ok i have 2 hard drives in my computer. Hard drive C is my primary, and hard drive F is my secondary. I want to make it so that F is my primary, and C is my secondary. I want to have it so that games are run off of F. I also need to have the same version windows on F, and a boot up agent on F. How can i clone my C hard drive to transfer it to my F hard drive. Please note i don't have the windows cd anymore, i recently moved and it got lost somewhere. Thanks for the help,

J

You actually don't need the Windows cd. You can use a program such as Norton Ghost to clone your hard drive. There are other programs out there also, butI mention ghost by name because I've used it and liked it.

thanks for the reply, i'll look into it. Now how do i make a hard drive primary instead of secondary? I'm actually considering just taking my C drive out completely, so once i clone it and put the clone on the F drive, can i just take the C drive out?

The hard drive should have come with a utility CD that will allow you to do just that.

Here's a link about how to move XP with a minimum amount of hassles (very important if you don't have a repair CD). http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

Also, do you have a separate partition on the hard drive that houses recovery data? This is a feature of several common computer systems - and the data there is important should you ever have to recover your operating system.

To change a HD from primary to secondary, you have to change the jumper setting from slave to master. The jumper is found on the back of the hard drive, somewere between the IDE cable and the power cable. and yes, once you clone the C: drive, you can remove it.

You also have to change the drive you want to be the master to the end of the IDE cable instead of where it is now on the middle connection.

Wrong. That;s what the jumper is for.

Connector Assignments and Color Coding: For the first time, the 80-conductor cable defines specific roles for each of the connectors on the cable; the older cable did not. Color coding of the connectors is used to make it easier to determine which connector goes with each device:

* Blue: The blue connector attaches to the host (motherboard or controller).
* Gray: The gray connector is in the middle of the cable, and goes to any slave (device 1) drive if present on the channel.
* Black: The black connector is at the opposite end from the host connector and goes to the master drive (device 0), or a single drive if only one is used.
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/ide/confCable80-c.html

LOL! You can give me as many website excerpts as you want, but I've got actual hands on experience. I'm telling you, how you plug the drives in on the cable does not matter. The jumpers tell the computer which drive is which, not the cable.

Attach the IDE Drive Cable
Attach the IDE cable connectors from the ribbon cables both into the old hard drive and the secondary hard drive. The connector furthest from the motherboard (often black) should be plugged into the primary hard drive. The middle connector (often gray) will be plugged into the secondary drive. Most cables are keyed to fit only in a specific direction on the drive connector but if it is not keyed, place the red striped portion of the IDE cable towards pin 1 of the drive.
http://compreviews.about.com/od/tutorials/ss/DIYSecHD_6.htm

Seems you may be one of those who doesn't follow manufacturer's directions and always winds up with extra pieces while shortcutting the job, eh?

You think you are the only one here with experience?
How many comebacks do you get?

From Seagate support:
Attach one end of the interface cable to the connector on the system board (see user's manual for locations). Align pin 1 on the cable with pin 1 on the connector. If using the 80-conductor cable, the blue connector should connect to the system board connector. The black connector goes to the Master and the Gray goes to the Slave.
http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/disc/how...all_tshoot.html

Western Digital:
. Install the Hard Drive

1. Connect the IDE Interface Cable to the hard drive(s):

1. If installing the hard drive as the only drive on the cable:
Connect the black connector of the IDE interface cable to the drive.

2. If installing two drives on the same IDE interface cable:
Jumper the bootable drive as Master and the other drive as Slave; then connect the Master drive to the black connector of the IDE interface cable and the Slave drive to the gray connector.
http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/ph...amp;p_topview=1


Maxtor:
the standard Master or Slave setting should work just fine. Maxtor ATA drives ship directly from the factory configured as a Master device. If the drive is going to be installed as the only device on the ribbon cable, or is going to be installed as the boot drive, then the default Master setting can probably be used without any problems. Just keep in mind that the Master device should always be attached to the end (black) connector on the Ultra ATA (UDMA) ribbon cable (this cable is supplied with your Maxtor retail box).

If the drive is going to be installed as a secondary device to another hard drive, then use the Slave setting outlined in the jumper diagram. A Slave device should always be attached to the middle (gray) connector on the ribbon cable.
https://maxtor.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/maxtor....amp;p_topview=1

I've never had any problems doing things the way I do them. In computers, you do what works, and for me, that is what works. Ever had one of those situations where if you plugged the IDE cable in in a certain way it isn't long enough to reach both drives? Switching the way they're plugged in totally alleviates that problem 9 times out of 10. Beleive me, I've hooked up enough IDE devices to know that there's no difference in how you plug it in. Those companies have to tell you stuff like that to save their sorry rumps in the event you have a problem.

You may do what "Works", but it's the wrong, lazy way that will result in problems happening later.

Hard drive manufacturers do not waste their time, energy and money on things that aren't necessary, and they PROVIDE the right cable with a new, retail hard drive and instructions on how to connect it.

You would do far better following those directions.

Advising people to shortcut or ignore specific instructions given by manufacturers whose engineers, code writers and other experts compile such advise and instructions is not in keeping with the quality level of advice expected by Bleeping Computer to be given to those seeking assistance from us.

I get the feeling you don't have much actual experience with computers. I have read handfuls of your responses that would support that theory. So do me a favor-worry about the quality of your own posts instead of mine.

And I'll have you now I've been thanked repeatedly for my help since becoming a member here one week ago. Something tells me my advice must be working.

I'd suggest that you attend to your suggestions and leave the "sniping" of others to the moderators. There are other, more constructive ways, to deal with disagreements here.

I've been here for almost a year now and can tell you, from my experience, that Enthusiast is a very experienced tech with a wealth of knowledge. He has helped me out on numerous occasions

Also, with computers you don't just do what works! This presumes that you have enough knowledge to forsee all possible consequences. I've been working on computers since the 1980's and still find things to surprise me. Also, one of the most basic troubleshooting techniques is to start by ensuring that the system is setup the way that the manufacturer intended it to be.

Computers have become incredibly complex and the manufacturer's recommendations should not be taken lightly. Yes, they're there to cover their butts - so when a user does something wrong they won't be entitled to a free replacement because of their own ineptitude.

If you don't follow their recommendations then you've gotta accept the consequences. But, if you're recommending this to others and something gets fouled up - are you gonna pay for the replacement?

And getting yourself involved is the best way to stop the disagreement. A little foresight would go a long way.




Edited post by removing unnecessary quotations

@ Gary335
FYI Enthusiast happens to be a Moderator & usasma is a Trusted Advisor.
They hold those positions because of their knowledge, trustworthiness,
and dedication to BC. I will not stand by and watch while you speak dispespectfully,
towards them. They have earned the respect they receive here.

Also being a Moderator one of Enthusiast's duties is to monitor members posts.
So he will continue to monitor yours and all others.

My advice to you is, slow down untill we get to know you better, and begin treating all
members here regardless of their rank, in a respectfull manner.

Please if you have any questions, feel free to pm me. Im sure you would agree that,
it would be best, so as to not muddy this thread.

Regards,
Scarlett - GloMod

wow thanks for all the replies, much appreciated!

Your welcome. Hopeful me vs. the powers that be didn't muck your thread up too much.