BOOT CAMP 427 (06/06/06)

Spring Clean and Upgrade part 4

Installing a second or ‘slave’ hard disc drive is a simple, quick and very effective way to upgrade a well-used, middle-aged Windows XP PC, nevertheless it does entail some rummaging around inside the case so if this is something you are not entirely comfortable with, I suggest that you leave it to someone who is.

Since the slave drive will mainly be used for storing data, rather than running applications, it’s not necessary to worry too much about the specification. Virtually all modern drives are up to the job and providing your PC is no more than three or four years old a basic low-cost type drive will suffice. Specialist and high-performance drives are only necessary when replacing or supplementing the main drive in a PC that is used for very demanding applications.

Not all drives are the same, however, and there are three connector systems in common use. The vast majority of hard drives use a standard IDE/ATA 2-inch wide ribbon cable connector. A small number of specialist or high-end machines use drives with a SCSI (pronounced scuzzy) interface, which used to have a number of technical advantages over IDE/ATA but they are rarely, if ever fitted to home and office machines. A growing number of new PCs use drivers with the more efficient Serial ATA or SATA interface. It uses a much smaller connector and the differences are quite obvious. SATA drives also have a different type of power connector (some also have the older type 4-pin connector as well) but the point is, it is impossible to get the two types mixed up.

Once you have determined the connector/drive type you need make a decision about the capacity. The general rule of thumb is to at least double what you already have. In other words if you have 80 or 120Gb drive, and it is more than half full, then you need to be thinking in terms of 200Gb or more for your second drive. Hard drives are widely available from PC suppliers and there are some real bargains to be had from on-line resellers so shop around.

Once you have your new drive don’t be tempted to remove if from its packaging until it’s ready to be fitted, but before you get to work with the screwdriver a few words on electrical safety.

Whenever you work on your PC you should always disconnect the mains power cable from the socket. Some experts recommend leaving the PC plugged in, with the socket switched off (to ensure the case remains earthed), but there is a very small chance that there’s a live mains connection inside the case due to socket mis-wiring. An earthed case ensures any static charge built up on your clothes or body are safely dissipated but these days PC components are very well protected against static discharge. Nevertheless, it’s prudent to briefly touch a radiator or some other earthed piece of metal or appliance before delving inside the box, just in case.

The first job is to configure the drive in ‘slave’ mode. On most models this involves changing the position of a small  ’jumper’ connector on a set of pins. (A pair of tweezers or long-nosed pliers makes the job much easier). There should be a diagram on the top or side of the drive, showing the Master, Slave or ‘Cable Select’ positions. Do not skip this step otherwise the drive won’t be properly recognised by the PC, and it the first thing to check if something goes wrong.

Now you can insert the drive into the vacant drive bay. If there is sufficient slack on the ribbon and power cables it’s usually easier to plug in the cables first. If they can only be fitted when the drive is in place, familiarise yourself with the orientation of the connectors before it is fitted. HDD connectors only fit one way around, so don’t force them otherwise you may bend one of the fragile pins. Once the drive is in its mounting slot align the holes then fit and tighten the screws. 

When you are happy that everything is secure replace the lid, plug the computer back in and switch on. If the drive came with an installation or utility disc you should load that first, otherwise the new drive should be automatically recognised by Windows XP though before you can use it, it will have to be partitioned and formatted. Windows XP makes it easy, just right-click on My Computer, select Manage then double-click the Disk Management icon. You should be prompted to ‘Initialise Disk’, a help ‘Wizard’ will appear and you should follow the prompts’ (if initialisation doesn’t start right-click the drive icon and select Initialise), and in just a few minutes your new drive will be ready for use.

NEXT WEEK - Slipstreaming Windows XP

JARGON FILTER

ATA/IDE

Advanced Technology Attachment/Integrated Drive Electronics; the circuitry -- built into the disc drive – that acts as an interface between the drive and the PC motherboard

CABLE SELECT

Automatic hard disc drive configuration system available on HDDs and motherboards that support the use of colour-coded ‘cable select’ data cables

SCSI

Small Computer System Interface (pronounced ‘scuzzy’) -- data interface used to connect hard disc drives to PC motherboards; mostly used on high-end workstations and servers

TOP TIP

While we’re on the subject of hard drives, you might want to spend a few minutes testing your main drive. Catching a fault early on could save you a lot of time and trouble later on. There are plenty of hard drive testing programs but one of the simplest to use is Seagate’s SeaTools ‘Drive Self Test’ or DST. There are several versions but if you are in a hurry try the one that runs from your browser (Internet Explorer only). The ‘short’ DST only takes a couple of minutes and will expose any major problems; the more comprehensive Extended DST takes around 20 minutes and will find more deep-seated errors.

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© R. Maybury 2006, 3106

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