Slave hard drive question?

[GroundZero3]

Okay i have a hard drive thats 1.3gb big and im getting a 20.4gb, and i want to make the 1.3gb a slave. I have some questions about doing this:

1. If i make the small one a slave can i move files from that hard drive to the other without it messing up the file.

2. Does both hard drives have to have windows loaded on it to work properly?

3. Can i put the two hard drives on one asici <--(spelling?) cable?
Thanxs
Gz3

[JeffSP]

You only need to have windows on the boot drive (master) there is no reason that the new drive cant be the master you can keep windows and all your system files on it and transefer it all to the bigger drive. There will be no problems with file transfer and yes you can run them both on one cable.

[Richard_Cranium72]

You can run both HD's on one ide cable but this will slow performance. You do not need any operating system on the slave drive.. The files that you can transfer by drop and drag or copy function are limited to ones that do not have registry entrys.. ie =>picture files(jpg,bmp,tiff) ms dos games, uh,, I forget what else.. You can't copy Win os to another hd without some program like ghost($69.99), even if you drop and drag all the files the win386.swp file won't move cause it's in use. Just re-install Win95/98 that way you get a better install.. GLuck DrVette

[commodsquad]

I beg to differ with you Richard LOL..
I used the Xcopy32 command with some switch commands (I have to dig around to find them again..)in a dos window to copy my whole hard drive to the other including the entire OS (except for the swapfile which, like you said wont copy over because it is in use) and it worked great..no ghost or partition magic type copy program at all..as for the swap file it just remakes itself when you boot up with the new drive afterwards...

Ok here is the exact command line that I used after the 2 drives were set up as master(current boot drive) and slave (new disk that has been formatted and partitioned the way you want it)...

(at the prompt in a dos window..)

xcopy32^c:\ .^d:\^/c/h/e/r/k

( ^ <--symbol denotes spaces)


I recommend not erasing any data from the drive being copied from for a few days to a week or so after putting the new drive thru the paces just in case there is a problem so that you will have back up..hope that helps http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif ...



[This message has been edited by commodsquad (edited 02-15-2000).]

[jad1097]

If the drive does not come with a program to copy the old one with use Drive Image Pro. (http://www.powerquest.com/freestuff/index.html) They have a full version demo you can use for 30 days http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif This program is awesome.Why better than Ghost for copying drives IMO.

[This message has been edited by jad1097 (edited 02-15-2000).]