In a message dated 2/20/99 8:19:33 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

<< Hello to all

 I know this has been answered before, but I can not locate the answer in my
 notes.

 I am adding a second larger drive to a machine. I wish to make this drive
 the primary drive. I know the hardware changes which must be made, but I
 cannot remember how to transfer the data [including the operating system]
 from one drive to the other.  I know that the xcopy command is the way to
 go, but I don't remember the switches.

 Could someone please lend me a hand.

 TIA

 Mike Buraczewski
 [log in to unmask]
  >>
Hi,
  The way I do it is as follows:

1. Create a boot disk (if you havent already done so). Click on START>
Settings> Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs> then click on the Startup Disk
tab, and follow the directions there. (Note: it's a good idea to write protect
this floppy, and keep it around in case of emergencies, it can come in very
handy if you have hard drive problems later...e.g. virus, etc.)

2. Replace the current hard drive with the new one (set as "master").

3. Set the BIOS settings for the new drive, use the "Auto" setting if
available.

4. Boot the computer from the boot floppy made in step 1.

5. At the A:> prompt, type in FDISK.

6. If you are running Win95 OSR2, or Win98, choose YES to using large disk
support. This will cause FDISK to use FAT32 for partitioning/formatting.

7. Create a Primary DOS partiton, and make it "active" (bootable). Use all
available disk space for the partition being created, if possible (this makes
for fewer drive letter changes once the new drive is fully installed).

8. Check the partition information using FDISK for the partition you just
created, especially for size. If you are using FAT32 and it didn't use the
whole disk for the partition, your BIOS does not support drives that large,
and you may need to install a third party disk manager program to be able to
use all the space on the drive. (These programs frequently come on a floppy
disk with new hard drives). DON'T use the program unless you NEED to.

9. Once the drive has been partitioned, FDISK will tell you that the computer
needs to be rebooted for the changes to take effect, do so now.

10. At the A:> prompt, type in FORMAT C: . This will format the partition you
just created, making it usable.

Note: Doing the FDISK/FORMAT this way, with your old drive out of the system
makes it impossible to "accidentally" FDISK, or FORMAT it by mistake.

11. Change the new drive to a "slave", and reinstall the old hard drive (set
as "master"), so BOTH drives are now installed.

12. Change the BIOS settings to reflect the drive changes (shouldn't be
necessary if using "Auto" settings).

13. Boot the computer from the old hard drive (not the floppy). It should go
right into Windows, just as it used to.

14. Once into Windows, double click on "My Computer". The new drive (and its
size) should be listed there. Make a note of the drive letter assigned to it
(probably D:).

15. Click on START>Programs>MS DOS Prompt. This will bring up a DOS window. In
the window, type in "XCOPY C:*.* D: /r /i /c /h /k /e /y" (without the quotes)
. This will copy all the files from your old drive to the new one. If the new
drive is not D:, substitute the correct drive letter in what you type in, e.g.
XCOPY C:*.* <drive letter> /r /i /c /h /k /e /y
Note: An easy way to remeber the switches is as the word RICHKEY

16. Once all the files are copied to the new drive, shut down the computer,
and remove the old drive, or if you're planning to keep using it as extra
space on the computer, make it a "slave". Make the new drive the "master", and
reboot.

17. Make BIOS setting changes (if necessary), to reflect the drive changes.

18. The compter should boot into windows from the new drive, exactly as it did
with the old one, with all settings, customizations, programs, etc. intact.

19.  If you are continuing to use the old drive as extra space, you may want
to keep the data on it AS IS for a while, just in case   :) . Once you are
satisfied that the system is working properly with the new drive, you can
delete all the files from the old drive, or just reformat it to erase all the
data on it. If you format it, make sure you format the proper drive and NOT
the C: drive.

20. Enjoy all the space on the new drive.

HTH,
Peter Hogan
[log in to unmask]

        PCBUILD only works if you contribute. Send your messages
             to be posted to: [log in to unmask]