Adding 2nd HD

[RickG]

Hi all. I have a hard drive -- Western Digital 250Gb -- from my old pc, and was wondering about installing it into my current pc, and running fsx off of that drive. Is it worth the trouble, and is it an easy thing to do? I have lots of other questions, but they will come later. Thanks. Rick

[jcmmg]

Hi Rick,

Adding a HD for FSX is a good way to optimize your PC workload, but not necessary means better FPS in FSX. Before doing something check if the old HD is SATA, also for better performance check if it is 7500 RPM, so you can see an improvement on the loading rate.

Once you check that, the process is very simple:

-Connect the new HD
-Use Win7 to format the HD and create the new partition
-Create a FSX folder
-Install FSX, based on Nick's guide

For any additional info just don't hesitate to write again!

Best wishes,

Julio

[fxsttcb]

Hi Guys, It has been my experience that adding a good fast HD with 32MB cache does help across the board, but, adding partitions, in a couple of instances, slowed it down.(HD Tune) Addressing issue? FAT seeks? Dunno! Maybe someone can explain.

Rick,
If your old drive is IDE or SATA I, your P55 and 860 don't need to be saddled with an old tech HD.
I'd suggest a new SATA II stand alone fast HD for FSX only, no partitions.
If it is SATA II go for it with a fresh NTFS format, also no partitions, and FSX only.

If purchasing: Select one that has a min 32MB Cache and at least twice the expected size of FSX with all your Add-Ons and future expansions included.
Using a much higher capacity(2x +) drive keeps the data in the faster sectors when properly defragged...Don

[RickG]

Hi guys. I looked on the Western Digital site, and it says that it is Sata, and 7200 rpm, buffer 8mb, and seek 8.9ms, whatever the heck all that means. I actually removed this hd from the old pc in order to destroy it before recycling, then had the thought to use it for FSX. I am quite pleased with my FSX performance, so this is not an act of desperation to improve play, lol. I would not buy a new hd for this purpose. I merely wanted to try it, just because I have this old hd. As it sits now, with very few add ons, my FSX is only 13.2gb, and I don't have too many 'high powered' add ons to install. So, now that you have some specs, what do you think at this point? Also, the old hd still has Windows XP, FSX, and all my other old junk on it. Would that cause a problem, just trying to get it up and running? Thanks again. Rick

[fxsttcb]

The "8MB buffer" is the cache, "seek 8.9ms" is the time it takes to find an address in milliseconds(thousanths of a sec).
Those specs lead me to believe it is a first generation SATA drive.
Compare them to what you are using now. If they are better, ie; lower seek, or equal, it may help if FSX is the only app installed on it.
If your existing FSX drive has more cache, even if the seek is equal, keep it as it is.

I have had a few issues with using a drive with an OS installed as a secondary and not used as a dual/multiboot drive.
Your motherboard might "see" the old Master Boot Record, boot.ini or boot.cfg and try to act on it regardless of if it is selected as boot in BIOS or not.
Other situations I've seen are the operating system in use doesn't recognize the volume on it as valid.

You can try installing it if you really want to get old info off of it, but, again I would suggest if you intend to use it for FSX, or as added storage, you do a full Format first...Don

[RickG]

Hi again. I am pretty sure my new hd would be better than the old, simply because the new pc is just a few months old, whereas the old hd has a sticker saying March 2006. I would like to install the old hd into my pc, for the heck of it, but what exactly is formatting it? One computer term which I am really not overly familiar with. Thanks again. Rick

[fxsttcb]

Formatting is erasing, and correctly, for lack of another term, formatting the disk for use. You can erase without formatting, but, cannot format without erasing.
The advantage to formatting over erasing is the removal of data in the boot sector of a drive, establishing a corrected volume, and/or changing format type.
Basically; FAT16=DOS/Win 95, FAT32=Win 98/2000/ME, NTFS=XP and up

You should not attempt formatting an OS drive while using it's OS! To some, that is not as obvious as it seems.

There are a few ways to format and make an old drive ready for use in a new computer.
The easiest by far: Install the drive in your new computer, boot it up, the drive should be recognized, and you get that new hardware found message.
A) Once installed and recognized, even if the volume information is incorrect and you can't access the data, you should be able to RIGHT click/format.(Windows explorer)
B) Using a mfg software(usually available on their site) could be best if completely eliminating all traces of previous data is wanted. ie; write all ones or zeros.
C) Use a second source software to do the same as A or B.
There certainly are other methods and softwares available to accomplish the format or erasure.

Depending on disk size, type of format, and especially if writing 1/0s, it takes a while to accomplish. I usually start a format when I'm going to bed!

WD is a good source of information and software written specially for their drives. Other HD specific software is also available for cloning, testing, transfering, etc...Don

[RickG]

Hi again. Well, it sounds relatively easy, so I guess I will give this a go tomorrow. Many thanks for all the input. Rick

[jcmmg]

Hi Guys, It has been my experience that adding a good fast HD with 32MB cache does help across the board, but, adding partitions, in a couple of instances, slowed it down.(HD Tune) Addressing issue? FAT seeks? Dunno! Maybe someone can explain.


Thanks Don for the info and for clearing the point, because what I was trying to say was to create a partition with the full HD volume (like when you have a brand new HD), trying to use the same Windows language!! Sorry for the confusion!:confused:

Best wishes,

Julio