My Mini ITX PC Build - Copied Drives Over to New HDD! (Still Need Help!)

[Pako]

All video's or just streaming video's to your PS3 using PS3 Media Server?

 

[Solid Lifters]

All streaming videos, and some stored on my HDD. What's odd about the streaming videos, I click on them and the player loads half way. Cancel it out, and click on the streaming video and it works, usually. Also, most streaming videos wont finish playing before 'reseting' to the start, like with the video link you just provided. This never happened before.

I cannot play MVI files at all. I always thought I could before. They do this starts-stops-starts-stops thing through most of the video, and again, half way the video freezes. Very, very weird.

 

[Pako]

Are you wired or wireless? There are also some tips in the "help" on stuttering playback as well.

On my PS3 upstairs connected wireless, I cannot playback video...it's too choppy. Downstairs, on my wired PS3, I have no issues with playback.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Are you wired or wireless? There are also some tips in the "help" on stuttering playback as well.

On my PS3 upstairs connected wireless, I cannot playback video...it's too choppy. Downstairs, on my wired PS3, I have no issues with playback.

Oh, I didn't make it clear enough... I'm only talking about videos on my PC. BTW, I'm only wired. I know about the wireless problems people were having on launch day, so I stuck with wires.

However, on my PS3, the videos play just fine. But once I had to restart the PS3 Server because all videos where showing up as corrupted MPEG-2 files, when I knew most of them weren't MPEG-2 files.

Also, when I shut down PS3 Media Server, my PC crashes. Well, it did the two times I used it. The first one I recovered, the second closed everything down which really pissed me off because I was in the middle of a huge response to your question.

I think downloading the PS3 Server must have changed some player settings or plug-ins, or whatnot, and it's causing my problems. That's why I want to know if you knew what they were or how I could find out on my own.

 

[Solid Lifters]

BUMP

I was looking at this board a little more closely and I like it. However, no IDE. It has 3 SATA only.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500027

ZOTAC IONITX-A-U Atom N330 1.6GHz Dual-Core 441 NVIDIA ION Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo - Retail


Now, I have an old PC with a IDE HDD that will be used, but how can I do this? I read about IDE to SATA adapters, but couldn't I either transfer or mirror the ENTIRE HDD to a new HDD? For example, run my old PC and transfer everything from the HDD to the new PC without a OS?

Do you see any other methods I could use?

 

[Casio]

BUMP

I was looking at this board a little more closely and I like it. However, no IDE. It has 3 SATA only.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500027

ZOTAC IONITX-A-U Atom N330 1.6GHz Dual-Core 441 NVIDIA ION Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo - Retail


Now, I have an old PC with a IDE HDD that will be used, but how can I do this? I read about IDE to SATA adapters, but couldn't I either transfer or mirror the ENTIRE HDD to a new HDD? For example, run my old PC and transfer everything from the HDD to the new PC without a OS?

Do you see any other methods I could use?

If your old PC has a SATA port you can connect a new harddrive to it is relatively simple. Just do that, use software such as Norton Ghost or Partition Magic, and make a copy of it. Easy.

You can get IDE/SATA adapters, but you really don't want to do that unless you really have too, as it will still obviously run at IDE speeds, which are slower than SATA.

 

[Solid Lifters]

If your old PC has a SATA port you can connect a new harddrive to it is relatively simple. Just do that, use software such as Norton Ghost or Partition Magic, and make a copy of it. Easy.

You can get IDE/SATA adapters, but you really don't want to do that unless you really have too, as it will still obviously run at IDE speeds, which are slower than SATA.

OK, that sounds good. I'll look to see if I have a SATA available on my MB. If not, then what are my options.

I didn't know if I could copy the ENTIRE HDD, including the recovery HDD with the OS, to a brand new HDD. I'll look into Partition Magic.

Thanks. 👍

 

[Casio]

OK, that sounds good. I'll look to see if I have a SATA available on my MB. If not, then what are my options.

I didn't know if I could copy the ENTIRE HDD, including the recovery HDD with the OS, to a brand new HDD. I'll look into Partition Magic.

Thanks. 👍

You can get PCI cards with SATA ports on them if your want to go down that route. 👍

 

[Solid Lifters]

You can get PCI cards with SATA ports on them if your want to go down that route. 👍

I just found those as was just going to ask you how that would work out! lol

So, obvious that's a solution?

EDIT: Actually, can I attach an external HDD to my current PC and transfer the entire HDD over that way? Via USB? I have an external enclosure with a USB/eSATA connector.

 

[Casio]

I just found those as was just going to ask you how that would work out! lol

So, obvious that's a solution?

EDIT: Actually, can I attach an external HDD to my current PC and transfer the entire HDD over that way? Via USB? I have an external enclosure with a USB/eSATA connector.

Yeah, you can do that. Though if you've got a decent sized drive it will take a while over USB.

I've just found this freeware program, EASEUS, I've never used it personally, but it looks like the software you're after.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Yeah, you can do that. Though if you've got a decent sized drive it will take a while over USB.

I've just found this freeware program, EASEUS, I've never used it personally, but it looks like the software you're after.

Awesome!

Thanks, Casio. 👍

 

[Solid Lifters]

BUMP

1 x ($6.59) FANS HEATSINKS ENERMAX|UC-8EB RTL - Retail $6.59


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1 x ($59.99) CASE ROSEWILL|RC-CIX-01 BK 150W RT - Retail $59.99


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1 x ($83.99) MB INTEL BOXD945GCLF2 945GC ATOM330 - Retail $83.99


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1 x ($24.99) MEM 2G|KST DII667 KVR667D2N5/2G R - Retail $24.99


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1 x ($99.99) HD 1T|WD 7K 32M SATA2 WD1001FALS % - OEM $99.99


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1 x ($31.99) DVD BURN SONY|AD-7240S-0B % - OEM $31.99


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1 x ($1.99) CABLES OKGEAR|GC10AUBM RTL - Retail $1.99


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1 x ($42.99) PS3 ACC SONY DUAL SHOCK3 98050 R - Retail $42.99


Payment Term: 144 Monthly Payments With 0% Interest
Extended Warranty: $0.00
Subtotal: $352.52
Tax: $29.08
Shipping and Handling: $19.70
Total Amount: $401.30

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

I hope that hard drive stays relatively cool in that case.

 

[Solid Lifters]

I hope that hard drive stays relatively cool in that case.

It's not going in the case. It's for an external HDD only. The original HDD will go in the new PC.

The only thing I'm worried about is the DVD drive not fitting in the slot properly. I've read some people had issues with the case because of the fit which caused the door not to open properly.

 

[Solid Lifters]

I just got my case from UPS and already the doctor has performed some surgery.

I took out the 80mm supplied fan, since I wanted to know what the model and make of it, plus I purchased a replacement. I read how the supplied fan was crap and noisy.

However, I have no idea who this company is, nor could I find anything about them. I was planning on researching the details of this fan, CFM, RPM, Noise Level, etc. but cannot. Anybody heard of them?

Muhua Industrial Co., LTD (Muhua Fan-Tech) MH8025L12S-A with "CFI" on the front center.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

The reviewer at silentpcreview found the 120mm version to be pretty quiet.

I did find out that this fan draws 0.10A. The best test is to hear it and feel the airflow yourself.

 

[Solid Lifters]

The reviewer at silentpcreview found the 120mm version to be pretty quiet.

I did find out that this fan draws 0.10A. The best test is to hear it and feel the airflow yourself.

How or what can I hook up this fan to to test it? It draws .20 amps 12 volts. I read how a guy hooked it up to a 5 volt source and only got a difference of 3 degrees, but the sound was greatly reduced.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

How or what can I hook up this fan to to test it?

You can try another computer, though you might have trouble finding a 3-pin connector if it uses one. I guess the test wouldn't work out too well if they were louder than that one.

The noise can be caused by a faulty fan or just by the airflow in the case.

It draws .20 amps 12 volts.

Ah...makes sense, since it was on a Polish site. or does it

 

[Solid Lifters]

Progress report. 7/23/09 - "Formatting External HDD and Copy Main Drive to It"

I finally got the hard drive in the Antec MX-1 external case and then tried to format it. Wouldn't work. Windows XP Computer Management wouldn't allow me to format, but for some reason, I could create a partition after trying to get CM to do some damn thing with it. So, I did. The entire HDD. All 931GB of it.

I downloaded the program Casio suggested a few posts back and it wouldn't run. So I tried EaseUs program of a similar type, but one with more features I was looking for, and it worked! I could format, or partition or copy the the existing drive, which is what I wanted to do!

Since creating the partition took five hours, I decided to copy the drive to the external. I copied the D: "Recovery" drive on a small 5.66GB partition, the original size for it, and the C: "System" drive, 32GB, to a second partition, that I made slightly bigger at 46GB for a little extra room. Worked great! I can search through my external now like it was my main PC, because it is! This job took 12 hours. Ridiculous for both, but oh well, it's done!

Weird thing is, when I copied the drives, it used up the 52GB I assigned for the job, but the remainder of the partition (931GB i.e. "1TB") became unallocated. I guess I have to repartition that? Not really sure what I should do next, so let me know what I should do if you know.

I guess I would like to try to boot from the external just to make sure it's all OK, but not really sure how I can do that. I guess I need to go into the BIOS and alter how the PC boots up? I'm not really sure how to get into my BIOS, since I've never done it. It's a Compaq Presario. F5, perhaps?

Sleepy. Must get... sheep...


EDIT: I pushed F1 and that got me to the BIOS. I was able to select the USB HDD to boot from. However, it did nothing. After the reboot, all I got past the Compaq screen was a blinking cursor for three minutes. Didn't work or should I have waited more?

I read something from EaseUs that didn't make sense to me. Before using the new copied drive I must... "1. Shut down PC after disc copy and unload the source drive." What does 'unload' mean? Disconnect? Remove? Disable?

 

[Solid Lifters]

Well, I got it up and running. What a complete PITA it was, too! Jebus!

I was held up because I didn't get the motherboard screws. Can you believe that? What I wanted to do is set it up and run the external boot up with the copy I did with EaseUs. But since I didn't have the screws, I said, "Screw it! I'm going to take apart my old PC and get the screws from it! Plus, I'll just install the old HDD!"

So, it's running. I need to change the start up of this machine. I see a blank screen first, which used to be a Presario logo. However, it's now a cursor that doesn't blink and it lasts for about 30 seconds. It has got to go.

The second screen is an add for Intel and telling me "BIOS F2" for at least 60 seconds. That has to go or be reduced to 3 seconds.

Next, the old screen of either selecting 'Windows XP Home' or the 'Windows Recovery Console' which before lasted about 3 seconds now counts down from 10. Too long, so that has to change back to 3 seconds.

I've noticed some software no longer works, like AVG and Adobe Acrobat Reader which oddly went back to version 5 when I had 9.

For the software no longer working, I should just delete it and re download it again, yes? And what do I do about the now long loading screens?

Thanks for any tips you've got for me! 👍

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

I'm guessing you didn't do a fresh Windows install.

So, it's running. I need to change the start up of this machine. I see a blank screen first, which used to be a Presario logo. However, it's now a cursor that doesn't blink and it lasts for about 30 seconds. It has got to go.

The logo is determined by the motherboard. I think you can change it, but I don't know if it would reduce the 30 seconds.

The second screen is an add for Intel and telling me "BIOS F2" for at least 60 seconds. That has to go or be reduced to 3 seconds.

Not sure about that either. Check in your BIOS for any options concerning and also check for features you can disable.

Next, the old screen of either selecting 'Windows XP Home' or the 'Windows Recovery Console' which before lasted about 3 seconds now counts down from 10. Too long, so that has to change back to 3 seconds.

You shouldn't be seeing that screen that many times that it would bother you. Try going to the command prompt and type in:
bcdedit /timeout 3

For the software no longer working, I should just delete it and re download it again, yes? And what do I do about the now long loading screens?

Uninstall and then reinstall. I'm not sure about the loading screens. It might be extra features that are enabled or the computer looking for something that isn't there.

 

[Solid Lifters]

I'm guessing you didn't do a fresh Windows install.

Nope. Couldn't. It's on a partition. I can only 'press F10 for recovery console' and that's it.

However, I did have to get a new 'key' from MS to use what I had on my HDD. Apparently, installing a new MB resets the old one. Good thing I had my old PC case which had my 'proof of ownership' on it (5 blocks). Once I gave that to the 'lady from India' I had my Windows XP back.

The logo is determined by the motherboard. I think you can change it, but I don't know if it would reduce the 30 seconds.

For some reason, it's gone. I think it only shows for the first few times you fire up you PC. To let you know the BIOS is F2, I guess.

Not sure about that either. Check in your BIOS for any options concerning and also check for features you can disable.

This is gone, too.

You shouldn't be seeing that screen that many times that it would bother you. Try going to the command prompt and type in:
bcdedit /timeout 3

This is gone, too. However, I think it's gone because I changed the timeout time to 3 seconds and it's not long enough to show it.

Startup went from 3:40 to 2:25. Not great, but better than before. I've seen some Windows 7 Mini ITX PC with 0:35 startup times. Nice!

Uninstall and then reinstall. I'm not sure about the loading screens. It might be extra features that are enabled or the computer looking for something that isn't there.

Programs removed and reinstalled and running fine.

 

[Pako]

There are a couple 'boot' options to check.

• If you're done installing or booting from CD-Rom, make sure your boot order has the Hard Drive listed first, not the CD-Rom drive.
• Disable USB/Flash Drive and LAN boot options as well.
• Most bios settings allow for 'rapid' boot. Check to see if you have it and enable it.
• You can usually choose a full Ram scan, or quick ram scan....check into those options as well.
• You should be able to disable the bios image to show what's happening in the post.
• Disable all options in the bios that you are not using. Features that you may have but might not be using such as RAID controllers, and other peripherals like Serial ports, parallel ports, extra lan ports, onboard audio, etc...

I would also agree, if at all possible, I would format the drive and re-install if you have that option, but it's your call.

Just some things to check.

 

[Solid Lifters]

There are a couple 'boot' options to check.
If you're done installing or booting from CD-Rom, make sure your boot order has the Hard Drive listed first, not the CD-Rom drive.

I never booted from a CD so that's not an issue. I also checked the boot order (pic below).

Disable USB/Flash Drive and LAN boot options as well.

Oops. I turned USB to 'enable' 'cause that's what I was trying to boot from. (External HDD via USB2 which is NOT indicated in the pics below, but is if I remember to turn the damn thing on for the pic!)

Most bios settings allow for 'rapid' boot. Check to see if you have it and enable it.

Never saw this anywhere. (Pic)

You can usually choose a full Ram scan, or quick ram scan....check into those options as well.

Didn't see that, either. My BIOS on this thing is small and very simple. It's only a Mini ITX board, so I guess it doesn't come with a lot of options. Like, I cannot overclock the CPU (Atom 330) or RAM (DDR23200)

You should be able to disable the bios image to show what's happening in the post.

It's gone, for some reason. I guess it was only a 'few times' kind of deal.

Disable all options in the bios that you are not using. Features that you may have but might not be using such as RAID controllers, and other peripherals like Serial ports, parallel ports, extra lan ports, onboard audio, etc...

I would also agree, if at all possible, I would format the drive and re-install if you have that option, but it's your call.

Just some things to check.

I have no confidence I should touch my BIOS other than what I NEED to do with it. Besides, I don't really know for certain what I actually need or not.

I cannot format the drive and re-install, since the OS is on a 'recovery' partition that I never got to work, yet. Also, the copy of this partition and 'system' drive hasn't been booted, but appear to work OK if I access them from the main 'system' drive (C.

Here's some pics...

This first one is my drive issue. I couldn't tell which one is the one being used. I learned it's the one with '(System)' in the description.

(Above pic from http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=325572) Sign Up!

In the pic of the 'boot drive order', I can access the options, but if I make a change it wont stay. It just goes back to one listed at top.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

Never saw this anywhere. (Pic)


Didn't see that, either. My BIOS on this thing is small and very simple. It's only a Mini ITX board, so I guess it doesn't come with a lot of options. Like, I cannot overclock the CPU (Atom 330) or RAM (DDR23200)

My Core i7 board (Intel DX58SO) doesn't have them either. It must be an Intel thing. It's the weirdest boot I have ever seen. It just flashes some random numbers and letters and then it goes blank and goes into the Vista loading bar.

 

[Pako]

I would "Disable"

• Optical
• Removable
• Network
• USB

Then F10 to save and exit. This is of course you are not booting from those type of devices and you are only booting from your CSystem) drive.

Keep in mind, if you ever need to boot from a CD/DVD, you will need to "Enable" optical boot.

 

[Solid Lifters]

I would "Disable"

• Optical
• Removable
• Network
• USB

Then F10 to save and exit. This is of course you are not booting from those type of devices and you are only booting from your CSystem) drive.

Keep in mind, if you ever need to boot from a CD/DVD, you will need to "Enable" optical boot.

I enabled some of those and never switched them back.

I have no idea why I cannot boot from my external (G, H and F). I had a lot of help and none of it worked.

Oh well. I guess one of these days I'll just move the external HDD to the internal and go from there.

I also noticed in my BIOS that the second SATA was 'empty' or not in use. I connected a eSATA add on to my case so I use eSATA instead of USB2 with that available SATA port, but my external never got recognized. Solution or possible problems for that?

EDIT: OK, I just switched them all back 'disable' and changed my power setting. The PC was set to come on after a power failure. This was bad because I sometimes turn off the power from the power strip. When I turned it back on, the PC would turn on, even though it wasn't on before I hit the power strip switch!

My boot time has changed for the better. It's no longer 3:30. It was 2:30, but now is at 1:40. It took 20 seconds from power on to the Windows XP screen. From there, it took 60 seconds to the "Welcome" screen and from there, the rest of the time (about 15-20 seconds at the most.) Not bad, but can still improve.

 

[Solid Lifters]

BUMP

OK, new problem.

I just noticed when I shut down my PC, the mouse stays on! Huh? How do I fix that? In 'Power Management?'

Recently, I switched to 'Always On' because my PC wont recovery from 'sleep mode' at all. In fact, I must turn off the power strip or unplug the PC since the power button wont turn it off or restart.

 

[ROAD_DOGG33J]

I just noticed when I shut down my PC, the mouse stays on! Huh? How do I fix that? In 'Power Management?'

Look at the 2nd post on page 5

You might want to search for a solution on google.

Recently, I switched to 'Always On' because my PC wont recovery from 'sleep mode' at all. In fact, I must turn off the power strip or unplug the PC since the power button wont turn it off or restart.

What's "always on"

 

[Solid Lifters]

Look at the 2nd post on page 5

You might want to search for a solution on google.

Yep, but I thought to ask here first. That above looks like it's for some other problem from mine.

What's "always on"

PC wont go in to stand-by mode or any other 'mode.'