Which brings up what I am up against. My current system is unstable and could crash any time. I have a standard CD drive (non-rewritable) and a special one that is rewritable called a PD (think it's Sony) and uses special cartridges (LM-R650A) of which I've invested in several. Both drives are down and I need to get it into the shop but don't want to sacrifice the time. Also either the power supply or fan is bad (makes rumbling sound on startup until it gets a little warmed up - been like this for over a year).
Latest I got a couple of black screens where the thing just quit and thought my hd had crashed for sure but after waiting a bit and rebooting it seems ok for now. Mouse started freezing up and causing problems so I bought a new one and things seem better in that department. Hate to invest even a couple hundred until I recoup as much as I can of the investment I originally made in the one I have.
I would like to install my PD drive in a new computer because it is the only way I can transfer data from my old system to a new one. I could upload stuff to my website or use floppies but that would be so tedious. Can one get a cable to transfer data from one PC to another (locally and not online) or would one have to have some kind of networking configuration?
Lastly, is there some sort of website that gives an overview of building a system from scratch? I am technically impaired, mostly because I don't like to take the time to do the homework, and very weak on troubleshooting but I have gotten by better than I ever expected! Great folks have helped me but I have to be online to get help. No access to tech support because company is no longer in business.
Sorry this is so long but I need to get all my ducks in a row before spending more money needlessly.
A new CPU fan is cheap. (~$5 to $15)
I would like to install my PD drive in a new computer because it is the only way I can transfer data from my old system to a new one. I could upload stuff to my website or use floppies but that would be so tedious. Can one get a cable to transfer data from one PC to another (locally and not online) or would one have to have some kind of networking configuration?
Is this PD drive a CD burner/writer or a magnetic tape backup?
I'm assuming your PD drive isn't much different from a CD-ROM drive. There should be a ribbon cable connecting your CD-ROM to your motherboard. Halfway between the ribbon there is a place to hookup another drive. These cables can be a pain to put in place. (you may need to fold & twist the cable to get it to fit).
Make sure the jumper settings are correct. (Jumpers are those little plastic things that cover two metal prongs on the back of a drive) The burner is usually set to master, and the other CD-ROM drive is usually set to slave.
Next, hookup the red & yellow cord from your power supply to your drive. If your BIOS is plug-and-play it should auto-detect the drive. If not you may need to tell your BIOS to look for it.
BTW, it might be much easier to just remove the hard drive from your old computer and connect with ribbon cable to your new drive.
Like described above, make sure the jumpers in the back of each hard drive are set correctly.
Your BIOS should autodetect it. Both drives should appear in Windows. Go ahead and transfer your files .
Also, these guys are releasing a VHS tape that will show the process step-by-step. Check here in about a month.
Please ping me if you have any additional questions.