Question : Problem: slow transfer speeds

i have recently installed a second hard drive in my win xp computer. both are ntfs format. when i try to copy files from one to the other, it takes an eternity (15-20 mins per GB), despite the fact that they are both 7,200rpm. Is this normal?

Answer : Problem: slow transfer speeds

No it is not normal - the file transfers should be amazingly fast unless they are enormous files or a vast number of files.

Not sure how you have connected up your new hdd but trying all options:

If you have added the new hdd to the middle of the same ribbon cable (RC) as the older hdd then the drive should be jumpered as 'slave' and the Primary Slave in the bios set to hdd and autodetect.

If you have attached the new hdd to the end of the other RC then jumper it as 'master' and the Secondary Master in the bios should be set to hdd and autodetect.

If you have attached the new hdd to the middle of the other RC then the drive (if there is another drive attached to the end of the RC) should be jumpered to 'slave and the Secondary Slave in the bios set to hdd and autodetect.

You can access the bios during bootup by pressing DEL (or F8 or F10) or whatever is correct for your machine. There appears to be no industry standard for which button to press to access the bios during bootup.

The jumpers are a set of small pins at the back of the drives. Two of the pins are connected with a small block. Which two pins are connected determines how the drive is seen by the bios. You may well need a pair of tweezers to get hold of the small block. The drive casings are marked with 'master', 'slave' and 'cs'.

Apologies if you know all of this and have done it already.

Do please let us know how you get on.