Guys.. Need help with the New Hard drive.

GRAND_LS 400

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Okay, I have not done this in a long time ever since I built my system, so my memory is getting rusty.

I just bought a New bigger hard Drive, and i want to transfer my operating system (NTFS) into the new hard drive after partitioning it.

It won’t partition in DOS, because it’s a 100GB, and it only shows up as 29GB when i go to FDISK. Therefore, I need partition Magic.

Currently, my old hard drive is partitioned into 2 partitions, one NTFS (the one with the operating System), and the other is FAT32. I'd like to make the same config on the new one too. I know partition magic can take care of that part. Nevertheless, how about completely copying the entire hard drive into the new one? I know they are programs to do it, just don’t know the names of any, or what the best ones are (and where I can get them).


Thanx.
 
RE: Guys.. Need help with the New Hard drive.

You'll likely find a partition program on the web site of the hard drive manufacturer - or you can find a copy of Partition Magic.

You can also just FAT32 it as a slave - reformat it as NTFS the way want it - then copy everything over and switch drives.
 
RE: Guys.. Need help with the New Hard drive.

boot from your OS CD, partition and format it from there. That's how i always do it. Then reinstall all the programs you need. Look at it as an opportunity to clean all the old crap from your system. For files and whatnot, once you get everything installed, hook your old drive up as a slave and transfer everything over, then reformat it and use it as backup or something. While i rarely (if ever) backup my system, all my important info is on at least two hard drives.
 
RE: Guys.. Need help with the New Hard drive.

You'll likely find a partition program on the web site of the hard drive manufacturer - or you can find a copy of Partition Magic.

You can also just FAT32 it as a slave - reformat it as NTFS the way want it - then copy everything over and switch drives.

Yeah I know, but HOW do I copy it? I’m talking about copying the entire Operating system, not just individual files. Do i just do it from DOS? would that work?
 
RE: Guys.. Need help with the New Hard drive.

boot from your OS CD, partition and format it from there. That's how i always do it. Then reinstall all the programs you need. Look at it as an opportunity to clean all the old crap from your system. For files and whatnot, once you get everything installed, hook your old drive up as a slave and transfer everything over, then reformat it and use it as backup or something. While i rarely (if ever) backup my system, all my important info is on at least two hard drives.

Yea I know, that’s what I would do usually, but this time I have Very important critical programs and sub programs that I don’t have access to anymore, so it’s not an option.
 
RE: Guys.. Need help with the New Hard drive.

You can use a Hard Drive imaging program to mirror the entire HD, then install it on the new HD. Drive Image and Norton Ghost are a couple I have used, although not on a regular basis. I learned about the programs from a friend of mine who works a a network admin; they configure the systems a certain way, ghost the HD, then just deploy however many copies they need (and are licensed for)...Makes sense.

Kale

(Note: I moved this thread to this forum from the Glovebox. Hint, Hint :))
 
RE: Guys.. Need help with the New Hard drive.

Just to play it safe I would do a clean install. Partition the drive as you go and then copy your data over. Or better yet copy all of your important stuff to a safe place and install the new drive and start fresh.

Ghost and drive image are good tools but they only work if the machines are identical. Sometimes when you turn the PC on you start to get a list of issues. At work we use the Microsoft scripts to do installs works like a charm every time.
 
RE: Guys.. Need help with the New Hard drive.

I Think I try that Kale.

Yeah, it is the exact same computer; I just got a new hard drive.

For some reason, When I FDISK it at DOS, it only shows up at 29GB?
Oh well, I’ll just use partition magic.

I wish I can do clean install, but I have invested a lot of money and time on the programs, sub programs, and registry keys to do a clean install. Moreover, the last clean install was preformed too long ago anyways.

p.s. sorry about that Kale, I thought this forum was deleted, that’s why I posted in the Glove box.
 
RE: Guys.. Need help with the New Hard drive.

You might be running into a BIOS limitation. Do you currently have a drive bigger than 30 gigs installed in there? If so then you should be OK.
 
RE: Guys.. Need help with the New Hard drive.

Yeah, my motherboard has been updated a couple of months ago. I used to have a 40GB, and im upgrading to a bigger cache of 8MB on a 100GB Western Digital.
 
RE: Guys.. Need help with the New Hard drive.

Thanks guys for everything, I found a Program at Western Digital's website that will solve all my issues..... Thanks!
 
RE: Guys.. Need help with the New Hard drive.

Thanks guys for everything, I found a Program at Western Digital's website that will solve all my issues..... Thanks!

See post one. Should have said it was a WD, they have a good utility.
 
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