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Replacing a failing hard drive - want to do it right
I have purchased a 650GB WD Caviar Black SATA to replace the drive that came with my Dell system, Dimension 8400. I am assuming it is fully compatible with my computer since it came up on the shopping list when I plugged in my service tag on the Dell site. I know my current hard drive is in a RAID configuration - not the one that mirrors, but the other one (it has been a while since I researched all this stuff, so please excuse my ignorance). I know how to get the old one out and the new one in, but I am concerned about what happens when I turn it on. Do I need to do anything special to make it work? or just follow the instructions Dell has on installing a new hard drive? I don't know if I need to format or if formatting just "happens" as part of the steps. I have read conflicting things in regards to the boot up disk I need. I have a disk from Dell that says Operating System Reinstallation DVD - I thought that was the one I was to have in my CD drive at the time I boot up and it would walk me through - until I read that I am supposed to have a "floppy" in my A drive. I don't have a floppy and this concerns me - do I need to be concerned or do I use the DVD instead?
Also, assuming I figure out how to turn it on with the right floppy or DVD, and I get started on the setup procedures - I want to make sure that I get all the same features that my failing hard drive has on it. This is where my ignorance may really show... I found all these nice diagnostic tools that helped me figure out that my hard drive was failing in the first place when I hit F2 - do those get reinstalled in a separate partition like they are now from the OS reinstallation disk that I have? Will I lose those if I don't do something special? Also does the reinstallation automatically partition my hard drive or do I need to do that myself? If I have to do it - what do I do? My current hard drive is 300GB and my new one is 650GB.
Sorry for so many questions, but I don't want to screw this up. Thanks for helping! :emotion-42:
mc.hapa
25 Posts
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January 21st, 2010 18:00
You should be fine... there is not much special about a SATA drive. The reinstall cd is what you got when they did it at the factory so no worries there. Best way to know for certain is to follow the directions swap the drive and go for it. Good luck. ask if you have more questions.
shesagordie
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January 21st, 2010 20:00
skkfrost wrote:
"... I found all these nice diagnostic tools that helped me figure out that my hard drive was failing in the first place when I hit F2 - do those get reinstalled in a separate partition like they are now from the OS reinstallation disk that I have? Will I lose those if I don't do something special? Also does the reinstallation automatically partition my hard drive or do I need to do that myself?"
skkfrost
It would be handy to include the version of windows, that you are installing
Both the Dell Diagnostics and the Dell PC Restore by Symantec feature on the failed hard drive, cannot be recreated on the new 650gb SATA hard drive, as they are factory installed software.
The only method of transfering these two features, is to clone the exsisting 300gb HD to the new 650gb HD.
The same Diagnostics are on the Dell Drivers and Utilities Disc, that can be used to run the Diagnostics.
Formatting and partitioning the hard drive, is part of installing windows.
Bev.
skkfrost
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January 22nd, 2010 03:00
Bev, thanks for responding. I am installing Windows XP.
When you say formatting and partitioning the drive is part of installing windows - do I have to know what size I want my partitions, or know anything else? Does Windows figure all that out by itself?
My original plan was to clone the drive so I bought an Apricorn DriveWire, but it locked up at stage 3 when setting up the partition for C. It remained at 1% progress for 15 hours until the customer service rep at Apricorn finally called me back to let me know it was safe to just power down my system. He barely knew much more than me about what was going on and he had no clue what to do about it. Previously, I had run CHKDSK and it got hung up at 7% for over 10 hours (I had to go into F8 and restore to a previous condition to get out of that one since every time I powered off and on CHKDSK would start running). That's how I found the diagnostics which during the Read test found 6 bad sectors. So now I am trying to go with plan B, installing from scratch because I don't know how to make the clone work.
I think when the DriveWire scanned my old hard drive it found 3 partitions, one for the Dell utilities and maybe other stuff (BIOS?), one for C, and one for spare sectors? Maybe there were 4, I don't remember. Is it possible to clone the first partition and manually partition C, then install the operating system and have it all work? I don't mind doing something complicated as long as I know exactly what to do.
Is my new hard drive going to be formatted in RAID automatically or do I set it up that way? (If I have a choice, do I want to set it up in RAID?) I think I originally got a RAID because at the time (back in 2004) that was the only way to get a large hard drive. I don't know if RAID is the way to go or not now-a-days.
Do you know anything about the floppy vs. DVD?
Thanks!
TheRealFireblad
4.6K Posts
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January 22nd, 2010 04:00
You'll probably find this Dell guide helpful: How to re-install Windows on a Dell computer.
But in a nutshell, to install the OS on a new drive, just boot from the OS disc, and basically follow the prompts.
You may be asked to format the hard drive first? If you are - choose the 'Quick' format option - else it could take about an hour to format a 300GB drive!
This will create one large {primary} partition, and the OS will default to installing on C:\.
(You can actually partition the drive at this stage, but I've always preferred to do it later, because the OS installation takes long enough as it is!)
Once the OS is installed, you can then repartition the drive as necessary.
Doing so requires third-party software under Windows XP though, but there are a number of FREE partitioning programs available, including:
Easeus Partition Master Home Edition
Partition Logic
Cute Partition Manager
Partition Resizer
Ranish Partition Manager
You might also want to have a look at the following page, for more Free Partitioning Software (Partition Editors, Managers, and Recovery Tools).
You'll have to decide for yourself what size you want the partitions to be.
C:\ is obviously the main one, and how big it needs to be, depends on what programs you use, and their respective installation sizes?
But FWIW - I've personally always found 60GB - 65GB plenty for the OS and programs.
It can always be enlarged at a later date anyway, if you realise you're running out of space.
That's done, by simply 'stealing' space from another partition - the next one ideally (D:\).
As for how many partitions you create: I usually create a total of three partitions: C:\ (OS & Programs), D:\ (Games - my largest partition - by far), and E:\ - a small (10GB or so) 'Downloads' partition.
But you might might need a couple more, depending on what you do with your computer.
For instance, you might want a 'Video/Movies' partition (i.e. if you like to edit home videos/movies), or a 'Music' partition for ripped/downloaded tracks, etc etc.
You might want/prefer to do some reading up on the process, before taking the plunge, and there are plenty of guides/articles available on the subject.
PC Stats offer various [excellent] 'Beginners' guides. Here's the one which details 'Formatting and Partitioning a Hard Drive'.
You can also watch the partitioning procedure in this (10min) YouTube video tutorial: How to partition a hard drive.
Good luck, but don't hesitate to ask any more questions you might have before you begin :emotion-5:
skkfrost
5 Posts
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January 22nd, 2010 05:00
theRealFireblade, I appreciate all the links you provided. I will look them up tonight. I am relieved to know I can repartition later. Currently, my CD drive is D and my DVD drive is E and my memory card reader on my printer is F. Would I have to redo those drive letters if I made more partitions (not that I know how to do that)? And just out of curiosity, what are the benefits of having things in different partitions vs. having everything lumped together in C?
Thanks!
skkfrost
5 Posts
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January 22nd, 2010 05:00
Thanks for your encouragement!