Preparing to copy a hard drive

Last published : Apr 02, 2026
Before you begin, make sure that you delete all the partitions on the destination drive and make it unallocated. Do not format the destination drive. You can use Windows Disk Management utility or any other disk utility to delete the partitions on the destination drive. You must have the hardware configured correctly to copy the hard drives. Perform the following steps to prepare the hardware.
To prepare to copy a drive
  1. Do all of the following:
    • Get the manufacturer's directions for installing the drive.
    • Shut down the computer, and then disconnect the power cord.
    • Discharge electricity by touching a grounded metal object.
    • Remove the computer cover.
  2. Change the jumper settings on the new hard drive to make it slave and attach the data cable. If you use cable select settings for the hard drive, attach it as the slave.
If you use Serial ATA drives (SATA), skip to next step.
  1. Attach the power connector to the new hard drive.
  2. Anchor the drive in the bay area according to the manufacturer's instructions.
  3. Start your computer.
  4. Change the BIOS settings to recognize the new hard disk.
If you use SATA drives, make sure that the boot settings are configured to boot from your old drive.
  1. Save the BIOS settings and restart the computer.
See Copying one hard drive to another hard drive.
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