reformatting noob

[bluuuzz]

i am in the process if building a comp. i purchased a WD Raptor 74G HHD to be set up SATA and run my OS and games. I also have a 160g HDD that i want to use in my new system as storage this will be attached with IDE cable. This 160G HDD currently is partitioned 40G/120G0 and has my current OS(WIN XP)which i dont need, as i am doing a OS install on the new HDD and other files which i do not need.

Can i attach the both HDDs and boot the comp intall OS on new HDD then reformat old hard drive?
Please advise,
thanks

 

[h3llscream]

That shouldn't be a problem as long as your optical drive is set to boot before your hard drives are in your bios. Once your system boots off the cd you will be given the option of which drive to install it on. Also if you like you can format the 160 hdd using the options on the disk as well.

 

[pat]

Can i attach the both HDDs and boot the comp intall OS on new HDD then reformat old hard drive?
Please advise,
thanks

While you can do it with both drive attached, I suggest to remove the old one, format and install on the new one and plug back the old one when everything is running. that will ensure that your Windows install will write the boot info to the right drive and that your OS drive wont get another letter than C.