SWITCHING between TWO separate physical HDD drives…

[sincereheart]

SWITCHING between TWO separate physical HDD drives…

Well…

Situation:

TWO separate HDD in one CPU:

(Say):

a. One HDD of 80 GB used for general work and internet etc…(having its own windows xp prof OS)

b. Second HDD of 160 GB containing utmost critical and sensitive applications and data…(having its own windows advanced server 2000 OS along with oracle etc)

PRESENT:

BOTH HDD connected to motherboard always and at the time of starting the computer…I choose the desirable HDD on which I want to work by going into BIOS Settings…

PROBLEM:

It has happened that I logged into HDD one of 80 GB and virus got transferred from 80GB HDD (since it is the one which is connected to internet) to 160 GB HDD (which contains data and applications as critical as my life) and corrupted some important data and applications in 160 GB HDD…

This is true despite the fact that I had latest Norton Antivirus updated daily installed on 80 GB HDD along with spyware blaster and almost daily run spybot and adaware…

Furthermore the 160 GB HDD had MCAFEE 2005 full security solutions installed…

SOLUTION I INITIALLY THOUGHT:

Connect the data cable and power chord to the HDD which I intend to use at any one point in time AND DISCONNECT the other HDD’s data cable and power chord…(but both HDD remaining fit in CPU)…

PROBLEM:

This switching of HDD by connecting the data cable and power chord of one HDD and disconnecting the second…is appearing too tough on me and also appears that it may NOT be healthy for the motherboard also in the long run….as I switch frequently many times every day on two HDD’s…

Also it’s NOT possible to let them connected despite the fact that one is used at any one time (due to virus reasons stated above)…

SO PLEASE SUGGEST ME WHAT SHOULD I DO SO THAT I CAN ENSURE THAT I AM ABLE TO HAVE ONLY ONE HDD CONNECTED AT ANY ONE POINT IN TIME TO THE MOTHERBOARD AND SAVED FROM CONNECTING / DISCONNECTING THE OTHER…??????????????????????

I MEAN IS THERE ANY SWITCH OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT………………????????????????????????

I hope I have been actually able to explain my problem in proper words so that someone might actually possibly suggest something….

Thanks and best regards,

Sunando

sunandoghosh (at) rediffmail (dot) com

[saROMan]

well bro ... dont know about any switches..but you can try this.....

Boot thru DOS ..then go to Fdisk ...there is a Option to set the Active/primary Hdd..thus you can select the HDD you want and then boot in it.....now 1 thing i dont know that if u select 1 HDD will the partitions of 2nd HDD will be unavailable or not..but u can try it.....

[kalpik]

Try a putting a DPDT (Double Pole Double Throw) switch btw the power connectors of the two hdds. So u can select where the power goes: to the first HDD or the second.

[crashuniverse]

Well this thing may not be solution but u have a way out.
Get a cisco router. it has in built firewall. very tough to break in. Thats what we guys use here and there is no need of any other firewall.

But as i said thats not ur solution. Chill! till an expert discovers this place

And yes i insist on using ZoneAlarm as its a better firewall. its definitely better than Norton (less resource hungry).

[desertwind]

Why cant you use an external hdd casing for your secondary disk, so that u can connect it to the USB port of your computer whenever you want ?

[mariner]

Originally Posted by desertwind

Why cant you use an external hdd casing for your secondary disk, so that u can connect it to the USB port of your computer whenever you want ?

exactly !!!!!!!!! so then u have the peace of mind and can connect the 160 gb hdd as and when required only.

[nirubhai]

i don't know which bios u have...
but most of the bios have the function to make a disk READ-ONLY. this will detect both the hdds but one will be read-only.

if this function is not there, you can anyways disable the IDE connector from bios.

and you can always choose in bios, from which hdd to boot from.

i thik this fits ur need.
now don't ask to automate this.....
at least u don't need to fiddle with the cables

[QwertyManiac]

Originally Posted by kalpik

Try a putting a DPDT (Double Pole Double Throw) switch btw the power connectors of the two hdds. So u can select where the power goes: to the first HDD or the second.

Hahahahahahaha

Good one mate, good thought physically,
so our author has ta open his chassis and keep throwin swtches...

[kalpik]

Come on guys! Hehe. A little laughter never killed anyone!

Anyway, u can put one hdd on primary channel and one on secondary channel so u can disable or enable the channels according to ur needs!

[sba]

Just install "Acronis Disk Director Suite" and hide the partitions you don't want to see or have access to. Simple?