Adding / Formatting a 2nd Hard Drive

[Hew Jaz]

As a result of replacing my hdd with a larger capacity one, I now have a 'spare' drive - lets call it Z.

I installed the drive (Z) as a slave drive in an older pc which is running ME with the intention of formating it (Z) and installing a new version of XP on same. My intention then is to replace the old drive in the ME machine with a larger (Z) drive complete with a new recently installed version of XP. (Still with me...?)

While the slave shows up in the bios, it doesn't show under 'my computer' and I can't access it. Not to be outdone, I disconnecetd the original drive, and called my new (Z) drive the master. Well, the PC had a fit and refused to start, whinging about new hardware. Restoring the original drive to the pc was required.

I appreciate that the two file systems are different - XP using NTFS and ME using FAT32. However, is there any way around the problem. Maybe the Z drive didn't start as Windows recognised the pc was a different one with a completely diffferent hardware spec etc.

I simply wish to replace the smaller hdd in the ME pc with the larger drive and a new copy of XP which I will then allow me to 'play' with lots of other goodies without the risk of stuffing my main pc.

Any thoughts?

All help gratefully received.

Thanks

HJ

[Parapunter]

In XP & Vista, the drive has to be initiated. Try right clicking on my computer, manage, disk management then see if it shows up on there. If so, right click on the drive & choose from there. Dunno if ME works like that, but apples don't fall far from the tree etc.

[BOAC]

Well, Hew, you lost me in para 2:), but I suggest you check in the BIOS at boot up that the drive is 'seen' by the machine. Also run 'TweakUi' and make sure the drive letter (Z) is enabled.

[Hew Jaz]

Disk manage isn't an option in ME unfortunately.

The drive shows up in the BIOS alright, and is enabled. It was detected automatically.

I'll have a look at TweakUi.

Thanks

HJ

[Saab Dastard]

Hew,

Any relation to Hew Jorifice or Hew Janus, BTW? :)

Back to your question - the simplest thing for you to do is to install the Z drive as Master in old PC. Then simply boot this PC off the XP installation disk and delete existing partitions, then create new partitions, format and install XP afresh.

You can then easily mount the existing ME disk as a second, slave disk, copy any useful information over to "Z" (now C), then reformat the slave.

SD

[Hew Jaz]

A not too distant relation!! ;)

I tried installing the Z drive as the master in the old pc, but it refused to run. It made an attempt, but muttered something about new hardware, and wouldn't go any further. (I subsequently wondered if the Z drive with XP from another pc recognised that it was in a totally different pc, and whether Windoze decided it wasn't legit).

I thought that might have been a way around it, and then to proceed as sugggested.

I've also tried TweakUi, and whilst all the boxes from A - Z are ticked, it still doesn't show up on 'my computer'.

Any further thoughts?

Thanks,

HJ

[vapilot2004]

Hew Jaz,

Try what SD is suggesting again.

I can expand a bit on what SD posted:

Disconnect old (ME) drive
Connect new drive
Configure it as Master
Check your BIOS settings to allow boot from CDROM
Insert XP CD in drive
Reboot computer
Install Windows XP**
Connect old (ME) drive as slave
Copy files*

*Note - most programs cannot be 'copied' from drive to drive. They must be installed. Data files, emails, address book and favourites can be copied.

**As a precaution against bringing virus/worm/etc aboard the new system,before connecting ME drive, I would suggest updating XP via Windows Update and installing and updating an Anti-Virus program. AVG (free) works very well - was recommended to me here. :ok:



Good Luck!

[unclenelli]

XP can see NTFS and Fat32, but ME can only see FAT32

If the slave drive is NTFS, it will be visible in BIOS and ME as an unformatted (unreadable format) drive, and therefore cannot read the FAT (file allocation table) which includes the drive size and drive letter (which is variable for XP)

Something like Partition Magic may be able to covert the drive from NTFS to FAT32 without formatting the drive

[bnt]

This is a blast from the past... have you tried the FDISK command in ME? It's the old way to partition a drive, after which you can format it. It's a very powerful tool, however, and can completely wreck an installation if not used wisely. For starters, you need to ensure you're working on the right drive. :eek:

See: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255867