another "second" hardirve question

[jjoel]

my specs
HP 511-W (i know proprietary sorry)
intel celeron 1.2 ghz
256 mb pc-133 ram
40 gb hardrive
11mb video (on board)
some proprietary board

ok i was looking inside my case and noticed that i have room for a second hardrive. and i also have the right cords for it and everything. i have a hardrive that is in an amdk6@300mhz (old acer) and its 4.3 gb
now i have several connectors for it in my hp and was trying to figure out which one to use. its weird cause i have one open slot and i think 3 free connectors for it, well, maybe one is for a CDRW. so should this hardrive be just plug and play? or do i need any files for it? i'd like to set it as an "E:".

here's the big question. is there any way in heck that i could screw up my computer by plugging in the second hardrive? my parents would KILL me if i junked this computer an had to by a new o/s or fix a blown mobo.

and i dont understand what all this "slave" talk is about i'd appreciate that too! thanks

jjoel

[Budfred]

I'll try to address some of your questions, starting at the end. That "slave" talk is how the computer knows where your HD fits on the chain of command, or the cable that it is connected to. You can have 2 devices hooked into one IDE port, so the computer needs to know which one to give priority to. The Master is generally the faster and more often accessed drive, the Slave is the back-up or simply less used drive. If you don't tell it which is which and you don't have the option for Cable Select, one or both of your HDs will not be usable.

Ok, one other question involved whether the 2nd drive could screw up your system. Yes it can. The main way this would be likely is if it had an infection, like the Klez, that you brought over from another computer. One way to minimize risk is to download utilities for the drive from the makers site, make a boot floppy with them and then write zeros to the drive and run a complete diagnostic scan. Then Fdisk to partition and format.

If you have an empty IDE connector, you can hook the drive to this and it can be Master. If you have to use the one the HD is already hooked to, make it Slave and connect it to the connector that is between the Master and the motherboard.

That is all I have for now. Good luck,
Budfred

[gwallen4]

Putting a 4 GB drive into a machine with a working 40 GB HD is not worth the aggravation and risk. How much of the 40 GB have you used anyway? If you've used 2/3 of it you need another 40 GB drive. Otherwise you're OK.

[jjoel]

i was thinking about using it as a "removable" drive. my cuzin has an hp similar to mind and i could transfer files to him.

that 4.3 is completely formatted (format c: /s) so it still could screw this machine up? hmm.

ok. i thought the computer would just simply recognize it as another drive. i'd also like to keep my personal files on this. looks like i might just partition my current drive.

[jjoel]

i wanna make about a 5 GB partition off of my 40 gb hardrive. i dont have partition magic though. any other good programs out there that will make a partition for me?

im running windows xp

[Fruss Tray Ted]

XOSL (www.xosl.org)
Stands for Extended Operating System Loader
Free and it has Partition Magic with it.

[Budfred]

You could set it up as an external drive with a USB connection by installing it in an adapter box. They cost about $100, but deals can be found. You would have to be cautious about virus and other nasties that might get transferred, but that would be true even with floppies.

Budfred

[gwallen4]

Budfred,

Where do you get a USB adapter box for an external HD? I've never been able to find one. Sounds like a handy device!

jjoel,

You could burn data on a CD-R/RW for data transfer if you both have burners, and you could use it for your own personal backups.

[Budfred]

Here is a firewire enclosure:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=289597

and here are 2 USB 2.0 enclosures:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=293573

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=289073

I have seen other's but this is all I could find on a quick search.

Budfred

[gwallen4]

OK, I see how it's done. Cool. Thanks, Budfred.

Does anyone make a gadget that fits in a 5 1/4 inch bay that you can slide a HD in and out of? Sounds pretty easy to do - and cheap. Looks like a good use for all these little HD's I have sitting around.

[Budfred]

I just found some more enclosures on NewEgg:

http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?submit=list&catalog=92&DEPA=0&order=price&sort=asc

I imagine somebody has what you are talking about, they sure have a lot of them to slide in and out of a 5.25 computer bay.

Budfred

[JUAN DOS]

These are swap bays are out of stock right now, but they will be back soon.

http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=GN210

At $7 these are a bargoon. I use several for moving big files and holding backups of “C”.
Be advised that the are not hot-swapable. Hook it up as “slave” to your optical drive, then you will not need to rejumper your 40g.
Write zeros to the 4g, and chances of messing up your good machine are minimal.
You really need to do some reading on what & how drives are configured before ripping apart your PC.

[gwallen4]

Now we're talking. Good find, Juan Dos. I'm gonna get me one as soon as they're back in stock.

[jjoel]

thanks guyz. i think i'll use that program to night and get me a little partition all to myself!

[jjoel]

ummm, which one do i download (that xosl thing)