A couple HD questions

I'm not upgrading yet, but will be when my XP expires (I'm on XP now). I have a couple of questions about my internal HD and my external HD.

1) I'm guessing the new mobo will be Sata 3, my current internal HD is Sata 2, will this older Sata one work with a Sata 3 motherboard, i.e. is it backwards compatible? Can I just plug my current one in as a secondary drive and it'll work ok?

2) My external USB HD is formatted in NTFS with my XP computer, and a smaller FAT32 partition (with stuff in it from before I knew I had to format the drive). I'll be going with Windows 8.1. Will this external drive plug in and be readable alright, there'll be no issues with it originating in XP? I can still access everything in it ok?

Thanks.

Yes (SATA3 is backwards compatible with SATA2) and yes (8.1 will read and write to FAT32 fine)

Ok, thanks for clearing those up for me.

I would suggest a new HD for the new OS.

"when my XP expires" - what are you waiting for? When Microsoft finally stop issuing patches for XP, it will continue to work but just not get updates. Therefore the timing is more to do with when you can either afford or be bothered upgrading.

The newer kit will support the older standards, but watch out for the really old stuff. Current motherboards are not likely to have parallel IDE ports (for legacy CD drives for instance) or even floppy drives (for those pesky storage drivers needed during OS installation).

Windows 8.1 will probably have the necessary drivers for current storage controllers built-in but really old ones or very new ones may need a USB stick.

As the others have said, the external drive will be accessible through Windows 8, no problem.

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Originally Posted by liammcd

I would suggest a new HD for the new OS.

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I agree with liammcd, a new hard drive will make a big difference to your speed with a new O/S build and on a current motherboard. You can always install your current internal drive as well, using the new drive for your Windows 8 install. They will co-exist happily enough.

A SSHD would make a hell-of-a-difference. But yes, if you would like to have a new OS installation, a new HDD (if you can afford) would make a difference.

And feel free to re-use your old HDD. New systems are (usually) backwards compatible (but not like PS4 to PS3 :P )

I will be getting a new drive when I upgrade (this computer's nearly 10 years old I think), probably an SSD for Windows/Programmes. I want to be able to plug in my current HD (250Gb Sata 2) as a secondary drive in the new system as it has lots of data on it, too much to backup to DVD's, and my external USB HD is pretty much full too.

You will be able to re-utilize your old HDD in your system for sure.

So what will you do for no

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Originally Posted by abibee

I will be getting a new drive when I upgrade (this computer's nearly 10 years old I think), probably an SSD for Windows/Programmes. I want to be able to plug in my current HD (250Gb Sata 2) as a secondary drive in the new system as it has lots of data on it, too much to backup to DVD's, and my external USB HD is pretty much full too.

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That seems like a good solution. You could also put your current internal drive into an hard drive enclosure and not worry about connecting it to the motherboard and connect it via usb.