Storage Solutions Things to be done when you install new HDD ?

[princeoo7]

Recently WD replaced my 500gb green with 750 gb Blue

Very happy about it, but still can't forget the loss of precious data I had :down:

So this time I was thinking what major steps to follow for preparing my self from such major losses cause by the failing HDD.

and also wanted to know how to utilize the full potential of my new 750gb HDD

Should I keep it in sata mode or IDE or RAID ???

I do have a 160gb Blue WD on which my current rig is working !!!

Hope I haven't started a boring topic as may of us must have face the same question with there new internal HDD's .

Thanks for reading .....

Have a nice night / day ahead.

 

[singenaadam]

Congrats on your purchase!

Create partitions (2 or 3) to segregate your data. Depending on the importance take regular backup of the partition(s).

 

[flash23]

@princeoo7 Regarding modes of the Hard disk there are two modes the normal mode and RAID mode.
The normal mode is the one which you are currently using. While the RAID mode is one which requires multiple drives with same capacity for redundancy and error correction (safe backup).

Seeing that you have a 160GB and 750GB HDDs you can not implement RAID (unless you buy either another 160 and/or 750gig HDD).

SATA and IDE are the types of buses over which data is transmitted. The older HDD were of IDE type while the newer ones are SATA including the one you have just bought. There is nothing really you can choose in this.

For data safety, there are usual tips:
First and foremost keep a backup of very very critical and important data either in DVD, external drive, etc.
Don't care much about backing up your movies and song collection, since these can be easily be obtained again. Distribute it among your freinds, so you can have it whenever your hdd fails, plus you don't have to much care about taking a backup.

The MOST important thing is to keep an eye on HDD performance. Regularly scan the HDD for bad sectors using software like HDD. When you see a bad sector, its time for RMA, back up the necessary data and send the HDD. Sometimes a HDD with bad sectors can give way immediately but sometimes it can survive for a long time. I am using a HDD with 3 bad sectors since almost a year.

 

[princeoo7]

@flash23 : Ya i know the bad sectors part

the one 160gb had like 8936 { 89++) bad sectors and took me one hold day to regenerate it

Now i am thinking of giving it for RMA as i have a 750 gb right now

 

[Jarod]

Dont change SATA to IDE mode or vice versa unless you are reinstalling the OS or you may encounter a BSOD.
Ideally it should be SATA.
IDE mode is for compatibility with older OS's.

Partitioning is up to you. Mostly not needed, unless you have the OS also installed on it, in which case its best to have a a separate partition for the OS.
Dont do full HDD scans for bad sectors, you are only wearing out the disk faster.
The recommended option is to have a SMART monitoring tool like CrystalDiskInfo or Hard disk sentinel running in the background to notify you when a bad sector is encountered.

 

[flash23]

Windows does a good job of detecting hard disk failures, it gives a pop out warning about the disk failing and advises to take a back up.

Also Intel bases motherboard have a SMART system which can be turned on from the BIOS, if you havent already (it is by default on, though you should check it to be sure).

 

[princeoo7]

I have a AMD Rig so Intel Smart option is a big no :/

I checked my bios, is it in IDE mode and not in sata mode .

Like this also i am going to install my OS on new drive as my one 160 is also giving me Smart error in wd lifeguard.

Thank every ones feed back ^_^

Now when I am installing the OS on New Hdd , should I enable the AHCI mode with SATA option directly ?????

 

[Jarod]

Yes if you are re installing the OS, enable SATA / AHCI mode.
But, which OS?
If its XP, you will need SATA drivers on a floppy or slipstreamed into your install disk.
The fake IDE mode was a workaround for this SATA driver problem in XP.

Windows does a good job of detecting hard disk failures, it gives a pop out warning about the disk failing and advises to take a back up.

Also Intel bases motherboard have a SMART system which can be turned on from the BIOS, if you havent already (it is by default on, though you should check it to be sure).

I dont think Windows has any SMART monitoring inbuilt.
Maybe the Intel storage drivers have this functionality.
Yup, quite a few BIOSs have SMART monitoring, but it notifies you only during bootup.

 

[princeoo7]

I find a problem that when I am playing any video from my 750gb drive :/ it stuck for split sec's so is it the HDD ???
Or cord ????