replace external hard drive

Hello
I have a W.D. 1 T external hard drive with several images on it from two pcs.
It is noisy so a new one(supposedly the same) is being sent to me.
Besides removing the content from the drive itself and removing backups from the backup programs themselves, is there anything I should do?
I do not know if there are any achrived places that keep storage that will cause a conflict when I plug in the new drive.
I was thinking of uninstalling and reinstalling the imaging programs to "clear the slate" but won't if it is not necessary.
I have Acronis True Image Home 2010 and Macriun (free).
Thank you

 

You might wanna post this into the software forum, as they will give you a quicker and more helpful response.

 

I did not want to post in two sections so I will wait to see if someone responds or moves me.
If not, I will post in the software section later.
Thanx

 

Just so I am clear. I remember the old drive letter, plug the new drive in with the old drive, copy and paste the backups from the old to the new, then write you as to how to change letters so it is like the old one -if it is not already.
For learning purposes, and if not too long, how do you change the drive letters if necessary?

 

Just so I am clear. I remember the old drive letter, plug the new drive in with the old drive, copy and paste the backups from the old to the new, then write you as to how to change letters so it is like the old one -if it is not already there.

>>I found the way to change drive lettrs and I thank you for the tip and help.

 

Hello
Apologies forthe previous posts which were obviously done erroneously.
I will get my drive tomorrow and would like to know something about the drive letters.
I think I should keep the old plugged in and then plug in the new.
I can then copy and paste from the old to the new.
Any tips so you do not get confused doing this if the letters are the same?
Changing the drive letters is the last thing to do, I assume.
I can't visualize this as I have never done it.
Can I cut and paste thereby eliminating the old backup and pasting it to the new?
Thank you

 

The letters will not be the same. As you plug in devices, the OS gives the device the next unused letter.

DO NOT CUT AND PASTE BACKUPS! These are not documents. All you would end up doing is pasting a name. It would not do a thing about getting your backup safely to another location.

Open two explorer windows: one showing the old external and the other showing the new blank external. Put the windows aside of wach other.
Hold down the right mouse button on an image and drag it to the blank window on the new drive. Release the mouse button and select "copy" here. (I never select move - it's too risky. If the computer hiccups during the transfer, your file can be corrupted and unrecoverable). Do this for every image.
When you are sure that all the images you want have been safely copied to the new hard drive. You can power it down. Then on the old hard drive, erase the images. Right click an image and choose erase.
Eraser: http://majorgeeks.com/Eraser_d4221.html
if the drive will be sent back and you do not want your images recovered, erase 35 times - warning, it will take a long time for such a large file.
If you are keeping the drive than a 1 or 3 times erasure is sufficient.

 

I think I have the idea.
I have always kept sensitive material on flash drives so although there is a lot of material, none of it is sensitive.
I am however going to follow your advice.
If all else fails, I can image with the new drive so I am protected with a backup, then erase the old drive. I would then have to figure out which drive has which letter. You seem to indicate there is no need to change letter assignments. Thank you for the information.

 

Plodr
I am at a level where this new drive replacement is becoming confusing.
Could I plug the new drive in the desktop and do a backup.
Then plug the old drive into my laptop which is my secondary machine and down load the eraser to it to do the erasing?

 

Yes. The computer doesn't care what externalk drive it uses. I have backups from several computers on two different externals.

If I want to erase something from an external drive, I usually move the item to the computer desktop and then erase it from the desktop simply because it is a bit faster. Do not worry about moving the backups to the desktop, the computer won't try to use them. After you right click and select move, once you see the item on the desktop, right click it and select erase. Under options, you can select the number of passes that you want done.

 

I have boiled it down to;
1-safely unplug the old drive + put it aside with one backup on it and the same in My Comp.
2-reboot then install the new one.
3-I think the letters should be like the old ones because the old drive is gone.
4-do a backup and verify.
5- use the laptop to erase the old drive.

Questions if I may;
1-I have Acronis. Should I remove all the information in the software like logs and backups or leave one. I do not want conflicts.
2b -likwewise with My Comp" should I leave the one backup or remove it to avoid conflicts?
2-If the letters for MY Book and Smartware are not the same as before, should I change them?
3-I have never seen the eraser; if there is nothing visible on the old drive, are you able to erase 'the drive'?
4-I wonder if I removed everything and started from scratch if I would be better off re conflicts with remnants.
Thank you for the help

 

1. I regularly run CCleaner and I think that removes logs. If you are still using Acronis, then there is no need to worry. Acronis will look to see what is plugged in and offer whatever it sees as a possible image location (it doesn't care about the brand/model/size of the USB device it sees).

2b - Keep it. You can safely have more than one image stored. I have about 2 or 3 for every computer, just in case there is a hiccup with one.

2. Do not change any drive letters - let Acronis handle this. Even if the drive letter changes (one time my external is E and another H depending what is plugged in). Acronis can figure out where to look and will offer you what it sees as backups on your hard drive, the CD/DVD drive or any external USB drives it sees.

3. What do you mean nothing visible?
You should be able to click on My Computer then Explore. When you click on the USB hard drive, you should be able to see in the right pane what files and/or folders are on the drive.

4. You worry too much - the conflicts you seem to feel are non-existent!
As I said, I have images from 5 windows partition stored on two externals. Acronis doesn't have a problem finding and using what I want. I could plug in both externals at the same time and Acronis would give me the choice of restoring whatever image I wanted. (That is why I always put the name of the computer and the date so I know exactly what I am restoring and to be sure it is restored to the correct computer).

 

Born to worry but it has taken me thru 7 decades.
Your notes have been both informative and reassuring. I think I over ask because at my level, if something goes wrong, I am not confident I can fix it.
Now I can visualize what I do with the eraser which was puzzling me before.
I expect the drive today and will let you and other readers know what I do and what happens - providing I have internet
Thank you

 

>>I have tried several times to install and run the eraser in this thread but it won't work with either F.F. or MSIE 8. Any suggstions

 

I'm not sure what you are trying to do but Eraser will only work on files and folders on your computer. It does not give you the ability to erase anything on a forum.

Once you install eraser, you simply right click a folder on your computer and you will see that one of the menu choices is now erase.
If you right click your recycle bin, you also have the ability to erase any items that are in there.

 

>> No matter how I tried to clean up my machine and reboot, Eraser would not install properly. It said - has experienced a problem and must close, sorry for the inconvenience. I opened the error part and tried to paste it here but was not successful. I did however use Disk Wipe which was easy to undertsand and gave you options as to the degree in which you wish to erase.
W.D. made typos in their emails, fouled up instructions, tried to reduce my warranty, called me by another name as they had the wrong seiel #, ad naseum.
I got in touch with an upper tier and worked together for over and hour to rectify #'s and warranties etc.
The drive has been erased well, reshipped and the new one now has a images and verifications of both of the two machines.
A long battle but it ended well.
I wanted to thank you for your help in this forum.
You may wish to try Eraser -it downloads and appears to install until it is opened and then the error massage appears. I tried under different circumstances and it makes me think there may be an issue with it. I tried different browsers and everything I could think of.
Thanx again.

 

I have eraser installed on all my windows computers (currently 6 windows that are mine in the house) - that's why I suggested it.
I also regularly install it on "seniors" I help and show them how to use it. I've never had a problem installing it.

 

>>It is obvious that the problem is on my end.
I wonder what it could have been.
Oh well, all is well and I do have Disk Wipe if needed.
I clicked on the Eraser link in this forum and downloaded and installed as I have done so many times with other programs. I even went to the site and downloaded from another choice to no avail.
I am glad it works for others and considering all I had to fuss with, I am lucky to come out of this with such a minor issue.
Talk soon.