If I installed a 2nd "cloned" hard drive (Disk 1) on a PC running XP, and the main hard drive (drive 0) crashed and won't boot to Windows, is it possible to "switch" to Disk 1 in Setup and boot to windows off of that 2nd HDD?

If so, how do I switch over?

Also, this is an old Dell Dimension 8100 with one of their very expensive non-standard power supplies... only 250 watts. Would it be a strain on the power supply to have and extra hard drive installed?

The reason for these questions is the main hard drive keeps getting corrupted every few months for no obvious reason and won't boot to Windows. I have a backup clone that I have to physically install, boot up, then format and clone the corrupted drive. Since I already replaced the main drive with a new one, which did not solve the problem, I'm just guessing it may be the power supply, so I don't want to over tax it if adding a 2nd HDD would do so. A new PS would cost more than the PC is worth. My wife just uses it for email and a bit of web surfing, so even though it's ancient, it's adequate for her.

Thanks...

If you have an OS on the second disk then yes you can boot from it. If the second disk was just for storage then no you can't boot off it.

HELP??

I received an email that said the following:
ITstudent2006 has just answered a question you have subscribed to entitled "Can I Boot to Windows off 2nd Installed Hard Drive (Disk 1)" in the Computers for Beginners topic of Ask Me Help Desk.
To see ITstudent2006's response and to respond yourself click here:
https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/computers-beginners/can-boot-windows-off-2nd-installed-hard-drive-disk-1-a-532460-new.html

When I clicked on the link, there was no answer to the question. I'm still getting used to the new AMHD format, so maybe I am doing something wrong here. How can I read ITstudent2006's response?

Now that I posted my 2nd question I can see ITstudent's answer...

IT: The 2nd drive is a clone with the OS on it. How exactly can instruct the PC to boot from drive 1 and ignore corrupted drive 0 ?

Thanks...

Unhook the first drive, put the second drive in its place. Put the jumper on primary. Start PC

Thanks IT. That is what I am doing now. I was trying to get away from the disassembly, and just go into setup and change the boot order if possible, to boot on the good drive. Then I can just clone the good drive (1) back to the corrupted drive (0) and I'm back in action without physically swapping hard drives around.

Specifically, is there a way to instruct the PC in Setup to boot off drive (1) instead of Drive (0)?

Thanks again...

I believe so. Editing your temp. startup device should work.

You should see all devices, both HDD's, network, USB etc...

Another can confirm or deny this. I don't know how it works with a primary and slave HDD.

Sorry, this is a bit confusing for me.

Am I just trying to change the boot order?

I think I know how to do that?

Will that let me boot the PC from Drive (1), even if there is a HDD in the Drive (0) position?

If your second HD is listed in the BIOS as a startup disk then yes you can change it to boot ahead of disk(0).

Excellent. Thank you.

Last question, back from my first posting:

This is an old Dell Dimension 8100 with one of their very expensive non-standard power supplies... only 250 watts. Would it be a strain on the power supply to have and extra hard drive installed?

I wouldn't think so but I am not sure.

I have an old Dell Dimension 8100 with one of their very expensive non-standard power supplies... only 250 watts.

Would it be a strain on the power supply to have and extra PATA hard drive installed? (total of 2)

I hate to point you to another forum but these guys are dealing with the same question.

Needless o say they are running 2-3 HDD's on a Dell 250W power supply and have had no issues.

Max.Drives on 200W Power Supply Unit - Dell - Systems (http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/7514-2-drives-200w-power-supply-unit)

In general it safe to presume that a power supply unit can handle the number of things it is designed to plug in. Each unit has a specific number of cables for the devices to attach, you should be able to attach devices up to the number of available cables.

Excellent. Thank you.

Last question, back from my first posting:

This is an old Dell Dimension 8100 with one of their very expensive non-standard power supplies... only 250 watts. Would it be a strain on the power supply to have and extra hard drive installed?


How about for christmas since its coming up you do something nice for your wife and get her a new laptop or something that she can enjoy. Plus it will cut down on a lot of wasted desk space as the monitor its hooked to takes up a lot of room.

How about for christmas since its coming up you do something nice for your wife and get her a new laptop or something that she can enjoy. Plus it will cut down on alot of wasted desk space as the monitor its hooked to takes up alot of room.

Do you know each other?

Do you know eachother?

No. Why do you ask ?

Well, thank you all. It sounds like the PS can handle another drive. I looked up the specs on the extra WD IDE 250GB drive I have and the power consumption ranges from 1w to 19w at spin up. Average power is about 9-12w. I didn't realize it was that low. Even at 19w, that's only about a 7% increase in power. I'll take the chance. (Sorry, I should have done this first)

In regards to CalifDad's suggestion, I wish I could. Got laid off and need to conserve right now. Anyway, my wife is a technophobe and would really struggle with a new system, especially if we upgraded to Windows 7. Yikes! She only does emails and a bit of web surfing, so her old clunker of a PC is really just fine for her.

I, on the other hand, would love a new PC. Mine is 10 years old and slooooow...

BTW, do JB & CalifDad agree with IT, that I can just change the boot order in Setup to boot off my clone drive in disk (1) position, if disk (0) crashes?

Have a wonderful holiday everyone.

BTW, do JB & CalifDad agree with IT, that I can just change the boot order in Setup to boot off my clone drive in disk (1) position, if disk (0) crashes?

Have a wonderful holiday everyone.

Yes I agree but your going to have to format the other drive to "boot". For it to do so you must have boot sectors already installed. Not just the OS. For that matter they make bootable disks for the purpose of recovery and when installing a OS on a system it always asks you to make one.

I also agree that in general. If you buy a OEM computer (name brand) and it comes with extra slots then you can use them and still be OK. The only time you actually run into issues is when you stray away from the norm and start adding high powered video cards to the system or extra fans. Otherwise if it was set up to handle 2 hard drives then you should be fine.

I, on the other hand, would love a new PC. Mine is 10 years old and slooooow...

Have a wonderful holiday everyone.


I know times are tough. But something you might not have considered is that there are deals out there. You can scan pawn shops and so long as your willing to be fair you can find some great deals. Also there are many websites you can check out and arm yourself with pricing before you go looking. Here are just a few deals under $200 with warranties.

I personally have never paid over $300 for a laptop and the ones I've e had have been very fast. Also from pawn shops.

Newegg.com - PCs & Laptops,Desktop PCs,$100 - $200 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006736%204017&IsNodeId=1&name=%24100%20-%20%24200)

Thank CD. You would have to read all the way back to my original post to get the details of what I am trying to do with the second drive. It is actually a full clone of the main drive. So whenever she has a HDD crash, I have to open the PC, install the clone, boot to Windows, and then clone back to the corrupted drive. Then I must swap the drives back to original position, and tuck the backup clone away in a drawer. It's a lot of crawling around on the floor.

I just got the idea today, to leave the clone in drive bay 2 (disk 1), and do all of the above without ever opening the PC or leaving my chair.

So it sounds like you are saying that I can leave the clone in drive bay 2, and just change the boot order in Setup to run off the clone and not the corrupted drive. Yes?

I just didn't know if the boot drive had to be connected to the Disk (0) position on the cable to boot to Windows.

Hope I am making sense here.

Thanks again...

As was mentioned. So long as your "bios" allows you to boot from a different drive then no problem. If it doesn't then your SOL. You would have to make it the "primary" drive inorder to recover. But you can also create "bootable CD's" so you can recover faster and no drive swapping at all. That way you can keep your back ups current to the "extra" drive. You might want to look into "imaging" your C: drive. And put the money saved into your next system :)

If you buy the power supply AND hard drive your getting close to another system already.

You can also check places like...


TigerDirect.com - Computers, Computer Parts, Computer Components, Netbooks & Electronics (http://www.tigerdirect.com)

Got it.

Looks like I'll have to plug in my clone drive in bay 2 and see if the BIOS will let me switch the order.

In terms of cost, I have no intention of spending another dime on this PC. The PS is working, and I already have the extra (clone) drive, so it's more of a convenience issue than a cost issue.

This could lead to an entirely new discussion, but my question was based on the fact that her main HDD keeps getting corrupted every 2-3 months for no apparent reason, and won't boot. So I have to go through this stupid process of swapping drives, formatting her corrupted drive, and cloning back to it. I don't know what is causing this, but I've ruled out the drive. I've been told it could be a PS spike or mobo problem. Neither one of which I would replace. At that point, it goes in the trash. But for now, a swap and a clone, and she's up and running. Just trying to save myself a bit of time with this process.

Cheers...

Got it.

Looks like I'll have to plug in my clone drive in bay 2 and see if the BIOS will let me switch the order.

In terms of cost, I have no intention of spending another dime on this PC. The PS is working, and I already have the extra (clone) drive, so it's more of a convenience issue than a cost issue.

This could lead to an entirely new discussion, but my question was based on the fact that her main HDD keeps getting corrupted every 2-3 months for no apparent reason, and won't boot. So I have to go thru this stupid process of swapping drives, formatting her corrupted drive, and cloning back to it. I don't know what is causing this, but I've ruled out the drive. I've been told it could be a PS spike or mobo problem. Neither one of which I would replace. At that point, it goes in the trash. But for now, a swap and a clone, and she's up and running. Just trying to save myself a bit of time with this process.

Cheers...



Feel free anytime to come and ask. There are many good users at many levels and it's a great place to expand your knowlage of computers. If your question is related to this computer issue then revist it or if it is about another computer or your simply fishing for ideas then start a new thread. Lots of power users on this site :)

Thank you...

A late comment, I would never continue use of a hard drive that "corrupted inexplicably" more than once. The second time, I would toss it, spend $50 on a new primary drive, restore my backup to that new primary drive... and live happily ever after.


This wouldn't be a wasted $50, since a new drive can transfer with you in the future to your next new system, it's an investment that can follow you.

JB,

I agree, but the problem of the drive getting corrupted is apparently being caused by the PC. I have already replaced the drive twice. 1st with a good used one I had. Then I bought a brand new one, and it keeps happening every several months.

Someone suggested it may be a bad power supply, but this Dell uses a proprietary wiring configuration, and costs more than the PC is worth. Unfortunately, if it is the PS, it may corrupt the backup clone drive as well, if they are both installed at the same time. Would like to try it, however.

This is actually the basis for my question. If I have a cloned drive already installed, I can easily fix the corruption in about 5 minutes.

The obvious solution of course, is to get a new PC, but money is tight here, so the cloning continues for now.

Thanks again...