Here is my current set up:

IDE1

Master = 250 GB Seagate
Slave = 250 GB Seagate

IDE2

Master = 80GB Western Digital
Slave = LG DVD Drive

My motherboard is a Jetway V600DAP which hopefully supports SATA.


It is my intention to install a 250GB SATA drive as my primary drive installing XP on a 60GB partition.

Here are my questions (sorry they're very basic)

1. Once I have connected my SATA drive, how do I install it with my OS on it?

2. My current Master drive has a 20GB partition with my OS on it. If I delete this partition afterwards, what will happen to the other 200GB on the other partition? Will it simply become a single partition drive? I don't want to lose any of the data,

3. Will my computer automatically detect my SATA drive as my Master drive? Do I need to change any of the pin settings on my current IDE drives?

Thanks for your help

Easiest way to do it is set it up as a slave at first. Install Windows on it, then before it boots up, shut down the system and remove your "main" HD and setup the SATA as master. Make sure it boots up correctly before you put everything back together.

Doing it this way will make sure the system detects it properly. Some motherboards require special SATA drivers to work correctly.
Depends on what you want to do. If you manually delete the Windows partition, then you'll have a HD w/ a 200GB partition full of data and a 20GB partion with nothing on it. If you want to make one big partition spanning the entire drive then you'll have to either combine the partitions using an app like Partition Magice or you'll have to do it manually; back up your data because you may have to format the drive to get it working the way you want.
SATA settings may be different than IDE, depending on the drive. You'll have to check the documentation. You may also have to reconfigure your BIOS to ensure the SATA connectors on your mobo are active.

The booklet with the SATA drive (assuming it came with one) should tell you exactly what you need to do. And be sure to check the FAQs of the drive manufacturer for any "gotchas" that may crop up.

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