Transferring data from one HDD to the next

[Sinster]

I been building computers for the past five years. I have always started from scratch with the HDD. A friend ask me to transfer his old data from his 10 gig hdd to his new 120 gig hdd. The last time I did this was 5 years ago, with my old 486 Pac Bell to my new 100 pent. that I built. I just dont remember how to do this. I have a vague Idea but need some other input. He is using 98.

 

[Sinster]

whoops.. didn't finish
I know you can connect the old as master and new as slave and transfer data that way. Does this transfer every file. Such as hidden files. Need to know the best way to do this.

 

[Comtech]

I use either Explorer, set to view all files.
You can copy everything (drag and drop) that way, EXCEPT the recycle bin and win386.swp
Windows will recreate them next boot on the new drive, so no problems.
You can also use xcopy in DOS, but it truncates longfilenames, unless you're in a DOS window, and use xcopy32
I prefer XXCOPY from

http://www.xxcopy.com

and just use the /clone switch. Free, and makes an exact clone. Cheers,
Jim

http://members.cnx.net/reboot/

 

[maudman]

Where were you when I needed you? See my thread about partitions. Question: Can I then clone my XP partition which is on the D: drive to a preprepared D: drive?

 

[Comtech]

Yes. Not sure if XXCOPY will work in NTFS (probably), but Explorer works just fine.
Detailed instructions are here:

http://www.pcmech.com/showdoc/118/

Cheers,
Jim

http://members.cnx.net/reboot/

 

[maudman]

Thanks, Jim.

 

[maudman]

I'm screwed on the dual boot. The minute I run Fdisk /mbr my dual boot is gone.

 

[Comtech]

No, it's just missing.
Reload your XP/2K cd, select repair, and fix the boot menu. Cheers,
Jim

http://members.cnx.net/reboot/

 

[cbglenn]

Dude! Hold up!!! If I am not mistaken, you put the old drive into the new system as SLAVE and run the OS from the new drive, then use your DOS command, Explorer or other software. If you put the old drive as MASTER, good luck getting that new machine with all new parts started with now drivers installed on the old drive.

Correct me if I am wrong, anyone, but I am sure that you want the old drive as SLAVE.

 

[manad]

HI

Once you have got both of your hdd in your computer, start the pc, go to the control panel and then to folder options. there are a few tabs, click on the tab called "View". in that tab there are a number of options this includes the option called "show hidden files and folders. if you enable this you should beable to drag and drop all files bu the recycle bin and the win386.swp
file.

 

[topscribe]

I've done this several times with fair success. Yes, the new disk is the slave. You do need, in Windows Explorer, go into Tools > Folder Options and click the View tab and select "Show all files." Then, make sure you are in the root directory (C:\ folder). Block all the folders and files on the disk and drag and drop them on the other disk. The resultant copying could take quite some time, depending on how much stuff is on the old disk. After all the copying is done, set the new disk to master/single and boot in it, then run all the applications in it to make sure they work. One time, for instance, I had to reinstall Norton SystemWorks after doing this. Hope this helps.

 

[topscribe]

An addendum to my response: As Comtech expressed, the swap file (win386.swp) will NOT copy onto the new disk because Windows has it active at the time, and when it gets to it, it will stop copying anything further (which I now recall may be why I had to reinstall Norton). So after you block everything, go to the win386.swp file and click on it while holding down the CTRL key to remove it from the block so you won't incur that problem. It should then work just fine.