Adding a NEW HDD to an existing system

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jp hack

jp hack

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Mar 14, 2012
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Hey guys I need your help.

Here is my current system specs.

OS - WIN 7 PRO
Cyberpower CUSTOM
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 (Socket M2)
CPU -AMD Phenom II X6 1055T
RAM - 8.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3
Graphics -ATI Radeon HD 6870 x2 (CROSSFIRE MODE)
Primary Storage -977GB RAID SCSI Disk Device (SCSI)
Secondary Storage -3 TB external seagate drive
Monitor- 3x ViewSonic VA2231w-LED

My problem is multifold. So I will break it down simply.

1. I recently bought a new HDD, 250 GB Velociraptor. I want to turn that into my new OS and Gaming Drive, while formatting the existing drives (aka the RAID setup i currently have)

A. How to I install windows 7 on the new drive and reformat the other hard drives? Without causing a conflict?

B. I dont have the original disk, but I did make a bootable USB with Windows Pro. Is that gonna affect me in some adverse way?

C. Is there a way to simply transfer some programs right to the newly installed drive?
 
Solution
jbseven
Make sure all the drives are connected to sata3-0 to sata3-5 ports on the south bridge. refer to your motherboard manual for details on this. Also make sure that the south bridge chip is set to operate in RAID mode every time you connect/disconnect hard drives.

Tha manual for your motherboard is available here:
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3423#manual

Disable the boot screen logo in Bios so that you can see any error messages that pop up. You can switch it back on after troubleshooting if you like.

Also if is a good idea to back up your raid array as troubleshooting this problem could result in damaging the array.
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jbseven

jbseven

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Dec 2, 2011
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This is how I would do it:

Disconnect the other hard drives. Make a note of where they're connected.

Connect the new velociraptor to an different unused port on the motherboard.

Run Windows 7 install from your bootable usb.

After install completes, reconnect the other drives and format them from within windows if you want.

There is no way to transfer most programs to the newly installed drive as they need to be installed to the registry as well.

You can speed up future windows install procedures by making a ghost or acronis true image backup after you've installed all of your programs.
 
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jp hack

jp hack

Honorable
Mar 14, 2012
25
0
10,530
Hmm. now im having another problem of where the new HDD is not showing up into my BIOs, I leaning toward the fact that it could be my RAID drivers having something to do with it.

Although, when I do put in the new drive with out the other 2 drives in and try to install, it shows the logo, and then hangs for a long time. I dont know how long I'm supposed to wait.

Do I need to do anything to the new drive before I install windows?
 
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jbseven

jbseven

Distinguished
Dec 2, 2011
646
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19,160
Make sure all the drives are connected to sata3-0 to sata3-5 ports on the south bridge. refer to your motherboard manual for details on this. Also make sure that the south bridge chip is set to operate in RAID mode every time you connect/disconnect hard drives.

Tha manual for your motherboard is available here:
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3423#manual

Disable the boot screen logo in Bios so that you can see any error messages that pop up. You can switch it back on after troubleshooting if you like.

Also if is a good idea to back up your raid array as troubleshooting this problem could result in damaging the array.
 
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