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please help me install my new hard drive

A

anno

Golden Member
ok.. so I have this new hard drive (wd 120gb) and I want to put it in my computer (2yo dell something or other) which already has a 40gb wd harddrive in it.

and I don't have the first clue what I'm doing. 🙂

I don't even know what I want to do, actually. I think I want to make this new one be the main one (I don't even know the right words.. ) because.. it's new, so.. in theory, it ought to last longer. right?

so I think I want to make the new one the main one, and then install all the important to me software stuff and then transfer the data for those programs from the one I have already to the new one, and then once that's done, reformat or at least erase the one I have now, and make it nice and fresh, and use it for backing up the important stuffs.. like photos and mp3's and my bank stuff and email and stuff.. that I think is important.

but, alternatively, I could keep this old one just like it is, and plug in the new one, and move all the data files to the new one.. and just use it for storage, but that seems kinda silly, since it's so huge and this one is so less huge.. but I can probably figure out how to do that without any help.

which would be better?

and.. whichever is better.. how do I do it?

heh.. don't be mean.. I know I'm ignorant, but I'm a 48yo career mom, I should get cool points for even trying. I'm pretty sure i can do this.. I know I can find someone to do it for me without much looking but I'd really sorta like to do it myself.. and if what I need is in the "guides" section.. then some help pulling it up would be fine.. I must not be asking it the right questions.

anno
 
For a Dell, you will probably want to set the jumper to the "Cable Select" setting and plug it onto the vacant plug on the IDE cable, then also give it a power plug. Those two cables and the jumper setting are the physical setup (well, and screwing it into place or fastening rails to the sides of the drives and gliding it into place).

Did your new drive come in a retail package (foam box, new ribbon cable, and a utility CD or floppy diskette)? If so, there may be a utility on the accompanying CD or floppy that will transfer your stuff to the new drive and make it the new "boot drive" as well. 🙂

Another option would be to remove the existing drive, put the new one in, get out your Windows CD, and start the computer with the Windows CD in the drive and set up Windows on your new drive. There is a good guide for that procedure here. You could either burn your important files to a CD before proceeding, or put your other hard drive in afterwards and move the data files over by copying and pasting them.

Hope that's some help 🙂
 
retail package.. well.. I wouldn't call it foam, but yeah.. retail package.. I got it at circuit city. ribbon cable and cd included. 🙂

thanks. very helpful!

anno
 
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