New HDD

**FireAtWill** · 06-15-08, 11:24 AM

OK,

I am looking to buy a new HardDrive and need some help. My current computer has a 250 GB (I think SATA) drive that has been giving me odd noises adn running constantly. There are parts of the HD that defrag say are too damaged to correct.

ODepot has a 500GB SATA Maxtor drive for $99 that I was thinking about throwing in. I know how to do the hardware but is there a way to partition and copy my old drive onto the new, then use the new to boot, and use the old drive as storage in case it fails.

I want to do this on the cheap so please no "Go buy this $350 20,000 RPM 100 GB SATA Raptor" comments unless I can do it for under $150. If I am going to do something like that I will start my next rig from scratch and blow $2k.

Thanks,

Fire At Will

**vexle** · 06-15-08, 11:37 AM

Seagate and Western Digital both have comparable 250 gig HD's for about the same price, and you can get something three times bigger for $150. Hit up Newegg:
Seagate Barracuda, 500 GB, 7200RPM, $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148294
Western Digital Cavalier, 750 GB, 7200RPM, $154
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136131
WD Cavalier, 500 GB, 7200RPM, $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136149
And, for just $60, Seagate Barracuda 250 GB, 7200RPM. I've got this one in my PC and I've got nothing bad to say about it at all.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148262

**JBMCW2010** · 06-15-08, 01:55 PM

I have built many computers and used nothing but Western Digital. I have never had any complaints about them and they are all still chugging. I would suggest the WD Cavalier 500GB that Vexle linked there for $90.

You say that your current HDD is a little unreliable so get something like the 500GB for $90 and down the road you can get another one for data storage.

I myself have a WD 250 and a WD 400 along with a WD External 250. My brother rocks 2XWD's 320.

**Cojiro** · 06-15-08, 02:39 PM

Originally Posted by Willderness

but is there a way to partition and copy my old drive onto the new, then use the new to boot, and use the old drive as storage in case it fails.

i dont know much about it personally but I know you would need a ghosting program for this.

**WileECyte** · 06-15-08, 03:26 PM

I've never had much luck with Maxtor... We had a high failure rate of Maxtor drives in our Dell machines at work. The Western Digital and Seagates always lasted longer. My personal preference is Seagate. They give you a 5 year warranty. You can get a 500 gig Seagate (OEM not Retail) from Newegg for $89.99. One minus to the OEM is it comes with no cables. If you want to keep the old drive around for storage, you'd need another SATA cable. If you have one of those laying around, you should be fine.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148288

As for copying the data, a copy of Norton Ghost would allow you to clone one drive to the other.

**vexle** · 06-15-08, 09:00 PM

Originally Posted by Willderness

I know how to do the hardware but is there a way to partition and copy my old drive onto the new, then use the new to boot, and use the old drive as storage in case it fails.

The short answer is, "Raid 0." Two HD's are perfectly mirrored, and if one goes down, the other steps in immediately and picks up. I even think it'll happen automatically without a restart or anything, but I've never used it myself. The E-Peen enhancing tech-head option.
Then there's ghosting programs, which will create mirrors but not in real time. If you make a change on the first drive that you want mirrored, you'll have to run the program over again.
The third way is to just do it by hand. I have an external with all my irreplaceables, like school papers, and assorted pictures and crap that I don't need clogging up the primary. It's not mirrored by a long shot, but it's impervious to viruses when it's unplugged, reliable, and if my PC dies and Board of Education comes knocking, I can still prove I took English for four years. No programs to run either, it's just copy and paste.

**SapiensErus** · 06-16-08, 01:51 AM

Actually, RAID0 is striping. For Mirroring you use RAID1 and both require identical disks.

But I would ghost or just reinstall the OS on a clean disk and chuck the old one if it is breaking.

I have had great luck with WD and Seagate. Personally I run Seagate on all my home rigs and have had no HDD failures since one in 2003, but it was a Maxtor.

**Burninator_PBN** · 06-16-08, 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by Cojiro

Originally Posted by Willderness

but is there a way to partition and copy my old drive onto the new, then use the new to boot, and use the old drive as storage in case it fails.

i dont know much about it personally but I know you would need a ghosting program for this.

You cannot partition after a format.

The only way to do it is to back everything up, install windows on the otherdrive and add everything to it then wipe the old drive clean

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