As per usual, I know nothing and need a bit of step by step help from the beginning.
My old pc blew up so I threw it out but kept the harddrive as there are quite a few things I’d like to take from it to put on my new pc. How would I approach this without messing up my new pc?
Cheers in advance x
Old PC…I guess u have an IDE HDD
New PC…CHeck if it supports IDE HDD???
I don’t know if this is relevant but it says ATA/133 HDD on the old harddrive.
What are the configurations of your new system?? Specifically which Mobo u have in ur new system?
ATA 133 is IDE, but as Karen said, does your new system (mobo) support IDE
what mobo do you have in your new system ?
Sorry, I really am useless at the hardware aspect of computing. I had to google to find out what mobo meant…
I used a program called CPU-Z to get some information and it came back with:
so wat u need to do is…put your HDD in place of your DVD or CD(whateva u have) drive and restart your computer…
If your computer doesnt restart after that then possibly you need to set up as a Master Priority for HDD’s From BIOS…In this case, just go to bios and from BOOT device priority, you will find list of HDD’s and select your sata drive as a first boot device…
Edit: forgot to write that you can use the same IDE and Power cable for the HDD which your DVD drive 've got..
CPU-Z is good but you may want to check out PCWizard it usually gives you more info
Thanks for the help. It worked but when I try to access Documents and settings for the old harddrive (so I can get the stuff that was on the old desktop/my documents etc) it says access denied.
I have spare cables so if I get it sorted could I use both the harddrive and the DVD drive at the same time? I tried it and it all worked but I don’t want to leave it in in case it’s damaging it or something.
[QUOTE=matttibb]
Thanks for the help. It worked but when I try to access Documents and settings for the old harddrive (so I can get the stuff that was on the old desktop/my documents etc) it says access denied.
[/quote]
strange, which device is Master and which drive is Slave ?
which drive have you booted from ? [ul]your old drive[li]your new drive[/ul][/li]
[QUOTE=matttibb]
I have spare cables so if I get it sorted could I use both the harddrive and the DVD drive at the same time? I tried it and it all worked but I don’t want to leave it in in case it’s damaging it or something.
[/QUOTE]
no, its fine, thats correct
Not too sure… The desktop was that of my new harddrive… I don’t know how to make them slaves and masters etc… I suck.
Then whats the problem if it worked for you?
As Dave said, there is no problem nd you wont be damaging stuff with this… But HDD’s can die anytime so dont think itz coz of your newsystem…
I used to be like that but after spending nearly 1 year on this website I’ve learned quite a bit…nd still learning coz there is lot to learn!
The problem is I can’t access the files I need to access. Documents and settings (where I’d get all the stuff I need from the old harddrive from my documents etc) says access denied when I try to access it.
So just to make it clear, it’s safe to have 2 harddrives in the computer yes?
Try [link=http://www.datadoctor.biz/data_recovery_programming_book_chapter2-page11.html]this[/link] with your Old HDD…(Set it to Cable Select) nd see if that does the job…
Yes, As many as your computer can support 
Neither CS or slave work. Still can’t access Documents and Settings… Hmm.
you are connecting the 2 devices to the same IDE cable ?
are all connected devices detected by the BIOS ?
BTW: both device need on either channel to be set to CS for it to work
They are detected, I have a C and a D drive. They’re connected via different IDE cables at the moment. Is that wrong?
[link=Windows help and learning]“Access is Denied” Error Message When You Try to Open a Folder[/link] article by MS support Team…
Got it sorted. I restarted in safe mode so I could get access to the security tab and then just gave myself access to it all. Thanks for all the help Donkey and Karan x
U r welcome!