New HD and OS Installation -- Advice Requested

[ethink]

I have just purchased a new Hitatchi Travelstar 60GB Hard Drive to install in my A31p. This is 7200rpm (Model HTS721060G9AT00) HD.

I currently have (2) HD installed in this A31p:

- Drive 0 (C:\) is a 20GB, 5400rpm Travelstar (Model IC25N020ATCS05-0), dated DEC-02. This drive is used ONLY for the OS (Windows 2000) and programs

- Drive 1 (E:\) is a 60GB, 5400rpm Travelstar (Model IC25T060ATCS-5-0), dated SEP-02. This drive is used ONLY for user data.

I have a 3rd HD that is an IBM 80GB USB 2.0 HD, connected to a USB 2.0 card in a 2631 docking station. This is used to backup drives C:\ and E:\ on a weekly basis.

My plan is to rebuild this A31p with the new HD and a fresh install of Windows XP from the original IBM A31p Installtion CDs.

QUESTIONS:

1. What is the best way to install and use my new 60gb HD?

2. Should this 7200rpm HD be used for the OS and Programs or for data?

3. Since both HDs are close to 5 years old, should i replace the both of the original HDs at this time?

4. What is the most reliable way to move the data to the new HDs, Ghost 9 or Acronis 7?

5. The A31p (2653-R3U) currently has 1GB of RAM. Given my plan to move from Windows 2000 and Office 2000 to Windows XP and Office 2003, will an additional 1GB of RAM help performance?

I plan to keep this machine for about two more years. I have an IBM EzServe warranty for this machine. It has just received a new Planar board via IBN EzServe.

Thanks in advance for answering these questions.

[sugo]

I would use the new drive for OS, Programs and frequently used data files. The older drives can store infrequently used files and for backup purpose.

Most HDDs can last a long time. There is no reason to replace a drive when it's running fine. Just be sure to have scheduled backup to other drives.

I have used Ghost 2003 and 8.3 extensively and they never failed on me.

[whizkid]

1. Back up everything. Swap in your new drive for the main drive. Boot from the recovery media and go from there.

2. I also would use the new drive for everything, and keep backing up to an external drive. Use multiple partitions if that will help you keep your backups organized and timely.

3. Keep using hard drives until they fail or start to behave badly. Backups will help, as can SMART, which all of your stuff has.

4. Restore any files using whatever you used for backup. I don't do that much, so I either just use Windows Explorer to copy files, or sometimes Backup MyPC... so don't take my advice on this point.

5. I'd wait with a RAM purchase until you try things out because it depends a lot on how you use the machine. Use taskmgr to monitor your memory usage. On the Performance tab, if the Total in the Commit Charge area is more than the Total in the Physical Memory area, you are swapping right now, and more memory would help.

If Peak Commit Charge is more than Total Physical Memory, some swapping has occurred since you started taskmgr. Most users can tolerate some swapping, but if it happens a lot, and it bothers you, more memory will help.

[dsigma6]

I don't find the ghost interface to be as friendly as acronis, so I use acronis 9. V. 10 is out now, and you can use the demo for 15 days.

The ghost demo does not allow you to clone (unless that has changed since 6 months ago).