PC Hard Drive upgrade

LCPete

LCPete

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Afternoon all:)
my main PC is a Dell XPS8300 windows 7 64 bit desktop
I want to upgrade the hard drive from 1TB to one of the new 4TB hitachi ones
I'm planning to use Macruim reflect to clone the drive on the new one rather than reinstall all of the programs and OS
has anyone done this?
is it as straightforward as it looks? bearing in mind that I'm not computer savvy

on the main board there's 4 sata sockets and there is also a spare power lead for the drive
I'm planning to connect up the new drive into sata 3 do the cloning with macruim and then take out the old drive and put the new one in position 0

picture showing main board HD is on sata 0 and blue ray and DVD is on sata 1 and 2



14554791717_714cbc865d_c.jpg
 
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That *should* be fine.

It's also safe as long as you don't break any hardware, since you will still have a working 1TB HDD that can go back in. However I should ask, is there a reason you aren't simply adding the new 4TB drive as a second unit?
 
Thanks Toni:)
the main reason for the upgrade is to speed things up and also the drive is getting full
at the moment when I upload photos I put them on an external drive and then edit them on lightroom and photoshop
its OK but starts to slow up after a while
thought if I had a bigger drive and did everything on the same disk it would be faster
I was hoping that I could add another internal drive but the way Dell has made the casing it would be very difficult
 
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Have ordered the 4TB drive from overclockers
first time that I have ordered from them, they were £27 cheaper than amazon:)
 
LCPete said:
I was hoping that I could add another internal drive but the way Dell has made the casing it would be very difficult
Click to expand...

You could always buy an external USB3 drive and use that as if it were an internal drive.

I have an i7 PC with a 250GB SSD for the OS and use USB3 external drives as and when I need them - either for backups or as a pseudo internal drive - so much easier than installing them internally.
And with USB3 they run fairly fast.
 
Thanks Peter I have already ordered the drive now though:)
 
a 6gbps sata will pee all over usb3 for write speeds. plus there are a lot of poor performing USB3 chipsets out there.

better off chucking in an internal or if you really want external and you have a 6gb eSATA, use that.
 
neil_g said:
a 6gbps sata will pee all over usb3 for write speeds. plus there are a lot of poor performing USB3 chipsets out there.

better off chucking in an internal or if you really want external and you have a 6gb eSATA, use that.
Click to expand...


Thanks Neil I have already ordered the new internal drive
will post up how I get on
 
petersmart said:
You could always buy an external USB3 drive and use that as if it were an internal drive.

I have an i7 PC with a 250GB SSD for the OS and use USB3 external drives as and when I need them - either for backups or as a pseudo internal drive - so much easier than installing them internally.
And with USB3 they run fairly fast.
Click to expand...

Just realised that I didn't word it very well I meant that it would be tricky to add an additional second hard drive
just replacing the new drive with a new one will be ok
there's room in the case but the chassis is shaped to prevent adding another drive below the main one
 
If you want to speed things up you could marry up a SSD drive to run the OS and Lightroom/photoshop and use it as a repository for files that you are editing and then the 4Tb as storage. If I was you I would upgrade my RAM ASAP, part as it is so cheap and it will give you visible results (I run with 16Gb RAM, 250Gb SSD, 2Tb HDD and 2TB NAS). As you have already made the HDD investment perhaps the RAM and SSD are future upgrades to bear in mind to give you better performace
 
Thanks Nick an SSD would be great but I would have to reload everything
It's a bit complicated as ive got 400gb uploaded to carbonite cloud backup and not sure if it would want to redo it again
will definitely get more memory though
 
neil_g said:
a 6gbps sata will pee all over usb3 for write speeds. plus there are a lot of poor performing USB3 chipsets out there.

better off chucking in an internal or if you really want external and you have a 6gb eSATA, use that.
Click to expand...

Don't know about the USB3 chipsets but a few tests on my PC give the following results (Using CrystalDiskMark and real world tests):

Internal SSD (Samsung 250GB EVO):
Seq read: 514MB/Sec
Seq Write: 500MB/Sec

External SSD (Samsung 500GB EVO):
Seq read: 315MB/Sec
Seq Write: 317MB/Sec

External 2TB Barracuda 7200RPM:
Seq read: 114MB/Sec
Seq Write: 117MB/Sec

External 4TB Seagate Expansion Desk:
Seq read: 151MB/Sec
Seq Write: 148MB/Sec

Real world trial moving 48 GB data to the internal SSD:

2TB Barracuda: 5.02 mins (158MB/Sec)
4 TB Seagate: 5.30 mins (145MB/Sec)

The odd thing is that the Barracuda is faster than the Seagate even though the Seagate showed better on the test (sequential though).

Probably due to different distribution of the data across the disk.

Obviously not as fast as an internal fitted HDD, for anyone dubious about delving into the innards of their PCs this could be a fairly simple form of upgrade.

Something to be careful of though is heat; the Barracuda was fitted in a Sumvision Apex USB3 caddy and does get a bit warm, whereas the Seagate external drives only get lukewarm even after hours of work.

They also come in several sizes and prices:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BP5RL10/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Obviously for high speeds an external SSD is best but at a price.

The Samsung SSD was fitted into this caddy:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Optimized-Inateck-Enclosure-Installation-Compatible/dp/B00FCLG65U/ref=sr_1_3?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1406311294&sr=1-3&keywords=inateck usb3

Which stays almost cold even after hours of connection.
.
 
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Thanks for doing that Pete the external drives on your setup look very quick :)
 
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Just a couple of quick questions:)
I've got a socket at the back of the PC next to the USB ports labeled eSATA I assume that's a USB 3 port to be honest I haven't noticed it before
The memory in the PC is labeled 2GB . 1Rx8PC3-10600u810-a
There's two 2GB ones and two 1GB ones can anyone suggest suitable replacements ?
I'm thinking 4GB for each one
 
Thanks Neil just had a look at the crucial tool
am sorted now
 
I had a bigger drive and did everything on the same disk it would be faster
Click to expand...
Wrong. Everything on a single disk is slower than using multiple disks, for example having your OS, Photoshop scratch disk and data files on a single disk means that all three functions cannot take place at the same time because the single disk has only one read write head.
If you have three hard disk on separate sata ports to provide for OS, scratch disk, and data. you now have three read write heads which can access the three different type of files at the same time.
 
Pete,

I'm not sure the Macrium cloning plan will work. Surely the 1TB drive has an MBR partition, therefore cloning it will put an MBR partition on the new drive as well - limiting it to 2TB instead of 4TB. The new drive needs a GPT partition to use the full 4TB capacity.

As per post 19, I'd stick an SSD in as C: drive and reinstall everything - OS & programmes on the SSD, data on the 4TB and other stuff such as Photoshop scratch on the 1TB.
 
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Thanks very much for the info redsnappa and ozie

that's a real shame though that it wont work
I know that you are both right that running off an ssd and reinstalling is the best way
But I really don't feel confident reinstalling everything so I will fit the 4 gb drive next to the current one in the case and put the photos onto that
I will have to fit a new frame to hold the drives though as dell has made it impossible to fit more than one in yhe case
thanks everyone for the help
 
Is there any reason why I can't put the new 4gb drive where the dvd drive is now?
Ive already fitted a blue ray drive so don't really need the dvd
 
LCPete said:
I know that you are both right that running off an ssd and reinstalling is the best way
But I really don't feel confident reinstalling everything so I will fit the 4 gb drive next to the current one in the case and put the photos onto that
I will have to fit a new frame to hold the drives though as dell has made it impossible to fit more than one in yhe case
Click to expand...

Earlier versions of Windows could be tricky (98, 2000, XP) but reinstalling is pretty easy with Windows 7.

It looks like the Dell XPS8300 has two PCIe slots below the graphics card. If the bottom one is unused (as it is here) you could use a drive bracket to hold an SSD. I put an Orico PC125 in my case - it's tiny and it works a treat.

The speed increase provided by an SSD is dramatic.
 
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LCPete said:
Is there any reason why I can't put the new 4gb drive where the dvd drive is now?
Click to expand...

No reason at all - all you need is a 5.25" to SSD/HDD bay adapter (something like this).

But see post 24 for another option. (My post 24 crossed with your post 23!)
 
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Pete - a word of caution.

If you decide to reinstall everything on an SSD - disconnect the data & power cables to the 1TB before doing anything. That way you can't accidentally overwrite your existing data during installation. You don't want to wipe the pics that are already on the 1TB!
 
Thanks very much Ozei for the advice
a ssd does sound like a good idea
I think I will do in two stages install the 4tb drive in the dvd housing first get that up and running then in a little while when I've got a bit more cash again get a ssd and reinstall windows and the other stuff
 
Good point about disconnecting drive
too
clear.png
 
LCPete said:
Thanks very much Ozei for the advice
a ssd does sound like a good idea
I think I will do in two stages install the 4tb drive in the dvd housing first get that up and running then in a little while when I've got a bit more cash again get a ssd and reinstall windows and the other stuff
Click to expand...

That sounds like a sensible plan.

The 4TB drive is 3.5" and the DVD bay is 5.25", so you'll need an adapter. HDDs run a lot hotter than SSDs so I'd get an adapter with plenty of ventilation holes, or even a two-piece one like this.

Once it's installed in the tower, remember to initialise the 4TB drive as GPT - the setting for choosing MBR or GPT is in Disk Management.

Btw, those 4TB Hitachis are good drives - I've got two of them.
 
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Thanks again Ozei
I've ordered a pair of the two piece brackets
am I right in assuming that I can use the power lead and sata lead from the DVD drive?
I didn't realise about setting the 4TB drive to GPT
 
LCPete said:
I didn't realise about setting the 4TB drive to GPT
Click to expand...

You need to get to the 'Initialize Disk' dialog in the Disk Management interface. Once there (and you're certain it's showing the correct drive), tick the GPT option and click OK. Windows will do its bit and the 4TB will appear in Windows Explorer.

Here's a pic of the 'Initialize Disk' dialog - link (MBR has been selected here but you want GPT).
 
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Brilliant thanks
hopefully the drive and brackets will arrive soon
 
I've just realised that when I install the new 4TB drive and move the pictures and documents folders over to it I will be able to clone what's left directly on to an SSD (using Macruim reflect)
I know that a clean install is always better and will probably have to do that in the longer term but worried about messing it up!
I feel confident that I can manage to clone the drive without too much hassle:)
I do have everything backed up in more than three places including carbonite cloud and external hard drives
 
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If you're not going to do a clean install check that your drive is already,running as ahci in the bios. Otherwise when you change it (to get any sort of benefit out of the ssd) you'll end up blue screening. Fortunately there is a registry hack to resolve it.

Remember to run the windows performance scorer too after the ssd is installed so the windows notices the ssd and turns off things like auto defrag.
 
neil_g said:
If you're not going to do a clean install check that your drive is already,running as ahci in the bios. Otherwise when you change it (to get any sort of benefit out of the ssd) you'll end up blue screening. Fortunately there is a registry hack to resolve it.

Remember to run the windows performance scorer too after the ssd is installed so the windows notices the ssd and turns off things like auto defrag.
Click to expand...
thanks Neil:)
I did a quick google and then checked on my pc in
Start" button > Control Panel > Hardware and Sound
Device Manager
"IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers
and it shows intel sata AHCI contrloller so it looks good:)
 
Pete - another word of caution.

When you've got the new drive connected and you've got into the Disk Management screen, make sure you select the 4TB drive and not the 1TB C: drive.

The 4TB will appear in the centre pane with a black band (as opposed to the blue band of the 1TB), like this.

If in any doubt, ask here first - you don't want to damage your current 1TB installation before its data has been safely copied to the 4TB Hitachi.


PS.
  • To get into Disk Management, click the Start button and type Computer Management in the box
  • At Computer Management screen, click on Disk Management in the far left pane (under Storage)
 
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LCPete said:
I've just realised that when I install the new 4TB drive and move the pictures and documents folders over to it I will be able to clone what's left directly on to an SSD (using Macruim reflect)
Click to expand...

Yes, that should work provided the SSD is big enough and it's eventually connected to the same motherboard port as the 1TB was on. (I've had trouble before with Macrium getting confused over drive positions).

You could play doubly safe and (before making the clone) do a Macrium full image of the 1TB. The image would have to be stored on the 4TB because it can't be on the same drive as the image source.
 
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Thanks again Ozei:)
I have already made an image of the 1TB drive, the c drive on the PC
Thanks for the advice on setting up the disc management it's all new to me so it's very helpful and much appreciated
Think that I will go for a Samsung sata SSD as they have a good reputation, will get the 4tb hitachi sorted out first though
 
The Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD has a lot of good reviews - link - just under £90 (3rd party seller but fulfilled by Amazon.)
 
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