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if i was to buy a big HDD (say 160gig) and insatll it as a slave, install win xp on it, then copy the info i need on to it, could i then use ti as the master and get rid of old 1, or shud i install new 1 as master, then copy stuff from old 1 while its set as slave? :E
option 2 seems much easier.
Create an image of your hard drive using Ghost, Drive Image or whatever and put that image back on your new drive. You won't have lost any settings then!
ah reet,s o it just swaps everything? and ill keep all registry?
nooooo nooooo noooooooooo!
Always go for the fresh install. Seriously it just feels so very dirty otherwise.
Fresh install of windows on the new drive (as master) then just slap whatever you want from the other one back on. A nice install of windows gives a nice performance boost for a while.
It's like having a shower after rolling around in a bit of tar :)
;) But some of us like it dirty LOL!
:D I would suggest ghosting (any capable sw), you're never likely to get a botable HD by manually copying esp in modern OS. If you haven't done so for a while or have added a fair amount of new hw then a fresh install is STRONGLY advisable. It can also give you a chance to get things backed up and also allows you to overcome all the unnecessary sw, registry entries, drivers, incompatibilities and so on.
I'd go for a fresh install myself personally, ghosting is really the only other soloution though as copying files across manually isn't going to work too well
Image it across - New install? Come on peeps, if it ain't broke why are we trying to fix it?
it's windows. it's brokenness is generally proportionate to the amount of time it's install has been resident on your hard disk, unless you're some kind of god.Quote:
Originally posted by Jiff Lemon
Image it across - New install? Come on peeps, if it ain't broke why are we trying to fix it?
Exactly.
Windows is always broke from the word go. XP is a lot better but it gets slower, and slower, and more bogged down the longer you go without a fresh install. And if you've got the perfect opportunity to do it - why not!
;) I forgot to mention an important detail, avoid putting the 2 HDs on the same channel (ie Primary & Secondary) esp when you're transferring files / data across. Whether they're Master or Slave is less important, but ideally you want each as Master at least for the initial transferring. For a quick and fast rule you should keep devices most likely to be accessed simultaneously on seperate channels and ideally faster devices (ie HDs) as the Masters.Quote:
Originally posted by Russ
if i was to buy a big HDD (say 160gig) and insatll it as a slave, install win xp on it, then copy the info i need on to it, could i then use ti as the master and get rid of old 1, or shud i install new 1 as master, then copy stuff from old 1 while its set as slave? :E
I like fresh installs.... especially for the performance boost. you can always copy files need from your old hard drive to the new one.... all Windows OS seem to get slower and slower over time and the only thing that seems to cure that is upgrades or fresh installs.
Why not?Quote:
Originally posted by Prodigy
Exactly.
Windows is always broke from the word go. XP is a lot better but it gets slower, and slower, and more bogged down the longer you go without a fresh install. And if you've got the perfect opportunity to do it - why not!
If you're on top of PC, there's no need to re-install. For example, if I had to re-install my machine, I'm looking at upwards of 5 hours. Compare that with 5 minutes for a re-image.
Anyone that's even semi interested in PC's should own some form of drive imaging software and use it often.
Performance boost from a fresh install? Placebo I say.
I disagree, windows has always had a tendency to slow down with age/applications installed.Quote:
Originally posted by Jiff Lemon
Why not?
If you're on top of PC, there's no need to re-install. For example, if I had to re-install my machine, I'm looking at upwards of 5 hours. Compare that with 5 minutes for a re-image.
Anyone that's even semi interested in PC's should own some form of drive imaging software and use it often.
Performance boost from a fresh install? Placebo I say.
I think its partly registry getting fat, partly fragmentation, and partly something else. You can do something about the first 2, but it still never seems as fast as a fresh install.
However I fiddle with my machine so much, every time I reinstall windows XP I have to phone up microsoft for a key - which is a real pain in the arse!
;) I bet that almost makes you wish you had an unprotected copy instead eh? Reminds me of the Amiga days where people got p'ed off with the copy protection making things bad when they lost the original disks/manuals, it was a nusiance even with them and many preferered copies to the originals. Anyway nice one again M$! Come on Linux, catch up...Quote:
Originally posted by amoeba
However I fiddle with my machine so much, every time I reinstall windows XP I have to phone up microsoft for a key - which is a real pain in the arse!
I wouldn't say it's a placebo really. I've been working with/building computers for years and I've ALWAYS noticed a big performance boost from reinstalling windows. It just feels so much nicer. Admittedly this is with the home versions (i.e. 95, 98, ME, XP) and not the business ones (NT, 2000 etc).
Reinstalling windows XP is dead easy, especially if you set it up to fully install unattended. Installing drivers is quick and easy and so is putting the few bits n pieces on that I regularly use. Then if you ever need to use anything else you can install it, otherwise you can just leave windows free of junk that you had before - and in my case there's a lot of junk on here at the moment.
Fresh install every time i know it's a pain but if you have all apps and data on seperate partitions or drives then really only a few hours work and worth it, i do it at least once a year but ususally more cos i'm always fiddling:)
I use this program to make an exact copy of my old HD information and transfer it to a new drive.
http://212.223.28.218/zip/HDCOPY%20Home%20Setup.exe
Here's some info on it..
http://212.223.28.218/english/HDCOPY/features.htm
Or sometimes manufacterers have programs to transfer the old drive's information to a new drive.
Check if your manufacterer has a tool for doing this.
I myself install the new drive as a slave, format it using windows and do an exact copy from the old drive to the new drive, check the new drive is working correctly and running windows from it then swap them around and format the old drive.
i seocnd (or is third or foruth) proidgy. go for a fresh install.
btw w.r.t. which cable to put hard discs on, i would agree with austin that hdd+cd, hdd+cd is the best option, but in the real world hdd+hdd, cd+cd will be almost exactly the same speed. and it will be easier to root your cables..
dgr