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at the PSU. Open your PC and install your new hard drive in an
empty bay and plug it into an open SATA port. Remember, some
motherboards use multiple hard drive controllers. You should
plug your drive into the ports numbered 0 to 3 (for a total of four)
as they are usually the SATA ports native to the chipset. If you use
a third-party controller chip, you’ll need to have the drivers for it
on fl oppy disc for XP. Vista supports USB and optical devices for
drivers, so you can use the CD that came with the mobo or just
drop the drivers on a USB key.
Since we’re going to copy the fi les directly over from the old
hard drive to the new one, we recommend that you unplug your
old drive’s SATA and power cable for now so you don’t acciden-
tally reinstall Windows over your critical data. Once you’ve done
this, boot the machine and put the OS disc in the optical drive.
The optical drive is usually fi rst in the boot order, but if it isn’t, go
into the BIOS and set it as the fi rst boot device. Some boards let
you temporarily alter the boot order by hitting F10, F11, or Fduring boot. If your board doesn’t, you’ll have to go into the BIOS
by hitting DEL or F2 during boot and change the boot order so
that your optical drive is fi rst. Finally, disconnect your computer
from the Internet.READY, STEADY, GO!
Let’s start with Vista: Hit the space bar during boot and begin
installing Windows. Installing Windows Vista is very straightfor-
ward. Just enter Windows Setup, enter your product key, select
the version of Windows you bought, and hit Next. Accept the
terms of the license and continue until Vista asks you what kind
of install you want.
Since the new drive is empty, you’ll be off ered the Custom
option to install a clean copy of Windows (Upgrade appears only
on a drive with an OS on it). Aft er you click Custom (Advanced)
you’ll be asked what drive you want to install Windows to. If
you’re presented with drive letters you can’t account for (your
single, new drive should be a single Disk 0), the OS is likely
recognizing a multiformat memory-card reader as multiple hard
drives. Vista does not have issues with this, but Windows XP will
sometimes install the OS as the F: drive because of a multiformat
card reader. Having Windows XP default as anything but C:
causes all kinds of problems and we generally don’t recommend
it. There is a way to fi x it, but it’s not pleasant. If this happens,
power down, disconnect your card reader, and restart.
Aft er selecting your hard drive, click Next to continue with a
standard single-partition install. For most people, a single parti-
tion on the drive is fi ne. If you like to separate partitions for data
and apps, select your main drive and click New. Enter the size of
the partition you want, click Apply, and continue on with Next.
If you’re running a RAID confi guration in Vista or need to
install special drivers for your controller card, hitting Load Driver
will allow you to install the drivers from a fl oppy, CD, or USB
key. Aft er you’ve pointed the installer at the correct drive, Vista
will scan it and present a list of available driver options. Select
the driver you need and click Next. Vista will now install the OS
to your drive in 30 to 60 minutes. When you come back to the
desktop, you’ll be asked to enter a user name and password. The
only decisions you’ll make from this point on are the name ofMost people will be suited by using one single contiguous parti-
tion for the OS, so just click next and Vista will format the drive
that way.Complain about Vista all you want, but the installation process is
exceedingly easy. After launching Setup from the DVD, you can be
on the desktop in as few as seven steps.Loading third-party drivers for RAID, SCSI, or other controllers is a snap in Vista and
you can fi nally do it from a USB key!clean
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