Running 2 hard drives

[LeonE]

The other day my XP install went completely t*ts up and I now have a HD with data on it that I can't access.

I've been planning on running 2 hard drives (both IDE by the way) for a while and now seemed like a good excuse to get another, so that's what I've done.
My question is, how do I go about installing XP to the new one? Should I remove my existing HD and fit the new one in its place, or is there a way of connecting the new one to my existing one? I seem to remember the ribbon cable coming from the back of the existing one has 2 connectors on it.

 

[SNGX1275]

Take a look at the white label on the top of the drives, that has the jumper settings (that plastic rectangle with 2 holes that fit over pins), set your new one to MA or Master. Set your old one to SL or Slave. Attach them both to the ribbon (doesn't matter which one goes where).

Then for right now I would have them connected like that but do not connect the power to your old drive. Then install Windows like normal, once that is up and running, shut down the computer and connect the power to your old drive.

The reason I'm saying to do it that way is so you don't accidentally write over your old data, it also eliminates any potential problems with the old hard drive screwing with your Windows install.

 

[LeonE]

Thanks mate, I'll try that when I get home from work tonight.