This is the first HD I've set up under XP Pro. I now have 4 HD's installed in a Dell Dim 5150 that I've been using and I'm a bit confused by all the options & want to simplify things and make simple backups easy to do so I'll do them.
The current C/ is a 60G. It's several yrs old, given to me by a friend. XP Pro + all my files = ~20G. In addition, there are 23G of Acronis images + inc. bkups + an email backup from an older machine. I tested this drive with the WD diagnostic I downloaded with the new HD and it 'passes' (whatever that means). If you know of a newer/better/more thorough drive tester, let me know! This is an IDE drive plugged into an IDE/SATA converter, plugged into one of 2 SATA slots on the MB.
D/ is an 8G drive out of my old W2K machine I've had for nearly 10 yrs. I've been using the drive for ~4 yrs after a new Hitachi died on me. W2k OS + all files = 7.5G so it's nearly full. That machine is too slow now for modern internet, so I used it primarily for writing & email. I think I zapped it a few weeks due to the dry air wnen I was reinstalling a DVD/CD toaster and it refused to boot. Showed me the Blue Screen. After messing with it, I just pulled the drive out and installed it in place of a DVD rom in the 5150. Drive showed up fine, all files there so I guess I messed up the boot file. I've long been wanting to retire that machine anyway so the move was fine. This is an IDE plugged in place of a DVD reader.
F/ is a 21G drive, also old, that has about 10G's worth of Acronis backups from another machine & an old laptop. It also has initial W2k & XP Pro installs with all updates. This an IDE plugged into a Promise Ultra 100 Tx2 which is plugged into a PCI slot on the Dell MB.
G/ is the new WD 320G SATA drive; It's plugged into the Dell MB. (Had to track down a SATA cable that was straight through on one end & 90deg on the other..) Currently it's empty. During install, I encountered basic vs dynamic for the first time. Read through the partitions vs volumes info on WD's & MS's site. Chose dynamic. Still a bit fuzzy one the differences. Chime in please. I chose to split it in two, then I read that WD will offer no customer support to HD's with more than one partition??? Wonder what that's about??? How odd. I planned on using this HD as my new primary, copying an image of C/ onto it.
Then a friend said if you do this, a new partition will be created the same size as your mirror, which is ~ 20G. That was a surprise. Is this correct?
With all that said (thanks for reading this far), my Q's are:
1. Basic or dynamic? Partitions vs Volumes? Pro's & con's. Totally new to me.
2. Single or multiple partitions? Pro's & con's. Size recommendations? Can you resize a partition? A Volume?
3. How best to use these old HD's? I've been told you should keep your backups on a separate drive(s). I use Acronis for that. Welcome advice on backup strategies as well.
4. If you lay a small mirror down on a much larger drive, will it really create a new partition (volume) the same size as the mirror? Anyway around this?
That's enough for now. Thanks in advance!
The current C/ is a 60G. It's several yrs old, given to me by a friend. XP Pro + all my files = ~20G. In addition, there are 23G of Acronis images + inc. bkups + an email backup from an older machine. I tested this drive with the WD diagnostic I downloaded with the new HD and it 'passes' (whatever that means). If you know of a newer/better/more thorough drive tester, let me know! This is an IDE drive plugged into an IDE/SATA converter, plugged into one of 2 SATA slots on the MB.
D/ is an 8G drive out of my old W2K machine I've had for nearly 10 yrs. I've been using the drive for ~4 yrs after a new Hitachi died on me. W2k OS + all files = 7.5G so it's nearly full. That machine is too slow now for modern internet, so I used it primarily for writing & email. I think I zapped it a few weeks due to the dry air wnen I was reinstalling a DVD/CD toaster and it refused to boot. Showed me the Blue Screen. After messing with it, I just pulled the drive out and installed it in place of a DVD rom in the 5150. Drive showed up fine, all files there so I guess I messed up the boot file. I've long been wanting to retire that machine anyway so the move was fine. This is an IDE plugged in place of a DVD reader.
F/ is a 21G drive, also old, that has about 10G's worth of Acronis backups from another machine & an old laptop. It also has initial W2k & XP Pro installs with all updates. This an IDE plugged into a Promise Ultra 100 Tx2 which is plugged into a PCI slot on the Dell MB.
G/ is the new WD 320G SATA drive; It's plugged into the Dell MB. (Had to track down a SATA cable that was straight through on one end & 90deg on the other..) Currently it's empty. During install, I encountered basic vs dynamic for the first time. Read through the partitions vs volumes info on WD's & MS's site. Chose dynamic. Still a bit fuzzy one the differences. Chime in please. I chose to split it in two, then I read that WD will offer no customer support to HD's with more than one partition??? Wonder what that's about??? How odd. I planned on using this HD as my new primary, copying an image of C/ onto it.
Then a friend said if you do this, a new partition will be created the same size as your mirror, which is ~ 20G. That was a surprise. Is this correct?
With all that said (thanks for reading this far), my Q's are:
1. Basic or dynamic? Partitions vs Volumes? Pro's & con's. Totally new to me.
2. Single or multiple partitions? Pro's & con's. Size recommendations? Can you resize a partition? A Volume?
3. How best to use these old HD's? I've been told you should keep your backups on a separate drive(s). I use Acronis for that. Welcome advice on backup strategies as well.
4. If you lay a small mirror down on a much larger drive, will it really create a new partition (volume) the same size as the mirror? Anyway around this?
That's enough for now. Thanks in advance!
