hard drive/computer heeeeeellllp!

[mk3ftMFw]

So i just ordered a new vostro200 from dell.. and its a good machine. Dell gave me a 80gig SATA hard drive, and this simply isn't enough.

MY old computer has a somewhat new Western Digital 160gig (still not that big but it will work for now). The WD hard drive has windows XP pro on it, and a bunch of other shit I dont need/want.

Can I clear out the Western Digital Drive without booting up the operating system on the hard drive?


This is what i'm asking, i want to clear out the Western Digital HD, and still use my 80gig SATA hard drive and the contents on it. Thanks in advance for any help

 

[JMDigital]

I think I understand what you are asking.

You can use your old Western Digital hard drive as a 2nd drive. As long as the new computer has a controller that will run that Western Digital hard drive, it can be setup as a 2nd drive. The new computer can format the drive after you install it.

 

[The Dude]

When you have an OS on two drives it'll ask which you want to use while your pc is booting. So yeah just choose the one you want to boot and format the drive you want cleared.

 

[Poodles]

won't matter if it's in slave mode, it won't even try to boot from it...

I do that to get files off of screwed up main drives... you can format it once it's connected...

 

[mk3ftMFw]

well the new dell motherboards have no place for the ribbon to attach to the motherboard?

What are my options? and external case?

 

[VA7MGE]

what exactly does the inside of your case look like? do you see any expansion bays for an extra cd rom? or anything

 

[mk3ftMFw]

yeah its the vostro200, it has space for cd roms and a floppy drive.. but no place for the ribbon i have with the 160gig hd.

 

[VA7MGE]

you said its a sata hd? then your mobo connector should look like this.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/SATA_ports.jpg/200px-SATA_ports.jpg if its ribbon your connector looks like this one http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...A_on_mainboard.jpg/150px-ATA_on_mainboard.jpg

 

[mk3ftMFw]

no, the one i want to put in is IDE. The one that came with the computer is SATA...

 

[VA7MGE]

okae well your only option to keep your 160 is go with an external enclosure unless you wanna upgrade and get a bigger Sata HD