Replacement HDD

[propflux01]

I have an older XP computer (in my signature below) that is getting slower than normal lately, and I think it is the HDD getting ready to fail. It is not the result of any kind of virus or spyware, etc. It is an IDE drive of 5200rpm 160 GB. i have another 160 GB disc I use in it for backups of music and photos, etc. It responds much faster than the main drive, so that is why I think the HDD is failing slowly.
I would like to replace the drive but i am unsure what to replace it with. This computer, while old, has to keep running for at least another year before replacement. I have seen a WD 7200 rpm 320GB HDD and would like to know if this would be a good replacement for the main disc. I am under the impression I can use the cloning software from the manufacturer to complete the repair. Does anyone see a problem with this idea? Am I thinking in the right direction here? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[pam123]

The cloning software is a special version of Acronis True Image for WD drive.
You can get it here : http://support.wdc.com/product/downl...l.asp?swid=119

As long as the new drive is larger you should have no problem.

Read the manual that can also be downloaded from the same page.

[strollin]

IDE drives are getting harder to find. Make sure whatever drive you get is IDE and not SATA. It may be referred to as a PATA drive. Moving to a 7200 rpm drive to a 5400 rpm drive will give you a nice little performance nudge.

You might try downloading a utility like HDTune to test the drive before replacing it. HDTune can let you view the S.M.A.R.T data from your drive if it supports that. The S.M.A.R.T data is a health report the drive keeps of it's errors, if your drive is too old it may not have that.

[larrymoencurly]

If you can't find another PATA drive and have no SATA ports in your computer, get a PCI SATA controller based on a Silicon Image chip, like the SiL3112, SiL3114, or SiL3512, because SATA-PATA converter cards are not reliable, except those based on Marvell chips. Do not get a SATA controller that uses a VIA VT6421 or VT6421A chip because it won't recognize drives configured for SATA/300 (all SATA drives sold now), and Samsung and Hitachi drives can't be set to SATA/150, except with a program, but to do that they have to be connected to a SATA controller that recognizes SATA/300 drives.

[propflux01]

Would this be a good choice for replacement?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144396

I downloaded teh HDTune, and it came back with following:

HD Tune Pro: WDC WD1600AB-00DYA0 Health

ID Current Worst ThresholdData Status
(01) Raw Read Error Rate 200 1 51 0 Failed
(03) Spin Up Time 123 119 21 4383 ok
(04) Start/Stop Count 99 99 40 1495 ok
(05) Reallocated Sector Count 171 171 140 451 warning
(07) Seek Error Rate 100 253 51 0 ok
(09) Power On Hours Count 28 28 0 53110 ok
(0A) Spin Retry Count 100 100 51 0 ok
(0B) Calibration Retry Count 100 100 51 0 ok
(0C) Power Cycle Count 100 100 0 438 ok
(C2) Temperature 114 253 0 36 ok
(C4) Reallocated Event Count 151 151 0 49 warning
(C5) Current Pending Sector 200 199 0 12 warning
(C6) Offline Uncorrectable 200 199 0 11 ok
(C7) Ultra DMA CRC Error Count 200 253 0 60 warning
(C8) Write Error Rate 200 155 51 0 ok

Health Status : warning

[pam123]

Yes that EIDE drive will do.
You are right the other drive is failing so now you're in a race with time and you should be backing up everything you can.

[propflux01]

I've ordered the drive, and downloaded the WD cloning software. Should I just shut down until it arrives, or leave the computer up? I just don't want the drive crapping out on me while it's working during a boot up, yet if it's still running would that be a worse scenario?

[quartet-man]

My opinion offhand is leave it on in sleep mode. I would think that would keep it from working too much whereas a boot might put extra stress. However, I will be interested in hearing from others.

[strollin]

You should backup any important data before you do anything else.

[propflux01]

Everything basically important is backed up on the second hdd. Q-man, that was my thinking also, just wasn't sure and wanted other thoughts as well

[propflux01]

Update: got the drive in, formatted it and ran the arcronis cloning software. Installed it this AM, and booted up as advertised! Much faster than before, I didn't realize how slow it had gotten. A big thanx to all that helped!

[jaydeee]

its only know I get to know that acronis in now tied up with WB and SG. this is interesting.
before I only windows backup feature to do all of backup requirements but now we have a better option

thanks!