i want to add a second sata drive.can i copy drive 1 onto drive 2, swap drive 2 to drive 1's place and run xp?

Question

drive 1 is 180gb sata. drive 2 is 400gb sata. drive 1 had a crash and i recovered. however there is data that i can access from before the crash, but i cannot remove it. i want to reformat the drive to be for just the xp and programs. can i preserve my settings and programs without having to reinstall everything? would it be easier to just transfer important data to drive 2 and keep drive one the way it is?

Answer 1

Hey Dude,

Do this.
Start, Accessories, System tools, Files and settings Transfer wizard.
This is your best bet. HOWEVER, try to restore it on another machine FIRST. You will probably have to reinstall ALL of your programs, but your data and profiles should be okay.

Good luck.

You may need a 3rd party utility to take off a backup of the entire drive.

Also try from the "run" command "NTBACKUP". If you have pro, this works great.

Tom

Answer 2

You have a couple of options:
With SATA drives, you can set up a RAID array using RAID 0 (zero) will create what is called drive mirroring, this usually requires drives of identical specs (size), this will create a duplicate drive with all your "C" drive data on "D" drive which your operating system will not see until you change the drives) it can be swapped at any time (system shutdown will be required). I use this on my print server, using two 120Gb Western Digital SATA drives.
There is software that will "ghost" a drive for you (like Norton Ghost), this copies the existing drive to another.
You can also use utilities from either drive manufacturer (Maxtor uses Maxblast and Western digital uses drive copy) this will copy the entire partition of one drive to another. Note* both drives need not be the same brand, but the utility you use should be the "new" drive manufacturer's one. Usually, you download the utility from the web, or the manufacturer may supply the utility on a floppy shipped with the new hard drive. you then boot your PC with that floppy and run the utility. If you are able to set different boot devices (like CD-rom or USB) then you can use that option to run the utility if you don't have a floppy. I mainly use WD drives, and have been very pleased with them.

Answer 3

Yes you can copy your important data to drive 2. If you want to format drive 1, do one thing, find Norton ghost 2003 (as I am using it) or any other backup program and make backup of your drive 1 to drive 2.
Now format your drive 1 and install fresh Windows XP, then install Norton Ghost 2003 or what ever program you have used for backup. Now Using this program restore your backup to drive 1 and when it asks whether to overwrite windows, tickmark that box and it will restore your drive 1 all data to drive 1. You will not loose anything, except any data you stored after you have taken your back-up.
I forgot to tell you that with Norton Ghost you can make backup of your drive 1 on DVDs. Then you can make your drive 2 as a primary and drive 1 as slave. Format drive 2 and install fresh Windows XP on it, restore the your PC from DVD using this program and lateron you can copy all your important data on your new primary drive and then format your old drive 1 and then make a practice to use it to save all your personal files on it. Also save one back of your primary drive on this drive for future use.
Good luck.

Answer 4

Simulators are solid for gaining knowledge of the idea or principals of the thanks to shift or opperate the motorized vehicle. yet not something will take the position of actuall street journey. The Simulator would have minor distractions programed into it for the student. yet not something like actuall journey with human beings, site visitors, climate etc.. One ought to study driving in a uncrowded position. till the motorized vehicle fundamentals are coated. Then slowly merge with mild site visitors circumstances to heavy populated and constrained-access highway situations. significant element is to stay coincidence and rigidity loose at the same time as gaining knowledge of. The better you already understand. the better that's.