I'm building a new computer and the OS is going to be Windows XP Pro. The hard drives are going to be a Maxtor 80GB (master) and Maxtor 160GB (slave). I know how to get around the issue of hard drives being > than 137GB by using SP1. Now the problem. The 80GB drive has about 68GB of data that I don't want to loose and have no easy way to back up. The 80GB drive was pulled from my current system which is running Windows ME.

Here's the plan..........in the new machine, install XP on the 80GB drive (which has the data on it now) and install SP1. After doing this, format the 160GB drive, move the data over to the 160GB drive, and then defrag the 80GB drive. The question is, can I somehow look forward to loosing the 68GB of data by putting XP on a drive which was pulled from a machine using ME? My understanding is that XP reads HD's in a different manner than ME/98.

Thanks in advance.

 

Well, your ither option is if the otehr comp you are building can run on its own without making your current comp to be unusable, is put the 160 into the new comp, transfer all data between comps, then change the 160 to slave and put the 80 as main, and then transfer back over to main what you want on it catch my drift? otherwise, I really see no reason why it should not read it off the 160 if you put it on there using your current system then install the 160 as the slave.

 

The Pole is Flawed (remember that? ).

Here's the deal, and hang on because this is going to get bumpy . .

XP Pro does use natively the NTFS sector format NOT the DOS format ME uses natively to read from and write to the hard drive.

~However~

to address legacy issues (all other versions of windows except 2000 and XP) XP is also, and this is important; capable of using the DOS sector format.

Here is where things get dicey!

XP is a native 64bit application. NO other Windows version is - even 2000 Pro. Thus ~anything and everything~ it does while working with less than 64 bit data or program files must be run through "translators" or "converters".

Micro$oft is having a lot of trouble with the converters for boot sector and file system format.

In order to do as you have stated *reliably*, XP will have to be installed on a CLEAN PARTITION on your 80 gig drive.

Unless you have Partition Magic or something similar installed or a clean NTSF partition already established you can count on problems.

. . oh, and in case you don't already know it, virtually NONE of your applications will work by simply pulling them onto the "new XP drive" from the old ME one.

My friend, you need an in house LAN. Copy the whole dang drive to another computer. Do what you want to do to that drive, and when you are allllll done, copy back what you wanted from the network machine. ~that'll work~ if what you are ultimately after is only the data files.

HTH.

 

Plan "B" . .

Take the 80 gig drive out and toss it on the chair (gently!)

Format the big drive to a single NTFS partition and select it as your primary. If it has jumpers do not forget to set them first.

Install XP Pro.

When all finished and everything is back to "normal" shut the machine down and dig that 80 gig drive in the chair out from under the pizza boxes.

Now, it is a safe bet it does have a jumper - change it to "slave" and reinstall it as such physically.

Now, fire up XP.

After a few minor XP freak outs . . you will have a slave you can copy to or from at will.

Now. Obviously you have your drives arranged just the opposite of what you originally wanted. Believe it or not; that is a good thing, Grasshopper.

Windows (or any other consumer OS) runs fastest and most error free when all applications are installed on the same physical drive.

I have had a number of drives that filled with applications long before my "file storage" drive filled. It is massively irritating to me to have to upgrade a primary drive, reinstall all say 20 gig of applications on a 80 gig drive, all the while I have a 60 gig drive for file storage that is no where near full.

. . know what I mean, Vern?

HTH, or at least provided food for thought.

 

Ahhh.... NT and its primitive file systems.... One day it'll catch up with Linux (nah.... not really).

With Linux you set up an LVM partition and when you run out of drive space just add another drive and Voila!, it's seen as one large drive instead of two smaller drives. Need to take out a slow drive and add a new one? Tell it which drive is going offline, which drive is new and it will migrate the data to the new drive. All of this is transparent to the file structure for applications and the operating system.

 

Ahhhhhhhhh (as in the sound of relief).

I love NIX. Most all the flavors.

But for the command line impaired . . .

(ON EDIT: "But for the command line challenged . . . - sorry!)

()

 

That's exacltly why I run Linux! I have everything I need at a wonderful price: nothing. I'd stay away from XP, it's a buggy system that's designed to insult your inteligance.

Aside from Linux, I run 2000 pro because absolutely have to.

 

Put the 160GB drive in your present system, format it as big as you can then transfer the data to it.

Install the 80GB drive in your new system and format NTFS and install XP.

Install the 160GB drive and transfer the data to the 80GB drive. Format the 160GB drive and move the data to it if you need to.

Installing XP over ME will corrupt the data on the 80GB drive.

 

I agree with Torque1st. Since an NT based machine with an NTFS file system can view and manipulate files from a drive with the Fat32 file system, I would think it to be much easier to just set your current 80Gb drive as master, hook up the 160 as a slave and transfer all of the data to your slave.

Once that's done, you can just format the 80Gb to NTFS and install XP and copy it all back.

If your new drive is NTFS and your existing drive is Fat32, it may not copy as a DOS based operating system cannot read the NTFS file system and it may not copy.

Hope I made some sense. I'm not sure if I did or not.

 

 

Thanks for all the feedback guys. My suspicion about corrupting the 80GB drive with the data seems valid if XP Pro is installed on it and is not worth the risk. Since the new machine is already built it looks like I'll be formatting the 160 and installing XP Pro on it, moving data to it, wiping out the 80, installing XP Pro on it and then wiping XP Pro off the 160. Somehow I think there is a way to deal with the > 137 GB issue on the 160 hard drive but I've gotta do some reading into that one. I guess if worse comes to worst I can move the data back to the 80, install SP1, clean up the 160 so all of it can be used, then move data back over to it.

BTW, the reason I don't want to put everything on the 160 GB drive is because the data is seldom accessed. It's avi's, mpegs, mp3's and some pdf's which eventually need to be burned onto DVD. Of course, all software will be placed on the 80GB drive as will be frequently accessed files.

Again, thanks for all the feedback guys

 

One last thought.... GO to ebay and buy a used Sun multi disk pack. there really cheap, about $50.... Then buy a SCSI RAID card for your computer..... Then (on EBAY) buy 6 SCSI hard drives....



Anyhow, I did this my self with my old Sun Multi Packs and Windows XP Pro.... Works like a champ and i've got over 600GB of space now....


Later


Big Mick