Changing Hard Drives

[Mr. Know Nothin]

First, i need to know for sure which type of hard drive that i have. will it be on top of the hard drive itself? (EIDI or SATA) Second, i want to take the existing info and copy to the new drive, once purchased. is that something that can be done? i dont want to go out and buy Microsoft XP when i already have it on my system. i want to put a larger internal harddrive in, and i need the info so i dont mess it up. i am a little litterate when it comes to computer stuff, but no a savvy tech like you folks n here. thanks for the help.

 

[EXCellR8]

The hard drive should state which interface it is on top but this can be easier identified by what cables are attached to it. IDE interface uses a "ribbon-like" cabling system that is wider while SATA uses a more condensed cable, typically red or black, and smaller connectors on the motherboard. In order to copy all of the data to the new drive you would need both drives installed in the system at once. If you have room for 2 drives, you wouldn't have to worry about your Windows installation; you could just move your personal stuff to the new, bigger drive.

 

[nickc]

yes u should be able to find that data on the top of the hard drive. u will need to reinstall windows, but u can put the old drive in as the second hard drive and drag and drop u're personal information. u will to reinstall u're programs to get the registry setup right.

EXCellR8 I guess I was typing while u were finishing.

 

[Mr. Know Nothin]

awesome, thanks for the quick reply! just to make sure, i should put the new drive in as a slave drive, then copy all the info that way? or when i install it, does it matter o how to do that? this is not the original drive, the other almost crashed on me, so i took the one out of my old computer. like i said, im a little savvy, but not too much. when i buy the new harddirve, will it come with some sort of software that will help me copy? and, do you guys reccommend any one in particular? i seem to have noticed that Seagate is very popular and priced about right. Once again, thanks for all the help and info!

 

[EXCellR8]

EXCellR8 I guess I was typing while u were finishing.

heh, no worries

The new hard drive will have to be formatted. You can usually download the software that will assist you in doing so from the manufacturer's site, whomever you go with. As long as you have one drive set as Master and one as Slave you should be fine; as far as copying goes it's as easy as dragging and dropping like nick said... Seagate is a really good name in hard drives as is Western Digital, both companies make a great product.

 

[Mr. Know Nothin]

cool, thanks for the info. i will be getting a new one this weekend and get started right away! once again, thanks for all the help.