need to replace full hard drives

blacktooth · Post by **blacktooth** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 5:17 am

I use VideoStudio8 and WindowsXP. I have two internal hard drives, one 80G and one 300G, which are now full. I have many projects and AVI files on these two drives. I want to buy a 1000G drive - or perhaps even a 1500G drive - and then transfer everything from those drives onto the new drive. I'm worried that this could cause many headaches, as I would likely have to relink files on every single project.
Has anyone had to deal with this type of problem before, and is there any good advice about how to handle the potential pitfalls? Thank you.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 5:43 am

The best way is to use software like Norton Ghost / Acronis True Image and create images of the existing hard drives, then apply that image to the new hard drive. Your problem is that if the hard drives are full where do you have sufficient room to create the images!

One way would be to get the new 1TB or larger hard drive and partition it.
Create the hard drive images in a partition and then apply those images to a further 2 new partitions (1 for each existing hard drive.)

Hard drive images are rather like zip files.
When you "unzip them" to a new hard drive you do not need to format that new hard drive first - the software takes care of everything for you.

skier-hughes · Post by **skier-hughes** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:38 am

For a purely data drive copying all the files from your 300gb drive to a new 1tb drive would be fine. All you need to do is then relabel the drive letter of the 300gb to say Z and relabel the new 1tb drive to the letter that the old drive used.

Accolades · Post by **Accolades** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:46 am

New 2TB Internal SATA drives now available!!!

As long as the drive letters remain the sme you should not have to re-link things?

Option 1 - Purchase external USB 1TB Dribe and create a directories on these to match your current drives.

COPY data to external TB drive.

Remove internal drives, replace with new ones, partition and format as required.

Install your Operating system and files then copy data back from external USB drive.

Option 2 - As above Purchase Norton Ghost - Create an image of your c: drive.

Install new drive and partition to same size as old C: drive

Use ghost recover to replace your C: drive (Programs and operating system) You will have to use a program like partition magic to re-size your partitions.

The other data can be copied back from external USB Drive.

Have fun.

Clevo · Post by **Clevo** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 2:03 pm

Buy an external HD

Finish some of those projects then use Smart Package to move them to the external drive

blacktooth · Post by **blacktooth** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:03 pm

Thanks very much for the help. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed for things like this, but I'm guessing that by using the Disk Management tool on my WindowsXP, I can create partitions on my new external hard drive. I can set up my new drive with partitions that are the same sizes and have the same drive letters as my two current hard drives. Then I copy all of the files from the old drives onto the new drive. Correct? I could probably even re-letter the old drives and use them all over again, no? Thanks again.

skier-hughes · Post by **skier-hughes** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:08 pm

All true, but I'd just have the drive as one big one. I wouldn't go to the trouble of partitioning it.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:29 pm

skier-hughes wrote:All true, but I'd just have the drive as one big one. I wouldn't go to the trouble of partitioning it.

Depends upon the existing two hard drives.
These will already have separate drive letters such as D and E

IF there are things on those drives where the drive letter is important
such as program X relies upon something on drive E, then at the very least I would have two partitions on the new drive and after moving everything across I would then re-letter the partitions accordingly.

The new partitions do not have to be the same size as the old drives.
They can be larger. Using software like Norton Ghost it is also possible to copy to smaller than the original partitions - but obviously they need to be large enough to contain the DATA being moved, plus an overhead for Windows routines such as disc defragmentation.

Trevor Andrew · Post by **Trevor Andrew** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 10:58 pm

Hi

If you move your files to a new drive you will have to re-link.

If by any chance you don't, i would be interested, let me know.

sjj1805 · Post by **sjj1805** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 11:14 pm

trevor andrew wrote:Hi

If you move your files to a new drive you will have to re-link.

If by any chance you don't, i would be interested, let me know.

This is why I suggest using Norton Ghost.
Think of it NOT as moving the files but think of it as replacing the hard drive(s) thus preserving the drive letters and file structures. You will then NOT have to re-link.