adding sata II to ide system

[dilly dally]

I know if i have asked this before but i can't seem to find where i had written the question...

My question is: If i add a sataII drive do i have to re-install xp and use a floppy disc to get the drivers or can i just do it in windows and find the drivers on the internet?

[Taxation]

i currently have a sata drive in my computer, its going down the drain, so
i am now backing data up, onto a different sata drive i have just plugged into my system

So hopefully that should help

Whats the problem exactly, you gonna keep the IDE in there and put the sata in there aswell??

[dilly dally]

well i was going to take out the ide and use the sata drive for xp, then i was going to add a sataII drive for my storage. do you see what i mean?

I don't want to install the drivers for a sataII drive with a floppy disc as i do not have a floppy drive! lol and i don't want to downgrade to stone age floppy drives...

SO CAN I InSTall the sataII drivers by downloading them and installing when im at the desktop screen?

[Ben]

You probably won't need drivers if you are using it as a slave drive.

But if you do, then it's no different than installing any other device.

[system7]

If you go to Seagate's site, you can download a suite of Software called DiscWizard with Acronis imaging included. You can run it from Windows and also create a bootable CD-R which can copy partitions over to a new drive. It's also FAB for making a backup image. No modern motherboard needs drivers to recognise a SATA drive.

The software is self explanatory, and IMHO, a rather compelling reason to buy Seagate drives... :lol:

[Taxation]

well i was going to take out the ide and use the sata drive for xp, then i was going to add a sataII drive for my storage. do you see what i mean?

I don't want to install the drivers for a sataII drive with a floppy disc as i do not have a floppy drive! lol and i don't want to downgrade to stone age floppy drives...

SO CAN I InSTall the sataII drivers by downloading them and installing when im at the desktop screen?

leave the IDE drive in there, "if it aint broke, dont fix it"
then have the SATA as a slave drive, you wont need to install drivers, just format the SATA drive in windows, so it is ready for use

[system7]

Taxation, it's simpler than that.

Manufacturers setup utilities on a bootable CD-R allow you to copy your XP partition to a new drive. You can then take out the old one, or do with it what you will. The only downside is they can be quite slow. The software holds your hand through it. I use free isorecorder to burn ISO images. :)

[dilly dally]

well i was going to take out the ide and use the sata drive for xp, then i was going to add a sataII drive for my storage. do you see what i mean?

I don't want to install the drivers for a sataII drive with a floppy disc as i do not have a floppy drive! lol and i don't want to downgrade to stone age floppy drives...

SO CAN I InSTall the sataII drivers by downloading them and installing when im at the desktop screen?

leave the IDE drive in there, "if it aint broke, dont fix it"
then have the SATA as a slave drive, you wont need to install drivers, just format the SATA drive in windows, so it is ready for use

Get off the grass! the ide has been used for over 10 years! its time to throw it out and put in a sataII. it will be a slave drive so i will have no problem right? but what if i install xp again on a normal sata? will it recognise the sataII aswell?

[system7]

Bit harsh there, my friend. You never mentioned it was 10 years old. Tribute to my favourite Seagate, I s'pose. :D

Tell you something surprising. SATA is no faster than PATA with non-RAID set ups. I tested it. A single drive has bandwidth to spare on either bus. Bit like slower graphics cards on AGP or PCI Express.

Most Seagate SATA's come with a SATA 150 jumper installed for backward compatibility. But they have been SATA 300 almost from the word go.

With your newish motherboard, you have SATA 300 support I'm sure. So lose the little white jumper to benefit from a theoretical gain with the HD cache. Your primary boot drive is set in the bios. and those self explanatory Seagate DiscWizard utilities I mentioned will copy things over, or a fresh install as you wish.

If you use your old EIDE drive on the same ribbon as the optical, it runs at the speed of the slowest drive, probly UDMA mode 4. Shouldn't matter for storage. But use cable Select on an 80 core ribbon. All that master/slave business is old hat. :D

[dilly dally]

so does that mean that i can run the sata II drive the same speed as the normal sata drive and not have to install drivers?

[system7]

You don't need drivers anyway, unless it's for RAID. If you have the connectors, you have the support.

Just check your motherboard will support SATAII, or SATA 300, whatever you call it. SATA300 is simply a faster bus than SATA150.

I should have mentioned that it's a great idea to partition a drive with DiscWizard before an install. Opens up a wealth of back up possibilities, including imaging and redirecting a "My Documents" folder to the second partition.

Then when Windows crashes, you lose nothing.