If you're up to the task, you can pop open the case and check the connections to the CD drive (wide IDE cable, power cable and maybe a thin CD audio cable). You could also try the drive in another...

Yep, no worries. Depending on the motherboard chipset, you may need to load SATA controller drivers in order for Windows to detect the SATA drive, but this should be done for you when you install the...

I just remembered this topic, and came back for a look. No replies! Shockers. Time to rectify.....

I'm of the belief that drives should only share channels with devices of the same type. Optical...

Turn off simple file sharing under Tools->Folder Options->View (this may be WinXP Pro only).

Right click the folder in question->Sharing & Security->Security Tab->Add. Type in either your username...

That's a curious one! Might I enquire as to which board or, failing that, PC brand/model you have?

It is highly recommended that you completely reinstall Windows when you swap out the motherboard. While it is possible to keep an install (either by removing all drivers before swapping or, I...

That depends on the controller implementation. Many motherboards these days utilise chipsets (Nvidia nforce4, Intel since i865/i875 and possibly earlier) with native SATA - driver disks are no longer...

The reason Windows failed to boot previously is because of your drastic hardware change and not removing the old drivers beforehand. Regardless, it is highly recommended you reinstall Windows when...

There's an exception in this case though.;)

DaMaGe has attached his hard drive to the Silicon Image SATA RAID controller, which requires drivers in order to be recognised by Windows. However, what...

Are you sure that you are using the correct drivers? Please provide the make and model number of your motherboard and specify which SATA port the hard drive is plugged into.

Hard drive manufacturers typically offer "zero-fill" utilities on their websites. These will wipe your drive clean by filling it with nothing but zeroes.

Yes, Windows should automatically install it for you. However, whether or not the BIOS detects it depends on whether or not you've set up the jumpers on the back of the drive correctly. ;)

I've bought 2 LG optical drives (one DVD, one CD burner), no problems. Hardly an indication of overall quality, but every bit helps.

I personally recommend Pioneer & NEC for DVD burners.

When installing programs, specify a different install location. Easy as that.

You cannot move the Documents & Settings folder (not easily anyway). However, you can move the My Dcouments folder....

That would be the logical thing to do, yes. ;)

Give them a call first and explain your problem.

Programs do not have to be installed on the system drive to work. You can change the install folder.

You could have created the other two partitions during Windows setup. Otherwise, it can be done via Control Panel->Admin Tools->Computer Management->Disk Management.

It's up to you mate. Personally, I would just combine data/music/pics and video into one big partition.

Whooha, too many partitions! If you do feel comfortable with that level of organisation, then by all means go ahead, but I think you're breaking things down a little too much! I would just have a...

The SATA drive requires no jumper setting, so it's irrelevant in this case. ;)

With the DVD drive, set it to master. If it must share an IDE channel with another drive (i.e. same cable), then make...

Similar situation here chaps. :|

Whoa, mind the flamage chaps!

This thread ceased functionining a couple of months ago Sackavelli - chances are the original poster has moved on to bigger and better things, never to return. Please...

Did you format the drive in NTFS (right-click drive->properties when hooked up to the Windows XP machine)? If so, then Windows ME cannot read it. You must format it in FAT32.

The more popular brands are Western Digital, Seagate and Maxtor.

Are you happy with your drive? ;)

It's the way the manufacturers define the amount of space on the drive. For them, 1000 bytes = 1Kb, 1000Kb = 1Mb, and so forth. In Windows, 1024 bytes = 1Kb, etc.

So yes, it's normal, and there's...

Whoooohaaaa, before we start recommending new discs and complete cleanouts, let's find out what exactly is happening! As McReagant suggested, an outline of what makes up the rest of your system would...

It commonly refers to drives with DVD reading and CD writing capabilities - a combination of the two.
I generally recommend either the Pioneer DVR-109 or the NEC ND-3520/ND-3540.
Depends on what...

You need the SATA controller drivers (on a floppy disk) in order for Windows to see the drives. At the start of the setup process, you are prompted to hit F6 for this reason - ensure that you do.

I'd use the built-in Windows XP tools personally - you're not limited to FAT32 that way. ;)

You can create a new partition in the unused space using Disk Management (Control Panel->Admin...

How is the 200Gb drive connected? If it's SATA, then you will have install the required SATA controller drivers in order for Windows XP to see it (unless you have a native SATA motherboard, such as...

Also ensure the jumpers are set up correctly. However, since the drives are being detected in Windows, I don't think this is the problem.

Actual bad sectors or possible partition errors? I'm not sure what Seatools tests for but you could just have a corrupted paritition. If there's nothing worth recovering then perhaps a zerofill...

You don't need any tutorials for "hyperthreading" Cal unless you actually plan to start programming threaded applications. Otherwise, all you need to do is......well, do what you always do....

I see now, sorry for the mix-up. What kind of drive is it? Model, make and interface type.

Regardless, you should check out the disk management section mentioned in the guide I posted. That should...

Zalakes, did you read the guide I posted?

I assume this is a new hard drive you've rigged up, so in order to access it you need to create a partition which you then format. The link above contains...

jfountain02 is on the right track. ;)

See here (http://www.pcuser.com.au/pcuser/hs2.nsf/web/2E5BCFFF30B862E8CA256E21000D9E80).

What are you using to gauge performance?

Well, current SATA1 hard drives aren't that much faster than PATA drives, so performance isn't really an issue no matter what kind of controller you have. The main drawcards are smaller cables and no...

As far as I know, a PCI add-on card does not "integrate" itself with your BIOS, so the BIOS will not recognise drives attached to it during POST (only drives plugged into controllers integrated into...

You have a SATA hard drive and a non-native SATA controller. Thus, Windows requires drivers for the SATA controller before it can see your hard drive. You need to boot off the Windows XP install CD...