Dell PC problems (new hard drive)

Dealmad

I brought a bigger hard drive for my Dell e520 PC only problem is when i fitted the hard drive i put the windows disc in and put vista back on my PC but windows keeps asking me for a valid key when it is valid.

I'm also missing my dell support and other stuff like recovery , how do i load my PC back up to factory settings?

All i have is a windows vista disc and a Dell drivers and utilities disc , i tried to put the Dell disc in first but nothing happened

My computer even seems slower then before and windows keeps crasing and will not end task on items that keep saying not responding ....never had this problem before i fitted new hard drive

Browntoa

should have fitted the new drive as a 2nd drive ??

used the first as a windows drive and store everything on the other

otherwise you need to "ghost" the first drive onto the 2nd drive.... (the Dell restore drive is hidden on the original hard disk)

Dealmad

I wouldnt know how to do that , is there anything on the Dell disc what will do everything for me?

Browntoa

no, if its a SATA disk you are using then there should be a spare plug on the motherboard to connect it up, then it should be detected as a 2nd drive, retaining your first as the one with the operating system

no disrespect but why on earth did you attempt this without knowing what you were doing ??

Browntoa

When powering the drive you may need to add an adaptor to your power supply’s molex connector if you’re fitting a SATA drive.

Attach the data cables

SATA drives make this stage of the process straightforward


Prepare the drive
Boot into Windows and click Start > Settings > Control Panel. Double-click Computer Management, click Storage and Disk Management. Right-click the new drive and select Initialise. Then right-click it and select Format

Asus_Mobo

Swap the drive back if windows is still on that first drive then after you have booted up to make sure everything is as it was turn off PC and unplug from socket then install the second drive as a slave drive and then boot up again then in My Computer right click the new Drive then click on Format and that will wipe everything off the newly installed drive (the new one you tried to fit earlier) and then use that for storage etc etc, you will ofcourse have to have a spare power lead and cable for the second drive in the case and set the Jumper on the back of the drive to Slave (do this before install) if sata drive this wont be do-able into case.

In the picture here is an Optical drive but it does show the Jumper (that green thing) being moved, your Jumper may not be green.

http://computershopper.com/howto/200608_install_dvd_burner_3

Lol @ not having a green jumper

Beaten to it

Dealmad

Cause everyone has to learn from some where and i thought it was easy ....i thought u just changed the hard drive and put windows back on , wasnt to know that Dell make it hard for you....i thought the Dell disc would of put everything back to how it was when i first brought it but obviously it does not

Dealmad

I guess i cant sell my old hard drive now then if i still need it , thank for advice btw

I will need to buy the cables as i brought an OEM drive as i was just going to replace it , wil this fix the problems with windows keep asking for a vaild windows key as at the moment i keep typing the one on my base unit and it still keeps saying not vaild , also is this why windows is running slower then normal?

Soz im not an expert on computers

Thanks

albertross_2

What brand are the 2 hard disks?

Browntoa

These Dells came with Sata as standard....

Asus_Mobo

Browntoa wrote: »

These Dells came with Sata as standard....

Hence :rolleyes: