Transfering from one HD to another.

[ver00]

Ok so I just got a new HD today, Maxtor 200 GB 7200, from Office Depot for 110, 20 MIR also.

Ok so my question is how exactly do I go about transfering files from my old HD to this one, I know I need to hook up the new one and format it and get windows running and all but besides that I don't really know what to do. Do I just hook up the old one after I get the new one running, on the same cable, and should it just recogonize it and let me transfer files from the Hard Disk Drives section of My Computer in windows or do I have to do it outside of windows like in the bios some how?

 

[ver00]

Bump

Do I just like set up the old one as a slave drive or something?

 

[ver00]

Anyone?

 

[tiap]

If you got the Maxtor software with the drive it will include a utility to transfer the contents of the old drive to the new one. If not , go to Maxtor's site and download it.
Usually you put it on a floppy to boot from. Install the new drive as a second channel master or a primary channel slave, depending on where you connect the data cable.
Set the bios to boot from floppy and boot with the utility to transfer the old to the new. Follow the onscreen prompts.
Backup all data first
Switch your new drive to be the primary master and if keeping the old set it to wherever it will fit and perhaps use it for backup and/or extra storage.

 

[ver00]

Well theres only a few things I want to transfer, not every single thing. Its about 25 gigs or so that I want to transfer.

And I read somewhere that if I just set it up as a slave drive that I can just drag and drop the files from one hard drive to another in windows. That seams to be alot easier then having to use that software, and I don't have a floppy drive. That will work right?

 

[JackMDS]

It depends on what you have.

I have two mobile racks in few computers so I can easily put pairs of drives and copy ghost whatever.

Other people burn the files to CDs and copy them back.

Some people keep a USB enclosure put the old drive into it plug it to the USB and transfer.

As you mentioned, you can open your case and attach the drive on an available IDE interface.

I can keep it going, but hopefully you got the idea.

However if you do not have any thing get a 5.25? USB enclosure they go for about $25.

Can be used with Hard Drive CD-ROM etc. a good thing for a rainy day.:thumbsup:

:sun:

 

[ver00]

Well I dont plan on using the old HD, it seams to be dying. When it sits on for a long time, 8 hours or more, it freezes and locks up. I have pretty much figured out that it was the HD that was causing the problem. So I just plan to hook it up thru IDE and transfer the files and then take the drive out and store it away. Might try and use it in a different machine and see what happens.

 

[tiap]

If you use the utility, it will transfer your complete working system to the new drive os, dat etc. If you want your new drive just to be extra storage then just put it in and use the utility just to partition it and format it. Then just drag and drop. Your choice.
As mentioned mobile racks are great.

 

[ver00]

1. I dont know what a mobile rack is.

2. Im going to be getting rid of the current 80 gig hard drive, I just want to transfer some of files from it to my new 200 gig HD.

 

[tiap]

Another way is to take the old drive out, put the new one in, boot with the os cd and install the os and updates, progs, etc., power down, put old drive in, copy old data to new drive, power down, get rid of old drive.
the difference is time, it would take me a week to get a new drive working like my old this way, whereas with the transfer utility, it would take 30 min.
If you don't have a floppy drive, either get one for 10 bucks or borrow a bootable pen drive or maybe the maxtor utility will copy and boot from a cd.

 

[ver00]

I don't want everything to be transfered from the old to the new, I just want to make sure that ill be able to put the new drive in and install windows and get things working right and then hook up the drive as a slave and then be able to drag and drop the files I want to save and then be able to just take out the old HD and be done with it.

 

[tiap]

Then do this

Another way is to take the old drive out, put the new one in, boot with the os cd and install the os and updates, progs, etc., power down, put old drive in, copy old data to new drive, power down, get rid of old drive.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: ver00
I don't want everything to be transfered from the old to the new, I just want to make sure that ill be able to put the new drive in and install windows and get things working right and then hook up the drive as a slave and then be able to drag and drop the files I want to save and then be able to just take out the old HD and be done with it.

That should be fine. Just set up the system using the new HD as if it were a totally-fresh install (which it basically is), and then when done, shut down, hook up the old HD as a slave drive, or on the secondary IDE port as a single drive, and then manually copy stuff over.

If you had wanted to transfer the actual OS install over, I would personally recommend Ghost 2003, it generally works well for me.

 

[BFG10K]

The simplest way to transfer data from one drive to another is to just use copy/paste in Windows Explorer.