Planetarion Forums

Apothos · 5 May 2004, 21:22

I have two hdd's installed, with Windows on my puny 15GB c: drive.
I just bought a new 200GB hdd, and was planning on replacing my current c: drive with it.

What i was wondering was, if i install Windows onto my current d: drive (it has everything other than Windows and mIRC on it) will i be able to remove the c: drive and replace it with my new one and still have all my programmes that were installed while the operating system was on my old c: drive still working properly?

Or is there a better way to do it with as little fuss as possible?

flapjack · 5 May 2004, 21:41

If you have a third HD slot, i'd suggest placing it in there. If not. There's a semi-easy way.

First remove the second HD (the non-boot HD) and place your new HD there (in slave mode i presume)
Then copy the full contents of your primary HD to your new HD.
Now remove the primary HD and set the new HD for master mode, then install the secondary HD in slave mode.
If done properly i believe it is possible to do it this way, if this doesn't work, you could make a full copy to your current secondary HD then replace the other HD

Apothos · 5 May 2004, 21:57

Nice one - sounds easy enough. Thanks.

Luckeh!!!! · 5 May 2004, 22:25

you can't just simply copy it over.

you need a proper program to ghost your old drive onto your new one.

generally a clean install is better, clears out registry clutter and the likes, hassle in the short term, better in the long run.

Apothos · 5 May 2004, 22:51

If i ghost the drive, when i put it on the new one, will it create a partition the size of the old drive leaving me to partition the rest myself?

meglamaniac · 6 May 2004, 00:17

Ghost can expand the source partition to fill the new drive - so it can make your 15gb partition 200gb if you want while still keeping the structure and data in tact.

Apothos · 6 May 2004, 04:05

Superb. But i s'pose it is advisable to partition it further or people wouldnt bother doing that, right? I'm new to the whole partitioning thing, since i've only ever had small(ish) hdd's before (biggest i've got/ever had is a 40GB).

Luckeh!!!! · 6 May 2004, 09:25

have about 10gb for your OS, then 1-2gb for your swap file, then split the remaining space into 2 bits.

Apothos · 6 May 2004, 09:55

Great stuff.

Thanks for the help, guys. :)

meglamaniac · 6 May 2004, 11:24

If its not too late and you're keeping your old 15gb drive, try and make sure you put the swap file on a different physical drive from the OS - that way things should run a fair bit faster, especially if the drive with the swap file on is on a different physical IDE cable too.

For example I have 3 physical drives C (operating system + installed apps/games), D (documents) and E (music, video, downloads). I put the swap file on E because it's on a seperate cable from C and D, and it's the least likely to be busy at the same time as a program is loading - so while loading a game might be thrashing drive C as all the textures and stuff get loaded, if the swap is needed drive E is still sitting idle so access time doesn't have to be shared.
Also, a fixed size swap file is better than a dynamic size one in terms of speed - I've fixed mine at 1gb.

JetLinus · 6 May 2004, 16:59

I may also advise you NOT TO DROP YOUR HARDDRIVES!!!!

Not even 10cm. Handle them with kid gloves*

* The translation I found for "handle them like raw eggs", which is what I mean

Apothos · 6 May 2004, 20:17

Will do the swap file thing, and i'll try my best not to drop things. :)

I think i have to ghost my current d: drive too, if i'm partitioning my new hdd to keep all the locations the same, or is there a way to make the seperate drive maintain its d: designation, and making the partitions be c: e: f: g:?

:confused:

Luckeh!!!! · 6 May 2004, 23:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by meglamaniac

If its not too late and you're keeping your old 15gb drive, try and make sure you put the swap file on a different physical drive from the OS - that way things should run a fair bit faster, especially if the drive with the swap file on is on a different physical IDE cable too.

For example I have 3 physical drives C (operating system + installed apps/games), D (documents) and E (music, video, downloads). I put the swap file on E because it's on a seperate cable from C and D, and it's the least likely to be busy at the same time as a program is loading - so while loading a game might be thrashing drive C as all the textures and stuff get loaded, if the swap is needed drive E is still sitting idle so access time doesn't have to be shared.
Also, a fixed size swap file is better than a dynamic size one in terms of speed - I've fixed mine at 1gb.

you can get even more performance if you have two swap files each on a different channel/controller.

JetLinus · 7 May 2004, 01:18

Or, be cunning, and put the swap file on a RAM disk ^^

NEWSBOT3 · 7 May 2004, 01:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by JetLinus

Or, be cunning, and put the swap file on a RAM disk ^^

erm

IDIOT ALERT !?!?!

if you HAVE enough space for a ram disk of sufficient size, you shouldnt even USE A swap file.

JetLinus · 7 May 2004, 01:36

[/SarcasmIronicNiceAdvancedJokeMode]

FFS

NEWSBOT3 · 7 May 2004, 01:43

:P

what

you said it seriously, in a serious forum

a :P or something woulda done it.

meglamaniac · 7 May 2004, 10:05

I hear a ram disk is a good place to store all your important documents so they don't get corruptified if the PC shuts down...

(for safetys sake)

JetLinus · 8 May 2004, 02:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by NEWSBOT3

:P

what

you said it seriously, in a serious forum

a :P or something woulda done it.

I did a "^^" which stands for *eyebrows raised*.
Also my use of the word cunning shows how ironically...

Ah well

Apothos · 12 May 2004, 04:12

The hdd is now installed, partitioned and working lovely. Thanks for the help.