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Newsletter: Q&A forum
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Question:
My old computer died, so I bought a new one. I took my old hard drive
out of my old computer to use it as a second hard drive in my new
computer and to access the data stored on my old drive. After installing
the old hard drive on my new Windows XP Home edition computer, I find
that the only task the Disk Management feature will let me do is format
my drive. Can anyone help or tell me how I can access the information on
my old hard drive? My old drive had Windows XP Home edition on it also.
Could this be the culprit?
Submitted by: Wayne S.
Answer:
Wayne, let's not jump the gun and blame the folks in Redmond so quickly!
In all likelihood, you are dealing with a hardware issue.
Windows XP's Disk Management utility is designed to enable you to
perform disk-related tasks such as initializing new disks, and creating
and formatting new volumes. Having said that, you should have been able
to open or explore the contents of the drive through it, just like you
would through My Computer. If the only option you were given was to
format the old drive, your operating system might be detecting the
hardware but not recognizing it correctly. Unfortunately, it is
impossible to tell from your description whether the drive is being
detected at all. What you are experiencing might be Windows XP's way of
letting you know about an incorrect hard disk installation or some other
hardware problem. For now, I will assume that your old hard drive is
functional--a risky assumption given your first four words: "My
old computer died."
The first thing you should do is visit the website of the manufacturer
of your new computer, and look for a document discussing how to add a
second hard drive to your system. You should find this information in
the website's Support Section or Knowledge Base, or in your Owner's
Manual under "Adding Parts" or "Upgrading Your
Computer." In all likelihood, the document will feature
illustrated, step-by-step instructions on how to add a drive. Just as
important, it might alert you to potential issues you might encounter
and suggest troubleshooting steps. Even if you consulted such a document
while installing your drive, it wouldn't hurt to double check to make
sure you did not skip any steps.
Hard drives are not exactly "plug-and-play" devices, and
adding one requires a bit more work than merely plugging it in. Your
computer might be failing to recognize the data present in your old
drive if the drive jumper settings are incorrect, you failed to
configure the system's setup (BIOS) after installing the second drive,
or the latter is incompatible with the IDE data cable in your new
computer. Let's examine these possibilities.
Drive Jumper Settings: There are two protocols used to determine
the order in which IDE devices (such as hard drives and optical drives)
attached to a single data cable are detected by the motherboard. The
first protocol is known as the Master/Slave relationship, in which the
position of jumper blocks adjacent to the drives' IDE connectors
designate one device as the Master or Primary Boot Drive, and the other
as the secondary or Slave drive. When you start your computer, the
operating system in the Master drive will be loaded by default.
The second protocol is known as Cable Select. It assigns Master or
Primary status based not on jumper block position, but rather on the
location of a hard drive along the IDE data cable. The device plugged at
the end connector of the cable is the Master drive, whereas that on the
middle connector is the Slave drive.
Chances are your new PC supports the Cable Select protocol. But your
old, defunct computer might have not, in which case the jumper setting
on your old hard drive might be the cause of your present problem. If
this is the case, visit the website of your old drive's manufacturer to
find out the appropriate jumper configuration, and reposition the jumper
block. Often times, the different jumper settings will be labeled on the
drive itself.
Just as incorrect jumper settings will prevent your motherboard from
detecting your drive, so will incorrect cable connections. Make sure
your old drive is compatible with the data cable being used in your new
computer, that the cables are oriented properly, and that they are
securely in place. Again, the drive's manufacturer should provide the
necessary information in its website.
If you rule out both drive jumper settings and incorrect connections as
culprits, check your computer's BIOS. Configuring your BIOS (Basic
Input/Output Service) is often, though not always, a necessary step when
adding a second hard drive, and one that can be easily overlooked.
Consult your computer's documentation or manufacturer's website for
information on how to enter setup and configure your BIOS. I know I am
being repetitive, but there is a good reason for my not providing
step-by-step instructions here: The BIOS is critical to your computer's
performance, so you need to carefully follow the instructions for your
specific computer and BIOS version. Generic advice in this area might
leave you with another dead PC!
If everything else fails, consider the possibility that your old hard
drive is defective - that the reason your old computer "died"
was that your old hard drive kicked the bucket. You might be able to
obtain diagnostic tools from its manufacturer's website to corroborate
or rule out this conclusion. You might be able to salvage most (if not
all) data, though you will require the services of a company that
specializes in that sort of thing. It might be easier - and considerably
cheaper - to restore your data from your back up discs. You have been
backing up your data, right?
Hopefully your old drive is fine and you will be able to access it after
tweaking the jumper blocks or performing another of the aforementioned
troubleshooting steps. I would strongly suggest that you copy its
contents to the newer drive, especially since it is likely to be larger
and faster. Then use your old drive as a place for backups (though you
should still consider removable media for this task), or as a dedicated
drive for storing multimedia files or pictures.
Good luck!
Submitted by: Miguel K. of Columbus, Ohio |
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Data
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