. That revelation will probably get me booted from the forum. My father enjoys it as does my wife but I'm more of a Sam Adams Light man myself. To each his own... :giddy: )

Thanks again.

Jeff Moon

 

[RealBlackStuff]

I have no experience with SATA yet, but maybe if that 'old' HD was still set as master, and your BIOS was not instructed properly, then It could have wanted to boot ME in your new PC. ME, not having the HP-Pavillion drivers, would not even start AFAIK.

One of these days I should have a word with Guinness, see if they can sponsor me with a barrel now and then...

 

[odin673]

I'm not 100% on this, but won't loading the image of your OS on your old comp cause problems on the new one. Drivers are the biggest issue in mind.

 

[harbormoon]

I wondered if there was an issue somewhere along those lines but I can't be sure, either. As I stated earlier, I've installed old boot drives as secondary hard drives and made sure that the BIOS was not set to load that drive. However, that was with earlier versions of Windows and perhaps XP is a little less forgiving. Plus, I'm not trying to load the OS onto the new drive; I only want my old documents, photos, email addresses, etc..

Nonetheless, thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to go with realbalckstuff's suggestion to get that cross-over cable and hopefully that will resolve the issue. If I was still a single guy with nothing better to do on a crappy New England winter weekend then I would lock myself in my computer room and bang away at the problem. (Don't anybody take that the wrong way, please.) :blackeye:

Jeff Moon

 

[harbormoon]

Still having no luck...

Well, I bought the cross-over cable this evening and then tried to configure the peer-to-peer connection - no luck. For some reason, Windows XP would not recognize the old machine (running Windows 98) - I don't remember the exact error but it had something to do with permissions. I made sure that the final octet in the IP addresses were off by one, I configured both workgroup names to be the same, and I ensured that the subnet was 255.255.255.0 on both machines. Hmmm....

I went to the DOS prompt and tried doing a ping to find the other computer and it worked with no problem, so it WAS seeing the other computer and the test packets went forth and back with no problem. Then, for giggles, I tried to ftp directly to the other computer; it did connect but then closed the connection immediately.

I also tried using the Network Setup Wizard and did a transfer of the settings to the old computer. Still nothing...

Anyone have any thoughts on this? BTW, realblackstuff, I used the reference document you suggested; my guess is that I'm just not reading something correctly in the language of the paper.

(What? Me fail English? That's unpossible! - Ralph Wiggum) :haha:

Jeff Moon

 

[RealBlackStuff]

Some snippets to try out:

In XP, in the properties of the connection, TCP/IP settings, make sure that use NetBIOS over TCP/IP is selected. NETBIOS is what W98 uses.

Check that both PCs are in the same WORKGROUP, and that "files and printer-sharing" is enabled on both PCs.

You could try to enter a new User (with Admin rights) on the XP-machine, with the username AND password (this is a must for W98) of that W98 machine.

In XP, unflag the IPX protocol (if it's installed).
Try uninstalling the network card in XP and adding it again.

On this website is a lot of info. They use the (less popular) Netbeui protocol. You could try that if the above fails:
Setup 98: http://www.homenethelp.com/web/howto/HomeNet-Win98p1.asp
Setup XP: http://www.homenethelp.com/web/howto/HomeNet-Win2kXP.asp

HTH