How to ensure old drives are compatible?

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PSLog

291 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 13

#62536 9-Jun-2010 13:49

My computer has died - motherboard.
What I would like to do is just buy a secondhand computer and plug the old drives in.
They are a pair of Seagate 7200.7 80Gb SATA-150 8MB 7200 RPM disks set up as RAID 1.
I no longer need the mirror.
What I want to know is, what do I need to consider in the purchase of a second-hand computer, in the way of specifications, to ensure that I can just plug one of the old drives in and be going again?
Since they were driven through a Promise SATA-150 PCI card, do I need to drive just one of them through the same card or should it plug straight in?

jaymz

1136 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 76

#339849 9-Jun-2010 16:46

Basically you will need to use the same Promise card and a similar CPU (was the old pc an Intel or AMD?)

Your windows install will have drivers loaded for the Promise card in order for it to boot. Plugging the drive into any old pc will most likey result in a blue screen during bootup.

You best bet is to stick with the promise card (should still hold the RAID info).

PSLog

291 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 13

#339862 9-Jun-2010 17:16

Thanks for that.
The old board was Intel D865BGFL with an Intel P4 2.4 GHz 800MHz 478 pin CPU.
Should I still use the Promise RAID card even if I no longer need RAID?
MUST I use the Promise RAID card to be able to read the old drives?

(I'm assuming that the computer will boot from the drive that is is supplied with and my access to the old drives will be secondary?)

jaymz

1136 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 76

#339882 9-Jun-2010 17:59

Ah ok, there are two ways you can go about this.

1. Buy a new (secondhand) PC and install the HDDs out of your old PC in place of the ones installed in the new PC.
or
2. Buy a new (secondhand) PC and install the HDDs out of your old PC as secondary drives (continuing to boot off the new PC's windows install)

For option 1 you will need to install the Promise RAID card and HDDs in the new PC. This will allow you to boot up off your old drives and windows (and your applications) will be intact. This will require installation of device drivers for the new hardware. This is also not %100 guaranteed to work either, sometimes windows will act funny due to the hardware changes.

For option 2 you won't need to use the RAID card, Windows will be able to read the information from the drive just fine (only when you use strange software based RAID do you get issues)

Best advice would be to get your new PC, rebuild windows (so it is nice and clean) put your old HDD's into it and copy over your data.
BUT
If you have applications you want to keep installed (I.E. Lost installation media etc) then go with option 1.

PSLog

291 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 13

#339906 9-Jun-2010 19:18

Thankyou again Jaymz for your clear reply.
Sorry to go on, but I need to be 100% on this before I spend a few $100.

It doesn't matter if the motherboard or chip-set are quite different on the new computer?
BUT it must have at least one spare SATA connection?

Is there a problem if I buy a newer (say) dual core AMD at 3GHz?

You say in all these situations I should be able to plug in one of my RAID 1 SATA drives (without worrying about the Promise RAID card), set it as a secondary drive and read from it no problems?

Thanks very much for your help

jaymz

1136 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 76

#339917 9-Jun-2010 19:51

No worries, that is what these forums are for, helping out!

Yup, if you intend to plug in your current drive as a secondary device for use to recover data it should be no problem at all. I have used a similar Promise RAID card (which also had a RAID 1 mirror on it) and was able to read one of the drives with no problems.

and yup, as you said, as long as the new PC has a SATA port then you are good to go. No matter the chipset or make of the CPU (HDD is completely independant)

PSLog

291 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 13

#339927 9-Jun-2010 20:11

OK. That's great. Just what I needed to know. Now to hunt for a replacement....
Thanks again.
(I see I'm classed as a Master Geek. They obviously don't look at whether your posts are taking or giving!)

Lego

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jaymz

1136 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 76

#339934 9-Jun-2010 20:27

lol yeah, but if you are asking questions then you are learning!

Good luck with the hunt for a new PC, if you need any parts give me a shout. I might be able to hunt some bits out for you (RAM, Cases, Cables)

PSLog

291 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 13

#339937 9-Jun-2010 20:35

Cheers Jaymz!