Help upgrading my PC

krishna

OK, I've checked inside. No SATA, only IDE. Any recommendations on a new hard drive? Or should I get an SATA drive and buy this IDE/SATA converter?http://www.amazon.co.uk/IOMAX-Bi-Directional-Converter-Connect-Motherboard/dp/B00279MSBG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=computers&qid=1285074757&sr=8-2

Donnie

krishna wrote: »

OK, I've checked inside. No SATA, only IDE. Any recommendations on a new hard drive? Or should I get an SATA drive and buy this IDE/SATA converter?http://www.amazon.co.uk/IOMAX-Bi-Directional-Converter-Connect-Motherboard/dp/B00279MSBG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=computers&qid=1285074757&sr=8-2

No, just get an another IDE drive if you are going to get one. Ebuyer have a selection, though you can find cheaper generic drives. For instance, here

closed

Is the old hard disk full?

Jasx, disk imaging was suggested as a solution to the op's concerns over re-installing, not being sure everything is backed up, and recovering to the state it was before a reinstall, 160GB over usb2 shouldn't take long at all.

krishna

JasX wrote: »

Are you sure, dell website says it has 2 Serial ATA sockets located just off the end of where the RAM sits?

You're right! Just looks a bit different from the photo in your earlier post. There is no external 'casing' of the slot, but a SATA lead fits on it. Your're a star. So I'll get a SATA hard drive.

For those talking about disk imaging. Yes, I have already done that, but I think buying a extra drive makes sense as if there is a problem it really is just a matter of switching a couple of leads to get back to where I started, and while my 160GB drive is not full, it is about 80% full, so the extra space will be great.

spakkker

If you get windirstat- http://sourceforge.net/projects/windirstat/ it will show you in a very clear way what is taking up space on your h/drive.
Have you got a dvd writer to put data onto dvds ?? This method is currently as cheap as h/drive storage with discs at £13/100.

krishna

I know what is taking up space. Don't have DVD Writer, only CD writer, and my collection of backup CDs is getting a bit silly. I've now got an external HD for backups. On balance still think having a second HD will make the reinstallation of windows, etc easier, and if I'm going to buy a hard drive, figure I might as well get a big one. The cost per MB seems to come down dramatically when you do.

spakkker

Backing up to cds is pretty wasteful of time,money and effort when dvd writers can be had for about £15 del. and discs for 10p.
Harddrives are very convenient to use as backups but not failsafe- I had a drive pack in only 1 month old.

krishna

OK. I got the Samsung F3 1TB Model: HD103SJ drive as recommended by JASx above. I can connect it up physically to the SATA port on the motherboard, and power supply from the existing cable, but how do I get the PC to recognise it and how to I set this up as the primary HD, since I want to boot from it. At present I can feel the new HD is working as there is a faint vibration if I hold it, but it doesn't seem to be recognised by the PC.

edit:
OK, I've found out where to enable the SATA drive in the BIOS. The BIOS now recognises the drive for what it is (make, model, size), but I can't access it in Windows. If I disable the IDE drive and put a Windows CD into the CD drive, the computer won't boot, even if CD is set for the first option in the boot sequence. I've got and SATA 0 and SATA 1 slot on the MB. I've tried both slots. Same problem.