Swapping Hard Drives

[Buckky]

I am attempting to add a hard drive to my existing XP professional system. What is the best method to add the drive and make it the bootable operating system. While maintaining my data on the original drive.

Western Digital LifeGuard tools failed.

 

[Hipster Doofus]

Set the jumper on the new hard drive as master. Change the original to slave. If your ide cable has two outlets plug the end into the new & guess where the other goes. Set the bios to boot the cd rom first. Insert the xp cd & boot up. Load it onto the new drive.

To save any confusion you could just plug the new drive in & set it up then add the second.

 

[2z]

DO NOT have both hard drives fitted when you install XP on your new drive

XP will think your trying to dual boot & your drive letters will be messed up

fit your old hard drive after you have installed XP on your new drive

 

[Hipster Doofus]

Good point. Didn't even think of that. What a mess that would have been.

 

[2z]

LOL

I learned that one from experience

ended up with my boot drive labelled "F"
and some installs still wanted to use "C"
I was gutted I had to do it all over again

 

[Hipster Doofus]

And you've still got hair?

 

[Hipster Doofus]

I was just sitting here & suddenly I had an epiphany. It didn't hurt though.

Assuming both drives have xp loaded. You load the new one then hook up the second, what is going to happen now you have two C drives? Does xp fix that issue upon boot or what?

 

[2z]

LOL

yeah gray hairs

 

[2z]

no XP gives the second drive's (formerly "c") a new drive letter
and doesnt recognise the old OS

 

[Hipster Doofus]

Ahh Ok. Thanx for that.