Replacing my hard drive

[Martini]

I have a six year old computer with a 20 GB hard drive that I'd like to replace with a bigger one and partition it so I can play with Linux and get the hang of using it, while still being able to keep Windows XP. I'm not all that computer savvy, so I have a few questions:

My PC originally came with Windows ME and I have since upgraded to Windows XP. If I buy a new hard drive, will I be able to start from scratch and install Windows ME even though my PC came with only a recovery disc? If not, how do I get Windows back on my PC?

I don't mind starting from scratch and reinstalling all of the programs I have on my PC now, but I don't want to lose all of my emails I have saved in Outlook Express over the years. What's the best way to get OE with all of my emails on the new hard drive? Thanks.

[Paul Komski]

You actually have a number of options. You can do as indicated and replace the current drive with a new one or you could simply add the second hard drive and have two drives in the computer. The new drive can be the second or slave drive in the system or the roles can be reversed.

If you intend replacing the drive it is possible to clone the contents of the current drive to the new one either using the maker's own software utility or with a program such as BiNG (in my sig).

If your recovery disk is a CD then there should be no problem with using it to put a new installation onto the new drive as a clean installation. You could then copy the data, such as your emails, from the smaller drive into your clean installation with the older drive added as a slave. It is safest to take the current drive out of the system when reinstalling from a reinstall CD and put it back in as a slave afterwards.

When you have finished installing or swapping over the Windows installation you can install Linux. Perhaps put that on the back burner for the moment and get Windows sorted out first. It should be very straightforward to install Linux later on and the main consideration will be whether to keep it completely installed onto one hard drive or to have an integrated boot routine using the Linux boot loader (GRUB or LILO) on the MBR or whether to use a 3rd Party Boot Manager such as BiNG.

Lots of choices so let us know your thoughts to advise you on more specifics.

NB: I would stay with a drive smaller than 127GB if intending to run Windows Millenium on it or to access it from Windows Millenium.

[Martini]

Thanks for the advice, Paul.

One quick question on selecting a drive:

There's an 80B hard drive I'm looking at purchasing on the internet, and one of the user opinions on CNET wrote this about a similar drive made by the same manufacturer (Western Digital):

"Downloaded their upgrade & it still didn't work. Requires ms-dos & XP doesn't start in dos. Waiting for a response from their tech."

Do you think I may have a problem using the hard drive with Windows XP? Here's the drive I was looking at:

http://www.pcprogress.com/product.asp?m1=pw&pid=WD800BB

[Paul Komski]

I would forsee no problem and WD Caviars have a good track record (touch wood of course). The CNET user was presumably wanting to upgrade the drive's firmware using a boot floppy diskette. That shouldn't be necessary - I have never flashed a HDD's firmware.

[Martini]

Okay, I got a new hard drive and now I'm stuck. I disconnected the old one and put the new one in and attempted to install my upgrade version of Windows XP. When I got to the point that told me to put in one of my earlier editions of Windows, I put in disc 1 of my Windows ME Restoration discs and I got a message saying it was invalid and to insert another disc. I then tried using disc 2 and disc 3 and got the same message. Now what?

[Paul Komski]

I put in disc 1 of my Windows ME Restoration discs
No good - you need a full Windows installation CD. In order to use the XP upgrade you should therefore first install WinME from the restoration Disks. Then run the upgrade CD from the WinME desktop and just choose New installation rather than upgrade right at the start. That should get you started and you should be able to delete/format the temporary WinME installation as a part of the setup procedure if that is what you want.

[Martini]

Thanks! :)

[Martini]

Should I be able to get Windows ME on a new hard drive from the restoration discs Gateway provided me with?

I put in disc 1 of the restoration disc, shut the pc off, unplugged my old hard drive and plugged in my new one, and then started it up.

I chose the 'boot from the CDROM' and then I get a Startup Menu screen with two options:

1. DOS Prompt
2. NT 4.0 Driver Location

I tried clicking on both on different attempts, and I get a black screen with this in the upper left hand corner:

|:\>

According to this (http://www.fujitsu-siemens.co.uk/rl/servicesupport/techsupport/software/windows/ME_Rebuild.htm) webpage, after I select 'boot from the CDROM', I should get the following screen:

The Microsoft Windows Millenium Startup menu will now appear

1. Start Windows Setup From CD-Rom.
2. Start Computer with CD-rom support.
3. Start Computer without CD-rom support.

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong? I have a feeling that restoration discs aren't good enough for a new hard drive, but I'm hoping I'm wrong.

[david eaton]

I chose the "boot from hard disc" and..........
Try resetting the BIOS to"boot from CD rom. then you should be able to install the Restoration disks

[Martini]

Whoops, I wrote that I chose "boot from hard disc" but I actually chose "boot from CD".

[Paul Komski]

It's a while since I played with a Gateway but from memory they provide a number of CDROMs for drivers and applications and one for intalling Windows. The one for installing windows is a normal OEM installation CD - so it looks as if you have one of the driver/utility CDs and not the installation CD which should have some mention of Windows Millenium on it.

[Martini]

I have three discs:

Disc 1:Hardware drivers
Partial backup of applications
NT 4.0 Driver Locator utility

Disc 2: Operating System restoration program

Disc 3: Backup of applications

I tried all three.

[Martini]

I found the following here (http://www.mistywindow.com/windows/operating-system.htm):

Restoration disks

If you don't receive a Windows XP CD, you should at least receive a set of restoration CDs. These disks can be used to restore your PC to the exact state it was in when it left the factory. This is not a satisfactory solution. More about this below.

As mentioned previously, sometimes you receive the licence and Product Key but not even the restoration disks. The installation software is on a hidden partition on your hard disk. A restoration can be done by following the instructions given in your manual, which usually consists of tapping a specified key when booting (starting). If this is the case, at the very least you should be able to create a set of restoration CDs on your CD writer, otherwise if your hard drive fails, you have no means of reinstalling Windows on a new drive. A new full copy of Windows would set you back almost as much as a cheap PC.
What's Wrong with Restoration CDs?

* You've paid for Windows and you should receive a full copy of the program.
* For a number of reasons, your installation can become so disrupted that you can't access your data, or perhaps you can't even start Windows. With a Windows CD you can do a Repair installation. That is, if Windows is playing up and you're having trouble fixing it, you can reinstall it over the top of your current installation. With a bit of luck your programs, data and settings are still there.
You can't do that with a Restoration set. You can only do a restoration during which everything is wiped off your C: (main) drive. it's restored to the way it was when it left the factory. A lot more work ensues reinstalling all your programs and data and you have a really BIG problem if you haven't been backing up your precious files!
* If, in a year or two, you want to upgrade to a fancy new version of Windows, you can buy a (much cheaper) upgrade version. Unfortunately, if, as is usually best, you want to start with a clean installation of the new operating system, during that installation Windows will want proof that you qualify for the upgrade.
For the purposes of proof, XP will not recognise a restoration disk. So you have to either do a dirty installation of the new product over the top of the old one, or you have to do a restoration of the original version and then do a dirty installation. Neither option is completely satisfactory.
If you get in this position, and you do have a valid licence, try to borrow someone else's disk for verification during installation.
* Some repair and maintenance operations are difficult or impossible without a Windows CD. Find out here.

If I'm understanding this correctly, there's no way to install Windows with restoration discs on a new hard drive.

I'm guessing my only alternative is to use a program like Norton Ghost and copy my old hard drive to my new one and then reinstall XP on it to have a clean install?

[Paul Komski]

That article may or may not apply - but I think it doesnt since to my knowledge Gateway uses installation files and not restoration images.. Disk 2 is obviously the one that should be used.If it wont boot normally then explore it in Windows and see what it contains. If it contains a WinME installation it should contain a win98 or winME folder containing a whole lot of cab files. If so you can initiate a brand new setup from a startup boot diskette.

PS do you have a product key code for the WinME installaiton?? It may be embeddied in an text file as in the msbatch.inf file below.

The WinME CD should contain (more or less anyway):-

add-ons
autorun
cdsample
drivers
tools
win9x
autorun.inf
readme.txt
setup.exe
setuptip.txt

... and the win9x folder should contain
OLS
dossetup.bin
DRIVER5.CAB
DRIVER6.CAB
DRIVER7.CAB
extract.exe
format.com
intl.txt
mini.cab
msbatch.inf
NET3.CAB
NET4.CAB
oemsetup.bin
oemsetup.exe
PRECOPY1.CAB
save32.com
scandisk.exe
scandisk.pif
scanprog.exe
scanreg.exe
setup.exe
setup.txt
setup0.wav
smartdrv.exe
suback.bin
suback16.bin
suhelper.bin
w9xsetup.bin
wb16off.exe
WIN_10.CAB
WIN_11.CAB
WIN_12.CAB
WIN_13.CAB
WIN_14.CAB
WIN_15.CAB
WIN_16.CAB
WIN_17.CAB
WIN_18.CAB
WIN_19.CAB
WIN_20.CAB
WIN_21.CAB
WIN_22.CAB
WIN_8.CAB
WIN_9.CAB
WIN_OL.CAB
win1024.bin
win640.bin
win800.bin
winme.wmv
xmsmmgr.exe

[Martini]

If it wont boot normally then explore it in Windows and see what it contains.
How do I do that? I put it into my CD drive and you can start off with installing hardware )keyboard and mouse), software (INF Driver, AGP Driver) or Recover System.

PS do you have a product key code for the WinME installaiton?? It may be embeddied in an text file as in the msbatch.inf file below.
Man, I hope so. I haven't seen it in years. I'll start looking for it now.

[Paul Komski]

How do I do that?
Open My Computer and with the CD in its Drive Right Click on the CD's Drive Letter and choose explore.

If the contents contain the cab files etc you should be able to run setup from a floppy diskette. This was just trying to ascertain what files exist on the CD - in other words is it a restore CD or an installation CD - they are different beasts.

[Martini]

Thanks so much for your help, Paul. I don't know why I was having so much trouble installing ME, but I called Gateway tech support (at $2.95 a minute) and they also told me it should work. I tried three more times, and the third one finally stuck. I finally got XP on it to after many failed attempts again. I'll never again by an upgrade version of Windows! Now I can't connect to the internet because for some reason Windows on the new hard drive won't recognize my ethernet card. I'm gonna start a new thread and see if anyone can help me with that. Thanks again!

[Sylvander]

Why start a new thread, you have 2 top people helping you here? :)

Does the Ethernet Card appear in Device Manager [even if only as an "Unknown Device"]?

If it doesn't you probably need to "Force Update the ESCD" in the BIOS Setup so that the card is detected by the BIOS, new non-conflicting resource allocations are made, and those allocations are recorded in the ESCD.
Only if the resources needed by the card are given during Startup is the card initialised and seen by Windows.

To do this...
Go into the BIOS Setup, PnP/PCI Configuration, and set...
Reset Configuration Data : Enabled

...And "Save & exit Setup".