Adding a 2nd HDD Suggestions?

[kkjensen]

I have installed multiple HDD's before just as a second storage drive and nothing else but now I would like to do something different. I'm currently using a Western Digital 100gig Special Edition 8meg buffer drive and it is working flawlessly. However, in the last few systems I have built I used the 80gig version of the same drive...and several have failed shortly after using them. I have read numerous reviews of this happeing and WD says they have seen several "Smart" error failures requiring the drive to be replaced...Now I'm concerned about mine.
what I would like to do is add a second drive and make a mirror image of my drive so that if my primary drive does fail I could switch IDE cables and jumpers and be up and running, of course I would be out any recent additions. Would I need to use the exact same size drive or will any drive work? I had used Maxtor drives before and never had issues what do you think? Also, reviews on the Samsung drives are very good as well. If I can make this mirror image will the included software with the drive do it or is the better software out there?

Thanks in advance!!
Kevin

Hardware Spec:

OS: Windows XP with SP1 imbedded
MB: Abit NF7-S Version 2.0
512mbram

[Cricket]

The imaging utility that comes with the retail hard drives should work fine.

No, you don't have to use the same size drive as the one you want to image.

I don't know where you read those reviews on the Samsung hard drives, but from what I understand they are hard drives to avoid because of reliability issues. If you want to try something different, go with a Seagate hard drive. Or get another Maxtor, they're good hard drives to use.

Cricket