Installing new Hard Drive

[TUalum0982]

so I just picked up a new 500gb internal SATA hard drive for the horrible 320gb seagate it will be replacing.  The cd that came with the Hard drive is useless on Vista.  I am wanting to transfer EVERYTHING on my C drive to this new drive, operating system and all.

Can anyone recommend a good program to do this, preferably free that will do a good job and is simple to use?

Thanks!

[TURobY]

I believe (maybe it's only with Western Digital) that you can boot the CD  and handle it from there, as opposed to using it within the operating system. You might give that a try first.

[cannon_fodder]

My external Seagate 320gig was plug and play with XP if I recall correctly.  Works great too.

I'm more and more glad I did not "upgrade" to Vista.

[TURobY]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder


I'm more and more glad I did not "upgrade" to Vista.

People said the same thing going from 98 to XP. It just takes a while for drivers/software/etc to catch up.

[inteller]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

My external Seagate 320gig was plug and play with XP if I recall correctly.  Works great too.

I'm more and more glad I did not "upgrade" to Vista.

you ****tard, he didn't say Vista didn't see the HD, he said that the CD it came with wasn't designed for Vista....which is no surprise since they typically ship those drives with "tools" that are always a few versions out of date.


to solve your problem:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronis_True_Image

[patric]

You might consider installing your new HD as a "slave" drive (set by jumpers on the back of the drive) and either "ghosting" or just copying everything over from your master drive.

http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_image_a_hard_drive.html

Most people dont want to re-install the operating system when upgrading the HD but it's actually a good idea to do at lest every other year (or sooner) because time and use corrupt the operating system to the point where a clean sweep is good.

[cannon_fodder]

quote:Originally posted by inteller


you ****tard, he didn't say Vista didn't see the HD, he said that the CD it came with wasn't designed for Vista....which is no surprise since they typically ship those drives with "tools" that are always a few versions out of date.

Wow, was that really necessary?

The statement was: With Vista I'm having problems.
I responded: Same basic HD worked plug and play with XP

Not only does your statement not contradict mine, but your response was to break out profanity and call me a name?  I didn't post anything harsh, I didn't post anything untrue, and I didn't post anything insulting you.  What prompted your response?

Taking your now overt hostility coupled with your constant negativity, you must live a really sorry life.  If your posts as of late are indicative of your future contributions and maturity level, I hope you soon move on.  Your response was totally uncalled for.

[TUalum0982]

I guess to just clarify, I installed the hard drive, Vista recognized it and installed the right drivers. However, from the reviews I read for this particular hard drive, they stated just "pop in the cd, and it will copy everything over for you".  The hard drive currently in there is going bad, and is a POS.  It's just the cd that came with the hard drive isn't meant for Vista, so it won't install correctly.  

I am just looking for a program to move everything from one hard drive, to the other without having to reinstall EVERYTHING I already have.  

thanks for the link patrik, I will look into that shortly.

[godboko71]

Could try Norton Ghost

"http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Back-Up-and-Recovery/Symantec-Norton-Ghost.shtml"

http://www.symantec.com/norton/products/overview.jsp?pcid=br&pvid=ghost14

I don't know what the limations of the trial are, so I will also look for free alternatives.

[inteller]

Acronis is 15 day trial no limitations.  The software is easy enough that if you can't figure out how to clone in 15 days you probably shouldn't be trying to install a new hard drive anyways.

[custosnox]

or, as TURoby was saying, you could set your biose to boot from cd first, put in your cd that came with it, and it might be set up to do it from there.  No OS involved.  Personally, I would just install a new OS, hook up your old drive as a slave, and copy over what you need to.

[Breadburner]

Geeks...[]

[RecycleMichael]

Installing a hard drive shouldn't require a hammer, but now it fits.

[custosnox]

quote:Originally posted by Breadburner

Geeks...[]

Dont you know?  Geek is the new Sheek

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by RecycleMichael

Installing a hard drive shouldn't require a hammer, but now it fits.

I used a hammer in converting an XT system to AT.

Ah.. the good old days.

If Inteller colorful rainbow of linguistic prowess didn't clear it up, the problem is not seeing the drive, it's formatting it and copying the data over. Inteller provided a $50 tool to do this and here's a free one:
http://www.miray.de/products/sat.hdclone.html#free

You just have to make sure it is an up to date product that supports SATA. (and with SATA there is no longer the master/slave relationship that patric mentioned)