Help me make a proper reinstall of my system.

Ostriig on 23/10/2009 at 19:11

I finally got my hands on Windows 7, downloaded the 64bit Pro version yesterday evening, courtesy of my University, and I can get to performing a well due format and reinstall on my PC. And I'd like to make the best of it, so I turn to you guys.

Before I get into the meat of the post - would it be a good idea to flash my BIOS before I reinstall, since I was told it's the only way to unlock it (the shop shipped the PC with it locked)? Could I face any situations on reinstall that may require me to screw in the BIOS (hell, even boot order's locked, after all) before I continue? Yes, I have done OS installs plenty of times, but the BIOS was always unlocked if I needed to change something in it, so I figure better ask a stupid question now than headbutt my screen in pure frustration later.

I have two HDDs, a two year old 250GB, 8MB buffer (http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131214) Maxtor STM3250310AS, and a six months old 500GB, 32MB buffer (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=c89ef141e7f43110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD) Seagate Barracuda ST3500320AS, both 7200RPM. A brief mention, one thing that bugs me about the latter is that after a while it goes into what I suspect is power-save mode, if it's not in use, and then it can take a good couple of seconds until it spins the fuck back up again - is this normal, and is it recommended to keep it that way?

Now, here's what I was considering: the 500GB I'd use for storage, media, data, and archives, much as I do today. I suspect the larger buffer might better lend it to the OS and executables, but I can't fit all my media on the 250 and, besides, I'd hope of it to last longer since it's a good deal newer.

Then the 250GB one, I'd have two options - either install both the OS and my games and programs on it directly, or split it in two partitions, a relatively small one exclusively for the OS, and then the rest for programs. Would there be anything to gain that way, with regard to security and modularity, and how much space is recommended for the OS? And would there be any notable disadvantages?

Finally, I've been considering starting using the "official" Documents folders that come with Windows. So far I've always had my own folders for that, and I was now wondering if people recommend using the standard ones or if it turns out to be a pain in the butt. Is the folder structure good and easy to navigate, and are there any risks of losing your stuff, more so than when using your own separate folders? Also in this case, this would basically mean redirecting the standard folders to the other HDD, the 500GB, since that's where I'll want to store all my media and stuff. Any shortcomings with that approach? I hear that some games which use the Documents folder for their saves have trouble finding said folder if it's not in its default location, particularly those powered by Unreal 3.

I think that kind of covers it. Anything else I might want to bear in mind with setting up?

Any advice and comments are much appreciated, thanks for reading!

Al_B on 23/10/2009 at 19:46

Quote Posted by Ostriig

would it be a good idea to flash my BIOS before I reinstall, since I was told it's the only way to unlock it

Have you tried simply clearing the BIOS to unlock it? That's certainly worked for me in the past but I can't say for your particular motherboard.

As long as you get the BIOS for your exact motherboard version then flashing it isn't a bad idea - I've had to do it to get proper CPU support a few times even with brand new motherboards.

Quote Posted by Ostriig

A brief mention, one thing that bugs me about the latter is that after a while it goes into what I suspect is power-save mode, if it's not in use, and then it can take a good couple of seconds until it spins the fuck back up again - is this normal

I had a seagate hard drive that did exactly that and it was extremely annoying. As long as you have sufficient cooling then I can't see a problem with disabling it if you can.

In terms of partitioning a hard drive into separate logical drives I tend to only do it where it makes logical sense. For example - a file server where you don't want running out of space on the file shares to affect system space. In your case if you install the O/S on the smaller drive you've isolated yourself from problems with your media drive filling up. I've not had problems personally with redirecting the documents folder to another drive and it's easy enough to change if you do.

Alternatively, buy an external hard drive as a backup - if your data is more important than your operating system then you need one anyway. Copy the contents of your 500GB drive onto it and then install Windows 7 onto the larger hard drive. You will still have the smaller hard drive as a fall-back measure if anything goes wrong and you'll have a backup of your media and data. You can then have options of both the external and smaller drive for critical backups and you can use your smaller drive for virtual memory (may give better performance if you don't have much main memory). Of course, this arrangement will cost more but may be worth it in the long run.

bikerdude on 23/10/2009 at 19:52

Ive been running windows 7 for a while now, so if you need a hand you know where I am.

Al_B on 23/10/2009 at 20:00

Any particular system configuration tips over previous versions, Biker?

bikerdude on 23/10/2009 at 21:14

Quote Posted by Ostriig

and a six months old 500GB - ST3500320AS
Then the 250GB one,

Use the 500 as the primary drive(as its the faster of the 2), then partition the 500gb into 2 partitions 100/400 (system/data). And then use the 250 as a backup drive.

Ostriig on 23/10/2009 at 21:42

Thanks for the replies, guys!

Quote Posted by Al_B

Have you tried simply clearing the BIOS to unlock it?

Clearing it? As in yanking the battery from it to reset? I suppose I could browse through it, write down the current settings (assuming the company that put the PC together changed anything to optimise the rig), and then set them manually after a reset.

Quote:

As long as you get the BIOS for your exact motherboard version then flashing it isn't a bad idea - I've had to do it to get proper CPU support a few times even with brand new motherboards.

I managed to track it down once. There's three revisions to my MB, and I managed to identify it (or better said guess) by a particular technical detail, though I don't remember right now which.

Quote:

I had a seagate hard drive that did exactly that and it was extremely annoying. As long as you have sufficient cooling then I can't see a problem with disabling it if you can.

Well, if that means it's spinning all the time, wouldn't it result in faster deterioration? As for cooling, I don't have any additional coolers in it, just the PSU, the processor and the video card, and it's a rather cramped midi tower. Sandra reads the following temperatures at this time (just Firefox and Explorer up):

Board: 37 C
CPU: 37.5
Auxiliary: 45.5

I've also got a 5 year old 250 gig WD in an external rack, I'll be backing up my more important stuff on it.

Quote Posted by Bikerdude

Use the 500 as the primary drive(as its the faster of the 2), then partition the 500gb into 2 partitions 100/400 (system/data).

Would the OS installation be subjected to the same slowdowns/pauses from the HDD going into power-save mode? Or would it be spinning constantly if the OS on it is running? And in that case, wouldn't that make it degrade faster?

Al_B on 23/10/2009 at 22:11

Quote Posted by Ostriig

Clearing it? As in yanking the battery from it to reset?

No - usually it's just shorting / changing a jumper - check your manual. If you're able to browse your BIOS to check the settings now then maybe I misunderstood the problem - I thought you meant that you couldn't access your BIOS settings.

Quote Posted by Ostriig

When a drive is spinning the heads are lifted on a cusion of air. If the hard drive keeps spinning down then that is lost. Most of the hard drive failures I've seen have been due to stiction or more drastic mechanical failures.

Ostriig on 23/10/2009 at 22:59

Quote Posted by Al_B

No, the BIOS prompts me for a password, but it's just a blank Enter. However, once in, I'm denied permission to alter any of the settings, though I'm assuming the two can't be related. I'll break out the manual and have a look for the jumper you mentioned.

Quote:

Ah, so the power-saving feature might actually end up reducing lifespan? Heh, now I really need to get access to my BIOS.

Edit: I'm a bit of a dolt, I admit. I was looking in the wrong places. Turns out the HDD power down feature was in Windows, just turned it off, we'll see how that goes. I'm really not worried about the electrical consumption on this one, just the HDD's lifespan.

bikerdude on 24/10/2009 at 00:25

Quote Posted by Ostriig

Its a setting in windows not the hard drive itself.

Ostriig on 24/10/2009 at 00:36

Yeah, cheers, found it and it seems to have applied properly!

Also, to reset the BIOS - found a Clear CMOS Jumper listed in the manual, I assume that's the one that should restore access to my settings?

Oh, and one final thing. Sorry to retread on this, but I looked up my MB (ConRoe1333-D667) again and I found this notice on all three revisions:

Quote:

- Max. capacity: 4GB*

*Due to the chipset limitation, the actual memory size may be less than 4GB for the reservation for system usage under Windows® XP, Windows® XP 64-bit, Windows® Vista™ and Windows® Vista™ 64-bit.

I was hoping to install W7 64 and then swap from 2 to 4 gigs of RAM. I take it I still won't be able to use it all?