Ever had to replace a hard drive?

[GIBSON]

My just over a year old HP desktop is telling me that the hard drive is failing and I better be ready to replace it. Of course the warranty is out but I contacted the maker of the hard drive (Maxtor) and they had no problem sending me out a new one.
It won't be here for a few days..... Any comments on ways to transfer the info on my old drive to the new one so I don't lose everything? I know there are programs out there but the one I checked today was 69 bucks- seems steep.
Maybe something will come with the new hard drive, I don't know.
Any ideas?

[TedSlick]

You can "chain" the old and new drives together, then transfer the full contents of the old drive to the new (very quickly). Afterwards, discard the old drive. Your computer, in this way, can have the same look and feel you're used to.
I've done this many times. The only down side is if there's something you don't like about your current setup, such as an annoying glitch or something you've never been able to get rid of, it too will copy over using this method.

If you want to "freshen" your operating system, then just load a fresh copy of the operating system, install your old programs to the new drive, then just copy your old data back to the new drive. This option is the most work, but everything will run like new. The other downside is you will have to tweak the settings in each piece of software to get the programs to function as you like. Lots of work, but over time you can get things back to "normal".

Let me know if you need help chaining the two drives together to do the transfer. Basically, you make one drive the "master" and the other the "slave" using jumpers on the drive. You will need a ribbon cable that has two drive connectors. No big deal, your computer may already be using this type of cable. A few more settings need to be changed in the BIOS setup to get the computer to recognize the new drive...easy to do.

Outside of this, ZDTV (ZDnet) recommends software called "Aloha Bobs..." as their top choice for this type of task. But, still, I think it's about $50.

Good luck. Will help if you need it...

[DennisR_944]

Your new drive will come with a copy of the Max-Blast software that will allow you to do whatever you want concerning transferring files or cloning the drive. Be aware that the new drive will come jumpered as "Master with no slave" probably so be sure to read the instructions thoroughly before attempting to install it. Maxtor documentation is usually pretty good. Good luck.

[GIBSON]

Thanks Dennis and Ted, I feel better about the switch. No if I can only keep this hard drive going until the new one arrives.....

[Doug Zielke]

Bruce,
I was once in a similar situation.
Not being a sucker for punishment, nor a lightning rod looking for disaster to strike, I took my box to a local nerd and he cloned the new drive for me. Charged me $25 bux, if I remember correctly.

[GIBSON]

Doug, for 25 bucks I think I'd have somebody clone this one to.
I think I'll see what the software looks like when it arrives and decide. I just don't want to loose all of the stuff I've collected on that hard drive, though in reality, it's probably not that critical.
I've started backing things up on CD just in case.

[Z-man]

I've done both approaches: copying the old drive to the new and swapping the old one out, and starting fresh (install operating system, install programs, move data over).

IMO, it is better to start with a fresh system, especially if you have an older version of your operating system. Get a newer version: it will probably recognize more of your plug and play hardware, and the install should be a breeze. It may take longer, but you will have a cleaner system!

Also: I believe there is less disk fragmentation issues if you start from scratch.

Don't pay a nerd $25 to clone your system: you can do it yourself, and probably learn a bit about your 'puter to boot! (no pun intended!)
-Z.