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Help with buying new hard drive



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 9th 15, 04:13 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
Johnny
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 306
Default Help with buying new hard drive


I would like to replace the hard drive in my wife's Dell laptop
computer. It has a 5400 RPM drive now, and I want to install a 7200
RPM hard drive.

I went to Seagate, Amazon and Newegg, and they don't recognize the
product number.

I'm going to have to get Windows 8.1 installed on the new drive, and
the laptop didn't come with a DVD, only a restore partition. Is there
some way I can move the existing operating system to the new hard drive?

It also doesn't have a DVD drive, only usb ports.

Also I have never worked on a laptop. Is it very difficult to replace
the hard drive, and is it easy to damage the computer while changing
the drive?



description: ATA Disk
product: ST500LT012-1DG14
vendor: Seagate
physical id:
0.0.0
bus info:

logical name:
/dev/sda
version: 0001
serial: S3P9582G
size: 465GiB (500GB)
capabilities: gpt-1.00 partitioned partitioned:gpt
configuration:
ansiversion = 5
guid = 88a640ee-cbad-4852-88d7-26494c9fdf02
sectorsize = 4096


description: CPU
product: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU N2830 @ 2.16GHz
vendor: Intel Corp.
physical id:
4
bus info:
cpu@0
version: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU N2830 @ 2.16GHz
slot: CPU 1
size: 1992MHz
capacity: 2407MHz
width: 64 bits
Ads
  #2  
Old March 9th 15, 05:02 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
Johnny
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 306
Default Help with buying new hard drive

On Mon, 09 Mar 2015 15:56:14 +0000
Stormin' Norman wrote:

Are you making this change to increase the speed or because you need
more room?

If you have plenty of free space on the existing drive and are
primarily looking to increase speed, have you considered a solid
state drive? They are lighting fast and somewhat reasonable in
price. If you need more than 500GB, the SSDs get a little pricey.


It's strictly for speed. Windows 8.1 is very slow on that computer.

An SSD is something to think about.

Like I said I don't know anything about laptops. I just want to make
sure the drive I order will fit in her computer. Are they all
physically the same?
  #3  
Old March 9th 15, 05:16 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
Johnny
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 306
Default Help with buying new hard drive

On Mon, 09 Mar 2015 10:10:49 -0600
Ken1943 wrote:

Not sure if there could be a heat problem. Dell does it's own thing,so
you could have trouble changing the drive.


Would an SSD eliminate the heat problem?
  #4  
Old March 9th 15, 05:18 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
GlowingBlueMist[_6_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 378
Default Help with buying new hard drive

On 3/9/2015 10:13 AM, Johnny wrote:

I would like to replace the hard drive in my wife's Dell laptop
computer. It has a 5400 RPM drive now, and I want to install a 7200
RPM hard drive.

I went to Seagate, Amazon and Newegg, and they don't recognize the
product number.

I'm going to have to get Windows 8.1 installed on the new drive, and
the laptop didn't come with a DVD, only a restore partition. Is there
some way I can move the existing operating system to the new hard drive?

It also doesn't have a DVD drive, only usb ports.

Also I have never worked on a laptop. Is it very difficult to replace
the hard drive, and is it easy to damage the computer while changing
the drive?



description: ATA Disk
product: ST500LT012-1DG14
vendor: Seagate
physical id:
0.0.0
bus info:

logical name:
/dev/sda
version: 0001
serial: S3P9582G
size: 465GiB (500GB)
capabilities: gpt-1.00 partitioned partitioned:gpt
configuration:
ansiversion = 5
guid = 88a640ee-cbad-4852-88d7-26494c9fdf02
sectorsize = 4096


description: CPU
product: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU N2830 @ 2.16GHz
vendor: Intel Corp.
physical id:
4
bus info:
cpu@0
version: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU N2830 @ 2.16GHz
slot: CPU 1
size: 1992MHz
capacity: 2407MHz
width: 64 bits

From what I've been able to locate, the existing drive is a standard
2.5 inch laptop SATA drive that is 7mm thick.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822178125

With that in mind, you could use any SATA 7200 RPM drive that is also
2.5 by 7mm in size.

Here is one that is also 500GB and runs around $50.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822178573

You might also consider upgrading to a SSD drive like one of these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148946
if speed is your only concern. It is also a drop in replacement for
what you currently have. Then you don't have to worry about bumping the
laptop and crashing the drive as the SSD has no moving parts, runs
cooler, and takes up much less battery usage as well.

As for actually replacing the drive, you did not give out which model
your Dell laptop is but most of them have a little plastic panel on the
bottom of the laptop that is held on by a couple of small screws. Along
with the screws the plastic cover has to be slightly twisted as you
remove it as they make it a tight fit. The drive itself may be screwed
in place but most now a days can be unplugged from the built in SATA
socket once the plastic panel has been removed.

Some 2.5 drives come in 9mm thickness and with out knowing the exact
model you have it's best to just stick with the 7mm thickness that
matches the existing drive when looking for a replacement.

To get the operating system from your existing drive over to the new
drive you could plug the drives into a desktop PC that has two free SATA
sockets on the motherboard, (just buy two extra SATA cables) and make
sure there are two SATA power connectors available. Then with both
drives plugged in you can use various free drive cloning software to
copy over your existing drive to the new drive, and then plug the new
drive into the laptop. One cloning program I use is Macrium Reflect
which can be found at:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/deta...e_edition.html

But you can also use the Seagate Disk Wizard program since your existing
drive is a Seagate and can be located at:

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/discwizard/

Have fun.
  #5  
Old March 9th 15, 05:22 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
GlowingBlueMist[_6_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 378
Default Help with buying new hard drive

On 3/9/2015 11:02 AM, Johnny wrote:
On Mon, 09 Mar 2015 15:56:14 +0000
Stormin' Norman wrote:

Are you making this change to increase the speed or because you need
more room?

If you have plenty of free space on the existing drive and are
primarily looking to increase speed, have you considered a solid
state drive? They are lighting fast and somewhat reasonable in
price. If you need more than 500GB, the SSDs get a little pricey.


It's strictly for speed. Windows 8.1 is very slow on that computer.

An SSD is something to think about.

Like I said I don't know anything about laptops. I just want to make
sure the drive I order will fit in her computer. Are they all
physically the same?

laptop drives and SSD's come in 7mm and 9mm thickness. Your existing
drive is 7mm. Other than that they are all the same size.
  #6  
Old March 9th 15, 05:23 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
Johnny
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 306
Default Help with buying new hard drive

On Mon, 09 Mar 2015 11:18:06 -0500
GlowingBlueMist wrote:

From what I've been able to locate, the existing drive is a standard
2.5 inch laptop SATA drive that is 7mm thick.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822178125

With that in mind, you could use any SATA 7200 RPM drive that is also
2.5 by 7mm in size.

Here is one that is also 500GB and runs around $50.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822178573

You might also consider upgrading to a SSD drive like one of these
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148946
if speed is your only concern. It is also a drop in replacement for
what you currently have. Then you don't have to worry about bumping
the laptop and crashing the drive as the SSD has no moving parts,
runs cooler, and takes up much less battery usage as well.

As for actually replacing the drive, you did not give out which model
your Dell laptop is but most of them have a little plastic panel on
the bottom of the laptop that is held on by a couple of small
screws. Along with the screws the plastic cover has to be slightly
twisted as you remove it as they make it a tight fit. The drive
itself may be screwed in place but most now a days can be unplugged
from the built in SATA socket once the plastic panel has been removed.

Some 2.5 drives come in 9mm thickness and with out knowing the exact
model you have it's best to just stick with the 7mm thickness that
matches the existing drive when looking for a replacement.

To get the operating system from your existing drive over to the new
drive you could plug the drives into a desktop PC that has two free
SATA sockets on the motherboard, (just buy two extra SATA cables) and
make sure there are two SATA power connectors available. Then with
both drives plugged in you can use various free drive cloning
software to copy over your existing drive to the new drive, and then
plug the new drive into the laptop. One cloning program I use is
Macrium Reflect which can be found at:

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/deta...e_edition.html

But you can also use the Seagate Disk Wizard program since your
existing drive is a Seagate and can be located at:

http://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/discwizard/

Have fun.


Thank you for all the useful information.

The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 15-3531.
  #7  
Old March 9th 15, 09:24 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
Bill[_40_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 346
Default Help with buying new hard drive

In message 20150309112330.2f038634@jspc, Johnny
writes
The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 15-3531.


I see that that model comes with Windows 8.1 with Bing. Does this mean
it is a WimBoot machine having to decompress Windows on the fly?

If it is, that would explain slowness with a 5400rpm drive. If it isn't
I'd check whether it is really just the drive that is making it slow, or
whether it is what is running on the machine.
--
Bill
  #8  
Old March 9th 15, 09:37 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
Johnny
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 306
Default Help with buying new hard drive

On Mon, 9 Mar 2015 20:24:54 +0000
Bill wrote:

In message 20150309112330.2f038634@jspc, Johnny
writes
The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 15-3531.


I see that that model comes with Windows 8.1 with Bing. Does this
mean it is a WimBoot machine having to decompress Windows on the fly?

If it is, that would explain slowness with a 5400rpm drive. If it
isn't I'd check whether it is really just the drive that is making it
slow, or whether it is what is running on the machine.


That's the first I've heard of WimBoot. After looking it up, it is
supposed to be used for small drives like 32 GB or smaller, and this
computer has a 500 GB hard drive.

How could I tell if it was set up for WimBoot?
  #9  
Old March 9th 15, 09:55 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
Bill[_40_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 346
Default Help with buying new hard drive

In message 20150309153755.442fe007@jspc, Johnny
writes
On Mon, 9 Mar 2015 20:24:54 +0000
Bill wrote:

In message 20150309112330.2f038634@jspc, Johnny
writes
The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 15-3531.


I see that that model comes with Windows 8.1 with Bing. Does this
mean it is a WimBoot machine having to decompress Windows on the fly?

If it is, that would explain slowness with a 5400rpm drive. If it
isn't I'd check whether it is really just the drive that is making it
slow, or whether it is what is running on the machine.


That's the first I've heard of WimBoot. After looking it up, it is
supposed to be used for small drives like 32 GB or smaller, and this
computer has a 500 GB hard drive.

How could I tell if it was set up for WimBoot?


Https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/...=255&MSPPError
=-2147217396

http://tinyurl.com/nmzsy8z

I think WimBoot is free up to 32GB drives, paid for over that. But it's
all a bit of a mystery to me.
--
Bill
  #10  
Old March 9th 15, 10:12 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
Johnny
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 306
Default Help with buying new hard drive

On Mon, 9 Mar 2015 20:55:02 +0000
Bill wrote:

In message 20150309153755.442fe007@jspc, Johnny
writes
On Mon, 9 Mar 2015 20:24:54 +0000
Bill wrote:

In message 20150309112330.2f038634@jspc, Johnny
writes
The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 15-3531.

I see that that model comes with Windows 8.1 with Bing. Does this
mean it is a WimBoot machine having to decompress Windows on the
fly?

If it is, that would explain slowness with a 5400rpm drive. If it
isn't I'd check whether it is really just the drive that is making
it slow, or whether it is what is running on the machine.


That's the first I've heard of WimBoot. After looking it up, it is
supposed to be used for small drives like 32 GB or smaller, and this
computer has a 500 GB hard drive.

How could I tell if it was set up for WimBoot?


Https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/...=255&MSPPError
=-2147217396

http://tinyurl.com/nmzsy8z

I think WimBoot is free up to 32GB drives, paid for over that. But
it's all a bit of a mystery to me.


I checked. It's not set up for WimBoot.

I can't believe Dell would install Windows 8.1 on a computer that's not
capable of running it properly.

The computer has 4 GB of Ram and a dual core 2.16 GHz processor.

The only thing I can think of that is slowing it down is the 5400 RPM
hard drive.
  #11  
Old March 10th 15, 12:33 AM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
Paul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 18,275
Default Help with buying new hard drive

Johnny wrote:
On Mon, 9 Mar 2015 20:55:02 +0000
Bill wrote:

In message 20150309153755.442fe007@jspc, Johnny
writes
On Mon, 9 Mar 2015 20:24:54 +0000
Bill wrote:

In message 20150309112330.2f038634@jspc, Johnny
writes
The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 15-3531.
I see that that model comes with Windows 8.1 with Bing. Does this
mean it is a WimBoot machine having to decompress Windows on the
fly?

If it is, that would explain slowness with a 5400rpm drive. If it
isn't I'd check whether it is really just the drive that is making
it slow, or whether it is what is running on the machine.
That's the first I've heard of WimBoot. After looking it up, it is
supposed to be used for small drives like 32 GB or smaller, and this
computer has a 500 GB hard drive.

How could I tell if it was set up for WimBoot?

Https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/...=255&MSPPError
=-2147217396

http://tinyurl.com/nmzsy8z

I think WimBoot is free up to 32GB drives, paid for over that. But
it's all a bit of a mystery to me.


I checked. It's not set up for WimBoot.

I can't believe Dell would install Windows 8.1 on a computer that's not
capable of running it properly.

The computer has 4 GB of Ram and a dual core 2.16 GHz processor.

The only thing I can think of that is slowing it down is the 5400 RPM
hard drive.


ST500LT012

TYPE SATA II
RPM 5400
Start 5V @ 1A
Seek 1.2W
Idle 0.45W

*******

Let's say we look at an SSD. As we want a definite benefit,
and so spend a little extra to get it.

An SSD for $110, 256GB and smaller than your 500GB drive.
Would require "clone+resize" step, using a third-party utility.
Like a lot of drive products, I think I see Acronis TIH mentioned
as part of the package.

"Crucial MX100 CT256MX100SSD1 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148820

That's a 7mm drive.

Some notes on "dishonesty in advertising".

Spec sheet gives no info. Now we look for a review.

http://www.storagereview.com/crucial_mx100_ssd_review

Picture shows "5V @ 1.7A" on the drive casing. That's a max.
That max is above the 5V @ 1A for your 5400 (or for a 7200 RPM drive).

The manufacturer provided fluff says this:

Power consumption:

Idle: 100mW
Active Average: 150mW

Active Average, means some amount of writes as well
as longer periods of idleness. Unless the industry uses
a "reasonable mix" of commands, we don't know if only
150mW of heat would be sensed by the "average" user.

If you scroll to the end of the article, you see
the *real* information, as measured by the reviewer.

Write: 4.16W
Read: 2.48W sustained
1.41W random
Idle: 1.06W
Start: 2.58W

So compare the idle on the SSD (1.06W) to the hard drive (0.45W).
It's possible the SSD will run warmer. If you were writing
the drive from end to end, it would draw 4.16W continuously,
and be above the 1.2W of your original rotating drive.

The 7200 Seagate hard drive I was looking at, draws a bit
more power than the 5400, like maybe 50% more, for the lower
power states. So even a 7200 will be a bit warmer.
It all depends on how well ventilated that area is,
as to whether a high-power solution would be
a mistake or not.

It's hard to do good planning, if the manufacturers
are not honest about stuff.

Paul
  #12  
Old March 10th 15, 12:52 AM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
Ron
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 507
Default Help with buying new hard drive

On 3/9/2015 5:12 PM, Johnny wrote:
On Mon, 9 Mar 2015 20:55:02 +0000
Bill wrote:

In message 20150309153755.442fe007@jspc, Johnny
writes
On Mon, 9 Mar 2015 20:24:54 +0000
Bill wrote:

In message 20150309112330.2f038634@jspc, Johnny
writes
The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 15-3531.

I see that that model comes with Windows 8.1 with Bing. Does this
mean it is a WimBoot machine having to decompress Windows on the
fly?

If it is, that would explain slowness with a 5400rpm drive. If it
isn't I'd check whether it is really just the drive that is making
it slow, or whether it is what is running on the machine.

That's the first I've heard of WimBoot. After looking it up, it is
supposed to be used for small drives like 32 GB or smaller, and this
computer has a 500 GB hard drive.

How could I tell if it was set up for WimBoot?


Https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/...=255&MSPPError
=-2147217396

http://tinyurl.com/nmzsy8z

I think WimBoot is free up to 32GB drives, paid for over that. But
it's all a bit of a mystery to me.


I checked. It's not set up for WimBoot.

I can't believe Dell would install Windows 8.1 on a computer that's not
capable of running it properly.

The computer has 4 GB of Ram and a dual core 2.16 GHz processor.

The only thing I can think of that is slowing it down is the 5400 RPM
hard drive.


It should run fine on there. I'm running it on a Toshiba with an Intel
B-940 processor (less powerful than yours) and 4GBs of RAM.

Have you checked out how many start-up items that you have?

Have you run your AV program to see if there is anything there?

What about running a malwareware scan with Malwarebytes?

https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/


  #13  
Old March 10th 15, 11:21 AM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
Bill[_40_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 346
Default Help with buying new hard drive

In message , Ron
writes
On 3/9/2015 5:12 PM, Johnny wrote:
On Mon, 9 Mar 2015 20:55:02 +0000
Bill wrote:

In message 20150309153755.442fe007@jspc, Johnny
writes
On Mon, 9 Mar 2015 20:24:54 +0000
Bill wrote:

In message 20150309112330.2f038634@jspc, Johnny
writes
The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 15-3531.

I see that that model comes with Windows 8.1 with Bing. Does this
mean it is a WimBoot machine having to decompress Windows on the
fly?

If it is, that would explain slowness with a 5400rpm drive. If it
isn't I'd check whether it is really just the drive that is making
it slow, or whether it is what is running on the machine.

That's the first I've heard of WimBoot. After looking it up, it is
supposed to be used for small drives like 32 GB or smaller, and this
computer has a 500 GB hard drive.

How could I tell if it was set up for WimBoot?

Https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/...=255&MSPPError
=-2147217396

http://tinyurl.com/nmzsy8z

I think WimBoot is free up to 32GB drives, paid for over that. But
it's all a bit of a mystery to me.


I checked. It's not set up for WimBoot.

I can't believe Dell would install Windows 8.1 on a computer that's not
capable of running it properly.

The computer has 4 GB of Ram and a dual core 2.16 GHz processor.

The only thing I can think of that is slowing it down is the 5400 RPM
hard drive.


It should run fine on there. I'm running it on a Toshiba with an Intel
B-940 processor (less powerful than yours) and 4GBs of RAM.

Have you checked out how many start-up items that you have?

Have you run your AV program to see if there is anything there?

What about running a malwareware scan with Malwarebytes?

https://www.malwarebytes.org/antimalware/


Of course, it depends on what you are trying to run on the machine, but
I'd have expected that processor and ram combination to be fast enough
with a 5400 drive. I have machines here running 8.1 with 5400rpm drives
and with processors between 1.6GHz and 2.53GHz. Only the 1.6GHz one
seems a bit slow.
In general use, it is the cache size of the drive and the seek time that
matters most. Rotation speed matters for things like video and audio
recording and editing, where data is being streamed relentlessly from
the drive.
MalwareBytes is a good start. Does the drive need defragmenting? Do you
have multiple Antivirus softwares?
One of the best, if a bit daunting at first, programs to see what is
running on the machine is "AutoRuns" from Microsoft's free Sysinternals
set of programs.
--
Bill
  #14  
Old March 10th 15, 05:09 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
Johnny
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 306
Default Help with buying new hard drive

On Mon, 09 Mar 2015 19:52:09 -0400
Ron wrote:

The computer has 4 GB of Ram and a dual core 2.16 GHz processor.

The only thing I can think of that is slowing it down is the 5400
RPM hard drive.


It should run fine on there. I'm running it on a Toshiba with an
Intel B-940 processor (less powerful than yours) and 4GBs of RAM.

Have you checked out how many start-up items that you have?


I checked the startup programs. There are three Intel programs, and
two Dell programs, that have to do with graphics and hardware
acceleration. After doing some research about these programs, I found
that they also connect to the Internet. I assume they are sending
information to Dell and Intel. Norton anti-virus is also running.


I found this website:

Create installation media for Windows 8.1
Applies to Windows 8.1

If you need to install or reinstall Windows 8.1, you can use the tool on this page to create your own installation media using either a USB flash drive or a DVD.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...-refresh-media

I'm wondering if I use this installation media from Microsoft, if it
will just install Windows 8.1 with out the Dell and Intel programs?

Will it leave the restore partition alone?

I'm downloading the 4 GB ISO right now, and have about an hour to go.

If I don't see an improvement after this, I will definitely buy an SSD.









  #15  
Old March 10th 15, 08:48 PM posted to alt.comp.os.windows-8
Paul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 18,275
Default Help with buying new hard drive

Johnny wrote:
On Mon, 09 Mar 2015 19:52:09 -0400
Ron wrote:

The computer has 4 GB of Ram and a dual core 2.16 GHz processor.

The only thing I can think of that is slowing it down is the 5400
RPM hard drive.

It should run fine on there. I'm running it on a Toshiba with an
Intel B-940 processor (less powerful than yours) and 4GBs of RAM.

Have you checked out how many start-up items that you have?


I checked the startup programs. There are three Intel programs, and
two Dell programs, that have to do with graphics and hardware
acceleration. After doing some research about these programs, I found
that they also connect to the Internet. I assume they are sending
information to Dell and Intel. Norton anti-virus is also running.


I found this website:

Create installation media for Windows 8.1
Applies to Windows 8.1

If you need to install or reinstall Windows 8.1, you can use the tool on this page to create your own installation media using either a USB flash drive or a DVD.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/w...-refresh-media

I'm wondering if I use this installation media from Microsoft, if it
will just install Windows 8.1 with out the Dell and Intel programs?

Will it leave the restore partition alone?

I'm downloading the 4 GB ISO right now, and have about an hour to go.

If I don't see an improvement after this, I will definitely buy an SSD.


If that disc is real installation media, you should be able
to point it at the partition that is to receive the OS.

I have, on occasion, set up a partition structure, before
doing an OS installation. As a means to "coax" the installation
to be done a certain way. It's one possible way to get the boot
partition and the system, into the same primary partition.

But whether that works with just any media, who knows. The thing is,
Microsoft isn't exactly very consistent now. They tend to do whatever
they feel like. On the last Win10 Technical Preview "upgrade",
the installation created a 450MB recovery boot partition, and
they just chewed 450MB off one partition, changed the partition
table order (bumped my DATA partition from slot 3 to slot 4).
And all without consulting me. So when it comes to
any policy that comes with the disc you're downloading, it
might all depend on whether the disc is the "original" 8.1,
or something they cooked up just for the purpose.

The only positive thing I can say about the whole
process you're about to go through, is the OS will
activate automatically. It'll use the Win8 key value
stored in a BIOS table of your OEM computer. But
as for the rest of it, will it leave the disc alone
and so on... do a backup first! You can't really
trust anyone these days.

Any time "flaky" maintenance is scheduled here, I
disconnect any excess drives. For example, when the
Win10 TP update came in, I disconnected the other
disks in the computer, before carrying out the operation.
Because I hate surprises.

I have had one "accident" here, involving a Microsoft
installer CD. This is just so you know what the worst
case is. I booted the Win2K installer CD, was preparing
to install, and entered the "custom" partitioning
step. I decided to cancel (I think I was just refreshing
my memory on what options were available). And even though
I canceled, the installer CD had already *deleted* the
MBR contents. (It didn't set up any new partition or
format the partition or anything.) I no longer had a
partition table that matched the two partitions still
on the test disk. Lucky for me, TestDisk could put
that back. But the lesson learned, is yes, an installer
CD *can* trash a computer. Just like GRUB on Linux,
can install the first stage of GRUB boot, on the
wrong hard drive. **** happens.

Paul
 




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