Master HDD has XP, Slave HDD has ME

[pmt513]

I plan to remove the current HDD running Win ME and install a new HDD with Win XP. Then I'd like to add the old HDD as the slave. Will Win ME be an issue when I access the old drive? Should I uninstall ME before I remove the old drive? After I've moved some data, I plan to re-format the old drive. Many thanks!

BRGDS,
pmt513

[DMR]

You'll be able to read from/write to the old ME drive, but there won't be booting conflicts or the like with XP, if that's what you're concerned about.

[pmt513]

DMR thank you! Yes, that was my concern. I'm finally upgrading my Dell 4100 from ME to XP. I've maxed RAM to 512MB, flashed to latest BIOS, backed-up data, researched latest drivers for hardware, adjusted BIOS boot order - CD/DVD-Floppy-HDD. After removing old 40GB HDD, I'll install new 120GB HDD and install XP, apps and ensure all works. Then install old HDD as slave. Will it be this simple? Did I miss an important step? Your advice is greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time!! Peter

[DMR]

Sounds like you've got it covered; I can't think of anything else:

* Set BIOS boot order.
* Install new drive as the Primary Master dirve.
* Install XP and make sure everything is working properly.
* Reinstall old drive as a slave drive.

As you indicated, you should leave the old drive out of the system until you've verified that the XP side of things is working. When you do reinstall the old drive, just make sure to pay attention to the Master/Slave jumper settings on your devices.

[alc6379]

Sounds like you're good to go. Late in life, the 4100 systems shipped with XP, but I don't know if there was a BIOS upgrade that needed to be done or not.