Need help setting up a slave drive

I need to take my old hard drive and transfer info from it to another hard drive. To do that, I need to make it a slave drive, right?

Here's what's going on......

My old PII running 98SE has been having problems. It's stuck in Windows compatibility mode and I've done everything I've been told to do to get it to reset to Optimum Mode.

This is my first post here, but I did a search awhile back to try and find a solution to that problem. I located a post wherein a solution was suggested for someone else who was having the very same problem, but that solution didn't work for me. Neither did calling Dell's "new" outsourced tech help located back in India.

Because it's stuck in compatibility mode, the rewrite function of my CD won't work and I need to back up a bunch of MP3's, Word and Excel docs, as well as a bunch of pictures and such. Since I can't burn 'em to CD, and since I have a new computer to set up, I figured I could either ask for help setting up a slave drive, use an online backup service, or pay someone to come in and do it for me. Since my budget would prefer I do it myself, I figured I'd ask for help here.

The new hard drive is in a Dell 8300, bundled with the usual software, running XP Home edition. The old drive is using 98SE as the OS.

I haven't set up the new computer yet, but I will be doing so in the next couple of days. I figure I'll probably pull the old hard drive and set it up as the slave that way. I figured it'd be easier that way...unless someone tells me otherwise.

Thanks,

Stewart

 

That is just about the easiest way. When you remove the drive, look on the back for a jumper, and a diagram showing the position it should be in, Master or Slave, or CS [cable select], where it's location on the connecting ribbon determines M or S. I would set to S and plug it in the free spot on the same ribbon as the new drive.
Note: the drive letter(s) of the CD drive(s) will be bumped up.

 

Consider linking computers

Stewart,

If you can, it might be easier to link the computers. You can buy a cross-connect ethernet cable for about $5. If the Win98 machine doesn't have a network card you can get a PCI network card for less than $10. A cross-connect cable is NOT a standard Ethernet cable. Connecting two computers with REGULAR Ethernet cables requires a "hub ". A cross-connect cable LOOKS like a regular cable but some of the wires go to different pins. Any larger computer supply store will carry them. (I know MicroCenter does.) Explain to the salesman that you want to connect two computers DIRECTLY, without buying a hub. If the person says it can't be done, find someone who knows what he's talking about.

Hooking up a slave can cause all sorts of problems. First, Windows will automatically register the new drive and you may have problems when you then remove it.

Also, a "dirty little secret" about IDE drives is that even though they match "industry standards ", they STILL might be incompatible. Seagate drives are particularly bad in this regard. I have had cases where even two SEAGATE drives would not work together! The problem is minute differences in signal timing and it is "not reparable ". If you encounter that, the computer will not boot, etc., and the only thing you can do is remove one of the drives. (This problem only occurs when one is master and the other is slave. Computers come with both Primary and Secondary IDE controllers. Each controller can have one master and one slave. In other words, the computer can have a Master on the Primary IDE controller and a second master on the Secondary IDE controller.)

Also, Microsoft has some Direct Connect utilities. You can hook two computers together by their printer ports or USB ports. You then run the Direct Connect utility to access the other computer. I don't know the details, but Direct Connection is available on the installation disks.

In fact, modern serial ports are so fast that you can even transfer data at a reasonable speed by direct connection unless you are transferring hundreds of megabytes.

Does the Win98 machine have a USB port or can you add one easily? Consider buying a "keychain drive ". I bought a 128MB unit for about $40. They're great for transferring large amounts of data--again, unless you are really absurd about it.

Two other things to consider:

1) Adding new hardware to the Dell might void the warranty.

2) Suppose you can't get the master/slave to work. It's possible you might not be able to get the Win98 computer working again either. (Over the past year I have done major updates to my computer, to the point where the "guts" were replaced. I decided to re-build my previous computer but now it doesn't work!)