installing new primary hard drive ????

[gemini_shooter]

hi !

I guess a lot of people have asked this question b4 but I just want to do it again...... this is the first time I will be installing a primary hard drive from scratch.... so just want to make it sure I am doing it right.....

I have a dell dimension 4550..... it has a 30 GB hard drive and I added a 120 GB slave hard drive with success....... but I want to add another 120 GB as a primary one now......

A few questions :

--- My mother board supports up to 130 GB so I got a 120 one for a slave..... I suppose adding another 120 GB wouldn't really make a fuss..... or would it ???

--- Also I need a layman's picture of how I should go about doing it also....here is what I have an idea of..... please help me fill in the gaps....

1. Take the hard drive and set the pins to master and connect to comp and give power supply.....

2. Start up computer with windows xp CD already inside..... I am little confused on this one... is boot from CD already set or do I have to do something before plugging in the hard drive.......

3 Once boot from CD works install windows XP from CD......

4. Install all drivers kept on the slave drive.....

I think I am missing some very key points here.... I fear that I am going to run into the "BIOS" while doing this and I am afraid of the BIOS, since I have never worked on it.....

is there a link to step by step visual guide I can take a look at of installing win XP.....

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by gemini_shooter A few questions : --- My mother board supports up to 130 GB so I got a 120 one for a slave..... I suppose adding another 120 GB wouldn't really make a fuss..... or would it ???

Nope...replacing the 30GB with another 120GB HDD will be fine.

Originally Posted by gemini_shooter --- Also I need a layman's picture of how I should go about doing it also....here is what I have an idea of..... please help me fill in the gaps.... 1. Take the hard drive and set the pins to master and connect to comp and give power supply.....

First thing you want to do is unplug the computer from the wall outlet. Then after you remove the 30GB HDD from the DELL look at the jumper position and set the jumper on the 120GB HDD to the same position. Install the 120GB HDD into the case and connect the data and power cables. Plug the computer back in and start it up and go into the BIOS to make sure the computer "sees" the new hard drive.

Originally Posted by gemini_shooter 2. Start up computer with windows xp CD already inside..... I am little confused on this one... is boot from CD already set or do I have to do something before plugging in the hard drive.......

While in the BIOS change the first boot device to the CD-ROM drive. Save and Exit the BIOS.

Originally Posted by gemini_shooter 3 Once boot from CD works install windows XP from CD......

Yes.

Originally Posted by gemini_shooter 4. Install all drivers kept on the slave drive.....

Install the motherboard chipset drivers first. Then the video and then everything else.

Originally Posted by gemini_shooter I think I am missing some very key points here.... I fear that I am going to run into the "BIOS" while doing this and I am afraid of the BIOS, since I have never worked on it.....

Make sure you know what key to hit to enter the BIOS.

Originally Posted by gemini_shooter is there a link to step by step visual guide I can take a look at of installing win XP.....

Microsoft's Windows XP Home Install step by step.

Do you have a genuine MS WinXP installation CD or a restore CD from DELL?

Cricket

[glc]

You could also use software to "clone" the 30gb drive to the new drive to avoid having to reinstall everything. WD, Seagate, and Maxtor all offer free downloadable utilities to do this. You are also going to find that Dell uses cable select jumpering on all drives, it's the drive's position on the cable that determines master or slave.

[gemini_shooter]

thanks guys for the quick response..... a few final questions before I start .....

I partitioned my current slave drive using windows XP drive partition in to 4 30 GB drives...... I planning on doing the same with my primary drive.....

I remember that u can also partition a disk using BIOS..... when I boot from CD will it run into my BIOS and let me create partition and then I can choose a partition to install windows on.......or I have got it completely wrong.....

Is this a good way to set up primary hard drive..... or is there a better and faster way.... .....

Also my PSU is only 250 watts and I think its too freakin low..... and as we all know with the evil part of dell PSU is that its specific to its tower.... which mine is too.... I bought one from antec once and it didn't fit (the PSU socket alignment is opposite in dell)...... sigh... had to return antec PSU....

This is the config of my computer:
p4 2.5 GHz
1 GB ram
128 ATI 9700 pro
30 GB (primary : hitachi 7200 rpm) (planning to change to 120 GB segate)
120 GB (slave : segate 7200 rpm)

Do u think I have enough power to do this and have two 120 GB HDD.......I had a PCI TV TUNER also which I had to pull out because I thought that my computer was getting extermely slow..... it cannot be the RAM.... so I thought it was the PSU.....

Would adding this new HDD seriously drag the system......?????

What is the fastest way to boot I can go about.... I have heard about RAID stuff.... don't know if u have to have a RAID card for it.....I guess I'll have to start a new topic for my RAID questions.....but do I need any new hardware for RAID or is it easy .......??????

Unfortunately my motherboard doesn't support SATA other wise I would've gone SATA any time....... so if u need to have SATA for RAID ... I can forget it .... I am still in the UATA region for now......

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by gemini_shooter I remember that u can also partition a disk using BIOS..... when I boot from CD will it run into my BIOS and let me create partition and then I can choose a partition to install windows on.......or I have got it completely wrong.....

You're partially correct...you have to go into the BIOS to set the first boot device to the CD-ROM drive and then put the WinXP installation CD in the drive. Upon reboot the system will boot from the WinXP installation CD and the installer will take over. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Originally Posted by gemini_shooter Is this a good way to set up primary hard drive..... or is there a better and faster way.... .....

For the primary hard drive? I think it's best to let the WinXP installer partition and format it.

Originally Posted by gemini_shooter Also my PSU is only 250 watts and I think its too freakin low..... and as we all know with the evil part of dell PSU is that its specific to its tower.... which mine is too.... I bought one from antec once and it didn't fit (the PSU socket alignment is opposite in dell)...... sigh... had to return antec PSU....

The wattage may seem low but DELL power supplies are very high quality and will probably surprise you at how much load they can handle. Just give it a chance to prove itself.

Originally Posted by gemini_shooter Do u think I have enough power to do this and have two 120 GB HDD.......I had a PCI TV TUNER also which I had to pull out because I thought that my computer was getting extermely slow..... it cannot be the RAM.... so I thought it was the PSU.....

One sign that the power supply isn't able to handle the system is you get random reboots. I never heard of a computer "slowing down" because of an underpowered power supply...it's either random reboots, shutdowns or system instability. You may have other issues with the system.

Originally Posted by gemini_shooter Would adding this new HDD seriously drag the system......?????

I don't believe it would, unless it's defective.

Originally Posted by gemini_shooter What is the fastest way to boot I can go about.... I have heard about RAID stuff.... don't know if u have to have a RAID card for it.....I guess I'll have to start a new topic for my RAID questions.....but do I need any new hardware for RAID or is it easy .......??????

If your motherboard doesn't currently support RAID you're going to have to add a RAID controller card. If you're thinking about RAID 0 you have to understand that if one of the hard drives go bad you lose all your data. The performance increase by going with a RAID 0 setup isn't all that much and not worth the risk to your data.

Originally Posted by gemini_shooter Unfortunately my motherboard doesn't support SATA other wise I would've gone SATA any time....... so if u need to have SATA for RAID ... I can forget it .... I am still in the UATA region for now......

You can use IDE hard drives for RAID, you just need a IDE RAID PCI controller card...but I understand SATA RAID may be more reliable since SATA is based on SCSI technology. I've heard that IDE RAID isn't that reliable.

Cricket

[glc]

Yes, Dell power supplies are very high quality, but 250 watts is pushing it with a Radeon 9700 Pro when you start adding more components. The Dimension 4550 uses a standard ATX power supply from what I can find.

By the way, to do RAID and keep it stable, you must use 2 identical hard drives - same brand, size, and model. You also have to start from scratch - you can't convert an existing drive to RAID without losing all data.