Connecting another harddrive...

[VicodiN]

Quick noob question about connecting a second harddrive...

Currently I have a 120gig master IDE harddrive running my OS (win2kpro) etc... I have an extra harddrive, which was my slave hd (IDE) in my previous machine(contains mp3's, games, pics, etc) which Id like to connect to my new box (as a slave), but I do NOT wish to compensate and lose any of that data on that 2nd hd. Now, from my old box, that slave hd was previously formatted with ntfs (win2kpro), as is my new main hd.

Is it as easy as connecting the hd as a slave and rebooting? Will my OS pick it up without a format (hopefully)? How would I go about achieving my goal if not?

Thank you in advance for any advise...

 

[Cook1]

Yeap, just slap that 2nd HD on the IDE channel as a slave and boot up.

 

[mechBgon]

If you encrypted any files under the old OS installation, then the first thing you need to do is to fire up the old OS installation and export your decrypt keys (see the sticky thread at the top of the Operating Systems section of the Forums for more info).

If you didn't encrypt anything, then you may at worst need to take Ownership of some of the files on the old hard drive after putting it into your new system. Usually the problem is just the C:\Documents And Settings\your_username directory. Since I typed up some instructions earlier, I'll copy/paste 'em:

If it's Win2000, then just right-click the personal folder, choose Properties, then go to the Security tab and click the Advanced button, like shown in this picture. Put a checkmark in the box for Replace owner on subcontainers and objects and give Ownership to an account on your healthy computer. Now you'll be able to get into your personal folder, or just copy the whole thing.

If it's WinXP Professional, then you can do the same as above, once you've disabled Simple File Sharing in the Control Panel > Folder Options panel. If SFS is enabled, you can't reach the Security/Permissions/Ownership stuff without rebooting to Safe Mode.

For WinXP Home Edition, you would need to restart in Safe Mode and then follow the procedure above, since it will not let you disable Simple File Sharing in Normal Mode. Keep in mind that in Safe Mode, your antivirus software will not be running, so it might be smart to run a manual antivirus scan on the folder before you dive into it.

(included the WinXP options for general knowledge purposes)

 

[jackschmittusa]

You may also have to change a jumper on the drive currently in the machine, depending on what brand it is.

 

[Bassyhead]

Originally posted by: jackschmittusa
You may also have to change a jumper on the drive currently in the machine, depending on what brand it is.

Good point. On all the Western Digital drive's I've seen, there's two configurations for the Master setting: Single and with slave. You'll need to insert a jumper if it's a WD drive.

 

[VicodiN]

Just want to thank you all for your advice... Always a pleasure