Jump to content

Welcome to Geeks to Go - Register now for FREE

Need help with your computer or device? Want to learn new tech skills? You're in the right place!
Geeks to Go is a friendly community of tech experts who can solve any problem you have. Just create a free account and post your question. Our volunteers will reply quickly and guide you through the steps. Don't let tech troubles stop you. Join Geeks to Go now and get the support you need!

How it Works Create Account
Photo

I want to remove one of my hard drives...


  • Please log in to reply

#1
Randis

Randis

    New Member

  • Member
  • Pip
  • 8 posts
Both hard drives are added together so I don't believe that they are in RAID format. Is there anyway of moving everything from one to the other with out reformatting them?
  • 0

Advertisements


#2
Digerati

Digerati

    Grumpy Ol' MSgt (Ret.)

  • Retired Staff
  • 3,999 posts
  • MVP

Both hard drives are added together so I don't believe that they are in RAID format

Actually, RAID0 is a striped array in which the drive are, in effect, added together then seen as one drive. If that is the case, if you split the array, you will likely loss all your data! So you best option is to get a 3rd drive, copy all your data from your current drives, split the array into two separate drives, then copy your data back.

And if me, once I had the two drives split, I would format the drives and start with a fresh Windows install.
  • 0

#3
Randis

Randis

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 8 posts
So i have a spare 160GB HDD, and both of my HDD in my computer are only 117GB...so if i bought an external enclosure, how would I go about moving everything to the 160GB, them moving everything to one of the 750GB.

Thanks,
Randy
  • 0

#4
Digerati

Digerati

    Grumpy Ol' MSgt (Ret.)

  • Retired Staff
  • 3,999 posts
  • MVP
When you attach the enclosure, its drive will (should) appear as another drive under My Computer. So you can just drag and drop all your data files from one drive to another. It will be slow, but it works. Then just drag and drop back to the new drive.

However, for "installed" programs, it is best to reinstall those programs on the new drive so the Registry is set up properly.
  • 0

#5
Randis

Randis

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 8 posts
What about the OS? will my recovery disk be able to install it back on?
  • 0

#6
Digerati

Digerati

    Grumpy Ol' MSgt (Ret.)

  • Retired Staff
  • 3,999 posts
  • MVP
"In theory", yes. Is this a factory recovery disk, or one you made with these two drives?
  • 0

#7
Randis

Randis

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 8 posts
It's 4 dvd's that I made for recovery.
  • 0

#8
Digerati

Digerati

    Grumpy Ol' MSgt (Ret.)

  • Retired Staff
  • 3,999 posts
  • MVP
Then they should work but of course they will be behind in updates.
  • 0

#9
Randis

Randis

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 8 posts
well...I just made them a week or so ago. So let me get this straight...

1. I format the 160 gig hard drive and put it in a hard drive reader.
2. Move everything in the C: folder on to the external 160 gig
3. Remove 1 of the 750 gig HDD from my computer
4. Insert disk 1 to reinstall the OS
5. Move everything from the 160 gig back onto the new installed OS


but this just came to me...I plan on using this hard drive in a desktop. Is there a converterfor this hard drive. I know the desktop SATA drives have a small cable, but this harddrive has a connector probabely 2 and a half inches long. I believe it is SATA though. any input?
  • 0

#10
Digerati

Digerati

    Grumpy Ol' MSgt (Ret.)

  • Retired Staff
  • 3,999 posts
  • MVP
It sounds like an EIDE (IDE, ATA, or PATA) drive. Most motherboards have at least one EIDE connector that will support 2 EIDE drives so an adapter should not be needed.

This is a normal size drive, right? That is, about 3.5 inches wide? Or is it a 2.5" drive from a notebook?
  • 0

#11
Randis

Randis

    New Member

  • Topic Starter
  • Member
  • Pip
  • 8 posts
Im sorry. I guess I should have stated this at the beginning. This is an HP ENVY 17 Notebook. It is a 2.5" drive.
  • 0

#12
Digerati

Digerati

    Grumpy Ol' MSgt (Ret.)

  • Retired Staff
  • 3,999 posts
  • MVP
Then you will need an adapter.
  • 0






Similar Topics

0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users

As Featured On:

Microsoft Yahoo BBC MSN PC Magazine Washington Post HP