Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2011/07/28
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi Mark, I did a similar upgrade to my Dell XP desktop a couple of months ago, also using Acronis. The larger C drive is faster in booting up, and I have had no follow-up problems at all. The most difficult part of the entire job was removing the screws that hold the hard drive cage in place. Dell must install them with an impact wrench! Jim Nichols Tullahoma, TN USA ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Pope" <mark at whitedogs.co.uk> To: "Leica Users Group" <lug at leica-users.org> Sent: Thursday, July 28, 2011 12:16 PM Subject: [Leica] OT - upgrading Windows XP data and system disks - a quickhowto > Hi, > > in case anyone is interested, I've just upgraded both of the hard disks in > our rather old Windows XP machine, which had run out of disk space. Much > as I would love an iMac or a quad-core PC running a 64-bit OS, funds just > won't permit it at the moment. So I had to think about how I could extend > the useful life of the machine we currently use for storing and developing > digital images. > I had upgraded the memory a while back, though the maximum the machine > would let me use was 3GB - apparently this is a Windows XP limitation: the > joys of a 32-bit operating system! > Since hard disk space is so cheap these days, I figured I'd have a go at > upgrading the system myself. > > Here's how I did it... > > First, I replaced the 500GB data disk with a 2TB disk. To transfer the > data, I used an external disk caddy which supports E-Sata as well as USB2. > E-sata is supported on the PC's motherboard and this is a much faster > transfer method than USB2: on paper its over 7 faster. > So it was just a case of installing the 2TB drive in the caddy, powering > up the machine then using the storage utilities in the XP administrative > functions (under control panel) to set up the disk partition and format > the drive. This was (unsurprisingly) quite a long process but it went > fine. I just left the machine to strut its funky stuff and went out. In > total IIRC it took about 9 hours to format the 2TB drive. > > Then, all I had to to was copy the files from the old (internal) data disk > to the new 2TB drive and after having checked the files were in the right > place, take the disk out of the caddy and replace the 500GB data disk with > the new HDD. When the system booted up, it seemed faster and I had no > difficulty accessing images on the disk from Lightroom. > > Buoyed by my success with the data disk upgrade (and having successfully > upgraded the HDD in Karin's macbook from 100 - 500GB, which gave it a lot > more "snap"), I felt it was time to have a go at upgrading the system disk > on the XP machine. > > Since the disk is used to boot the system, you can't just copy the files > over in the same way as I described above. The disk needs to be 'cloned'. > After a bit of research, I opted for some software from Acronis True > Image. I was just about to buy a copy of the software, when I happened > across an article that mentioned that if you buy a Western Digital hard > disk, then you can download a free version of the software called 'Acronis > True Image Western Digital Edition'. Here's the link... > > http://support.wdc.com/product/downloaddetail.asp?swid=119 > > I don't know whether it works with other manufacturers' disks...Anyway, I > ordered a 500GB WD 7200RPM SATA2 drive with 32GB buffer for the princely > sum of ?35 including postage. The faster rotation speed, larger buffer > and more space should, I hope, give me a good hike in performance for > little outlay. > > The disk arrived this morning and was installed in the E-Sata caddy and > formatted before lunchtime. Again, it was just a case of leaving it to > its own devices while I did some "real" work. > > The Free Acronis True Image software and manual were downloaded and the > software installed on the Windows XP machine and after lunch, I started > the cloning operation. > > When you opt to clone a disk (I just used the 'automatic' option), the > system will reboot into a utility which performs the cloning operation. It > took around about an hour to clone a 250GB drive onto the new 500GB drive. > I opted to shut the machine down once the operation was completed, so I > could make sure the original disk was OK before I replaced it. It > was...so the last thing to do was to switch the PC off and swap the C > drives...which took me as long as it takes to brew a nice cup of tea... > > The PC definitely "feels" quicker. It takes less time to load up the OS > and log in. Loading Lightroom previews for 5Dmk2 images is faster. The > PC is also quite a bit quieter and because both drives are "green", power > consumption should also be lower. > > So, the end result is storage upgraded from 750GB (1 x 250GB, 1x500GB) to > 2.5TB, a faster machine and hopefully, its lifetime extended by a good > while. All for less than ?100. A new Windows 7 machine with the latest > processor, graphics card and similar disk specification would have been > ?850. > > I think it's definitely been a worthwhile exercise and I hope these notes > are of use to anyone on the LUG who may be in a similar position. > > -- > > > > Mark Pope, > Swindon, Wilts > UK > > Homepage http://www.monomagic.co.uk > Blog http://www.monomagic.co.uk/blog > Picture a week (2010) > http://www.monomagic.co.uk/index.php?gallery=paw/2010 > Picture a week (2009) > http://www.monomagic.co.uk/index.php?gallery=paw/2009 > (2008) > http://www.monomagic.co.uk/index.php?gallery=paw/2008 > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > >