New Harddrive advice.

[Boomyal]

For several years now I have stored my little business program data and 1394 Firewire harddrive. It allowed me easily carry my data between home and work.<br /><br />Alas it has now died but fortunately I had been backing everything up to the internal harddrives regularly. As luck would have it, a new Maxtor drive will fit right into the enclosure. I was able to get an 80gb 7200 drive off of ebay for 52$ shipped.<br /><br />I've positioned the little jumpers on the new drive and am ready to plug it in. Is there anything I'm going to have to do before I reload the data on it?

 

[tommays]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

When you put one in a PC (which i just did there max blast software partions and formats the drive with a wizzard<br /><br />It should be able to find it on the firewire and help you set it up <br /><br />tommays

 

[Boomyal]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

Thanks tommays. I ended up calling Maxtor as I was not installing this drive as a primary internal replacement drive and I wondered if it being attached to a 1394 Firewire header would complicate issues.<br /><br />It was all accomplished without ever installing the Max Blast CD. <br /><br />They had me right click on my computer, select manage, then disk management under storage and simply tell it to format the newly recognized drive.<br /><br />All pretty slick.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

Interesting note. The setup of my new 80 gb hardrive installed in my old 40 gb firewire enclosure did not go well as it appeared to do while under the direction of the Maxtor Tech.<br /><br />Even while he helped me we had to go thru the format process twice to get the system to recognize the drive. He began to suspect that my old firewire enclosure circuitry did not like the larger drive. <br /><br />After we finish I started to load data onto the drive and it was very erratic. It would load folder but they might be empty. It would finally except the data but then sometime the drive would become unaccessable or display messages that data was lost, restore to another location.<br /><br />Sooooooooo. The tech having mentioned that the new drive size might be an issue. I repartitioned the whole drive. This time I cut it in half. The reformat of the first half went with out a hitch. I then tried to reformat the remaining partition and it would not reformat.<br /><br />So now I show Drive H plus an unallocated Drive I.<br /><br />However, data transfer to the now 39 kb H partition works without fail. I just don't have access to half the drive but that's ok. I don't need the space anyway.<br /><br />I am relieved!

 

[Xcusme]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

Why couldn't you pin the 80gig for a slave drive. Temporarily replace your existing slave drive. Do the Partition and format, then install it into the Fire wire enclosure??<br /><br />BTW, I've done this and have a Seagate 250gig, on Firewire/USB enclosure..works fine. I didn't have to temporarily remove my exixting slave drive. Did it all in the enclosure , one partition with NTFS...

 

[Boomyal]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

Good idea Xcuseme. The fact is that contrary to what I posted above, something is not right as it stands right now. The next day I heard the drive quietly clacking and I looked at it but the drive activity lite was not flickering. I checked in "my computer" and the drive was no longer recognized by it's title 'FireWire1. It was only showing it as H drive with no data on it. I tried the 'safely remove hardware' function and it would not allow me to 'remove' it. It had all worked so well the day I partitioned it.<br /><br />Sooooooo, I was thinking that I would take it out and slave it to my monster XP machine with only a single drive in it. I was going to do that soley for the purpose of determining if the new drive was function ok.<br /><br />What then came to mind is the shunt connectors. The new Maxtor 80 gb drive came with one shunt and it was in the 'cable select' position. (second vertical row from left side)<br /><br />The original Maxtor 40 gb drive had two shunts installed, one of which was in the first vertical row (master?) and the second shunt was placed horizontally on the second and third pins in the top row. Both drives are Maxtor DiamondMax drives, the 40 was a VL model at 5400 rpm w/2 mb cache and the 80 is a Plus model at 7200 rpm w/8 mb cache.<br /><br />I arbitrarily set the new 80 gb up the same way even though it only came with one shunt. Maybe that is a problem. I do not have the book for the 40 gb drive so I really don't know what it's two shunt arraingment was for. I got the setup from a computer service back when I was busy and making some money.<br /><br />It's kinda hard to believe the the original enclosure circuitry would care if the drive was a 40 or 80. Maybe my shunt situation is causing the confusion? <br /><br />Hoping you have an opinion here.

 

[Xcusme]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

I bet you've got the drive pinned wrong.<br /><br />What is the Make and model number of the OLD drive??<br />I'll check the pinout specs....<br />What was the old 40 pinned out (what pins were jumpered)<br /><br /><br />I'd pop over to Maxtor site, d/l the pinnout and go from there....<br /><br />I'd pin the new 80gig as a stand alone master the try it in your enclosure again OR pin it as a slave and do it in your main computer.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

See above Xcusme I just edited with that information.

 

[Xcusme]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

Originally posted by Boomyal:<br /> See above Xcusme I just edited with that information.

OK, got it, but still need the OLD drive model #..<br />and NEW one too....

 

[Boomyal]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

the 40.9 gig is #34098H4<br />the 80 gig is #6L080P0

 

[Xcusme]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

OK, got it, back in a bit

 

[Xcusme]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

Yup, OK you had the 40 setup as a Master, but you didn't need that second horizontal jumper. Just needed the left hand vertical pair jumped (master)<br /><br />On the new 80, same jumpering, just left hand vertical pair for a Master drive configuration. That extra jumper on the old drive lead you astray....not needed...and could do strange things....

 

[Boomyal]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

I'll rearrange it, reformat and repartition and let you know. Xcusme to the rescue again, thanks!

 

[Boomyal]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

Xcusme, how do I unpartition the drive? It now shows H drive (healthy active w/ no format style, which it is not) and unallocated I drive.<br /><br />Then I assume that I will just re-partition for the whole drive size then reformat. When I do the reformat should I do the quick format or let it do the long one?<br /><br />Edit: I just found the delete partition option but it gives me the message that the request timed out and could not be completed. I'm doing this in 'Computer Management.

 

[Xcusme]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

Yes, you should be able to delete the partition. I gather that you had the drive partitioned into 2 logical drives (1 physical drive). Try deleting the I drive first then the H drive. <br /><br />Yes, computer management....Because of the bad pinning that you had, you may have to pin as master or slave, connect it to your main computer and run the Maxtor unility to reset the MBR (master boot record) and let it partition the drive. I'd stop the utility there and boot to Windows to finish the formatting (NTFS preferred)in Computer management...<br /><br />There are utilities that you can boot up with that will allow you to manually fdisk (partition) or wipe the partitioning off the drive.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

Xcusme, once again you have secured your place in the Hereafter. <br /><br />After several reboots and connecting and disconnecting THE drive, it finaly let me delete the partition in drive manager. Once done, I declared a full drive size partition and I let it do the slow format.<br /><br />I am now downloading folders to the drive and it it is working like a champ. It is zipping along the a 7200 rpm drive should do. The proof in the pudding will be when I wake up tomorrow and still see the FireWire H: drive. <br /><br />Now if someone will only write a Windows backup program that will let me load in any number of folders to be backed up to any number of drives and locations with the single push of a button. That is what I had been doing manually, that saved my bacon when my 40 gig FW died. I had the critical data backed up to two seperate internal harddrives. All I had to do was to redirect the program, via the batchfile, to look at a different drive to find the FilePro data.

 

[Xcusme]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

I love when a plan comes together, glad you got her bucked out.<br /><br />There are many small utilities to do an automatic backup to a specified destination on a schedule. Heck, in a pinch, I've written Dos batch files to do it when you boot windows (ealier versions)...

 

[Boomyal]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

Yahoo! It's the next morning and it is still the FireWire H drive and it is not clucking like a sleepy hen.

 

[Xcusme]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

Oh Ye of Little Faith !!! never had a doubt...good job. Now get to work backing up your stuff....I'm off to a network job troubleshooting an ISDN line.

 

[Boomyal]

Re: New Harddrive advice.

Originally posted by Xcusme:<br /> ......I'm off to a network job troubleshooting an ISDN line.

It's a plane? It's a train? No, no, it's the caped IT man, Xcusme, fighting for sanity and order in a the cruel world of cyberspace and beyond.