Re-using old hard-drive with new one.

salockin · 01-26-2009, 11:56 AM

Hi folks. This may sound like a dumb question to some, but I need a bit of advice on this and hope someone can help.

I've just bought a new 300Gb SATA HDD and want to do a fresh install of XP Pro on it. My current 160GB HDD has XP Pro on it at the moment.

What I want to do is:

1. Take out the 160Gb (current)
2. Install the new 300Gb one and then install XP onto it and use it as the new boot drive.
3. Put the 160Gb back in and use it as just normal storage space (a separate drive - not in RAID configuration.)

My question is, will I be able to simply access the files on the old drive to make backups of the stuff I really want to keep and then just format it so that it then gives me a fresh 160Gb of storage space?

I'm thinking that there may be some confusion with my system for a short period of time (until I format the old drive) as there will be 2 separate copies of XP installed, despite being on different drives.

My reason for doing this is that I wanted to install the fresh copy of XP first to make sure I get everything back up and running again smoothly, before formatting the old drive and re-using it.

This may sound daft, I know, but I thought that I'd be as well re-using the old drive instead of just trashing it. Credit Crunch and all that

Any help, much appreciated.

**raptor_pa** · 01-26-2009, 03:51 PM

You may not have access due to security being applied from the old version of XP. That can be fixed tho. Your sequence is correct tho, physically disconnect the old drive, install hte new and install XP, reconnect the old drive and see if you can access the the files. If not then make sure you are logged on with an account with administrator rights, right click the root folder of the drive, select properties -> Security ->advanced -> ownership tab and take ownership, on the advanced tab check the apply to all child objects option and OK your way back....

salockin · 01-26-2009, 04:36 PM

Thanks for the advice raptor. I'm going to give it a go tomorrow and see how it goes. I'll post a reply once I'm out of the woods!

01-26-2009, 11:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
salockin Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 3 OS: Vista 64bit SP1	Re-using old hard-drive with new one. Hi folks. This may sound like a dumb question to some, but I need a bit of advice on this and hope someone can help. I've just bought a new 300Gb SATA HDD and want to do a fresh install of XP Pro on it. My current 160GB HDD has XP Pro on it at the moment. What I want to do is: 1. Take out the 160Gb (current) 2. Install the new 300Gb one and then install XP onto it and use it as the new boot drive. 3. Put the 160Gb back in and use it as just normal storage space (a separate drive - not in RAID configuration.) My question is, will I be able to simply access the files on the old drive to make backups of the stuff I really want to keep and then just format it so that it then gives me a fresh 160Gb of storage space? I'm thinking that there may be some confusion with my system for a short period of time (until I format the old drive) as there will be 2 separate copies of XP installed, despite being on different drives. My reason for doing this is that I wanted to install the fresh copy of XP first to make sure I get everything back up and running again smoothly, before formatting the old drive and re-using it. This may sound daft, I know, but I thought that I'd be as well re-using the old drive instead of just trashing it. Credit Crunch and all that Any help, much appreciated.

01-26-2009, 03:51 PM	#2 (permalink)
raptor_pa Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Central PA Posts: 4,792 OS: XP	Re: Re-using old hard-drive with new one. You may not have access due to security being applied from the old version of XP. That can be fixed tho. Your sequence is correct tho, physically disconnect the old drive, install hte new and install XP, reconnect the old drive and see if you can access the the files. If not then make sure you are logged on with an account with administrator rights, right click the root folder of the drive, select properties -> Security ->advanced -> ownership tab and take ownership, on the advanced tab check the apply to all child objects option and OK your way back.... __________________

01-26-2009, 04:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
salockin Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 3 OS: Vista 64bit SP1	Re: Re-using old hard-drive with new one. Thanks for the advice raptor. I'm going to give it a go tomorrow and see how it goes. I'll post a reply once I'm out of the woods!