# Hard drive selector



## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

I've been thinking of setting up a system, where I have two hard drives configured so that only one can be seen by the processor at any one time. I do not want to dual boot in this situation.
Here are two web sites with explanations and solutions:
http://www.dslwebserver.com/main/Romtec-Trios.html
http://www.dvhardware.net/modules.php?name=Sections&sop=viewarticle&artid=4

Naturally, I favor the home made switch because of price and the fact that it accomplishes the same task.
But I'd like to take it further and be able to keep the un-recognized Hard drive off or unpowered.

I've searched around, but not come up with any good ideas.
Can an extra switch be added to also divert electrical power at the hard drives, or does that become a bios issue and cause problems?

I can live with the 'second' drive always on if there is no other way, but I'd prefer not to have to listen to the extra noise.

My OS is Win 98se if it makes a difference.

Any suggestions?


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

Wow that Romtec Trios - Hard Drive Selector looks cool.

I have a rack in mine so I have to shut down and slide out the rack to change drives. 
But I would need more space inside my case for all of this.


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## gotrootdude (Feb 19, 2003)

> Can an extra switch be added to also divert electrical power at the hard drives, or does that become a bios issue and cause problems?


Set the bios for "auto" and this works. I did it with my old hacked Apex DVD player (running Sampo firmware) before I junked it, and it worked fine.

I think I should add, you may be able to do what you want without a switch simply by changing the boot order in the bios when you wish to boot from the other drive.

This is kinda cool as well, I never thought of it.
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-03-13.htm#5

You could just set up one boot partition, and have multiple images on a separate partition to write to the boot partition as needed. It's slow, but it would work. Of course, it'd be a good idea to keep your programs and files on a different partition that your OS partition to speed the process.


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## lotuseclat79 (Sep 12, 2003)

Stoner said:


> I've been thinking of setting up a system, where I have two hard drives configured so that only one can be seen by the processor at any one time. I do not want to dual boot in this situation.
> Here are two web sites with explanations and solutions:
> http://www.dslwebserver.com/main/Romtec-Trios.html
> http://www.dvhardware.net/modules.php?name=Sections&sop=viewarticle&artid=4
> ...


Hi Stoner,

You should check the date of the webpage you posted on the ROMTEC link.

I don't think that ROMTEC is in business anymore - can you reach their website? I know last year I could not. They were in Santa Fe Spring, CA last I checked. I wonder if hey are still listed in the phone directory in that location.

-- Tom


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## loserOlimbs (Jun 19, 2004)

Not sure to what end you want it...
but why not get a HD with a key, that way the drive can only be read when you insert and turn the key?

Just a thought.


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## hewee (Oct 26, 2001)

That is what I have. A mobile rack with lock. Then I have two of the inner rack one so I just unlock the drive and swap it out with another and boot up after I lock it.


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## lotuseclat79 (Sep 12, 2003)

Stoner said:


> I've been thinking of setting up a system, where I have two hard drives configured so that only one can be seen by the processor at any one time. I do not want to dual boot in this situation.
> Here are two web sites with explanations and solutions:
> http://www.dslwebserver.com/main/Romtec-Trios.html
> http://www.dvhardware.net/modules.php?name=Sections&sop=viewarticle&artid=4
> ...


Hi Stoner,

Since ROMTEC is no longer a choice, and the second weblink describes an affordable DIY way to get what you want, I thought you might like to know (even though you won't be very interested to spend the $) that the following website offers several products somewhat like the ROMTEC one:

Indus technologies website products:
http://www.industechnologies.com/prod.html

-- Tom


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

lotuseclat79 said:


> Hi Stoner,
> 
> Since ROMTEC is no longer a choice, and the second weblink describes an affordable DIY way to get what you want, I thought you might like to know (even though you won't be very interested to spend the $) that the following website offers several products somewhat like the ROMTEC one:
> 
> ...


Thanks Tom.
Everything but the price looks good.
I haven't put anything together yet, busy on other things.
The ghetto kit looks interesting right now as the price is attractive.


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

loserOlimbs said:


> Not sure to what end you want it...
> but why not get a HD with a key, that way the drive can only be read when you insert and turn the key?
> 
> Just a thought.


Hi loserOlimbs 

My situation really isn't local security.
I would like to use one comp for both internet and business/tax matters, but completely seperate from each other. I saw this idea of switches for booting and the concept of the processor being only able to recogonize one hard drive at a time interested me. Independant security(and one OS would not be Internet aware) and harddrive integrity then separated. But, I'd like to have a set up that allows the 'ignored' hard drive to be powered down for longevity. The comp is on all day and a drive being on and unused is wasted wear and the extra whine really get to my tenitus.

I could go with a mobile rack, but I don't like the idea of the possibility of accidential damage from careless handling. I also don't have enough bays to accomodate everything in place.


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## Mulderator (Feb 20, 1999)

Stoner said:


> and the extra whine really get to my tenitus.


How about the extra whine you add to TSG Civ Debate!


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## Mulderator (Feb 20, 1999)

Stoner said:


> Hi loserOlimbs
> 
> My situation really isn't local security.
> I would like to use one comp for both internet and business/tax matters, but completely seperate from each other. I saw this idea of switches for booting and the concept of the processor being only able to recogonize one hard drive at a time interested me. Independant security(and one OS would not be Internet aware) and harddrive integrity then separated. But, I'd like to have a set up that allows the 'ignored' hard drive to be powered down for longevity. The comp is on all day and a drive being on and unused is wasted wear and the extra whine really get to my tenitus.
> ...


I still am not sure what you are trying to accomplish, but maybe what you are looking for is a SATA drive--they are plug and play--you can have the drive external and simply pull the SATA plug. Since it is plug and play, all you need do is plug it back in when you need to use it.


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Mulder said:


> How about the extra whine you add to TSG Civ Debate!


If it irritates you, I'm succeeding


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Mulder said:


> I still am not sure what you are trying to accomplish, but maybe what you are looking for is a SATA drive--they are plug and play--you can have the drive external and simply pull the SATA plug. Since it is plug and play, all you need do is plug it back in when you need to use it.


No. that's not what I want to accomplish.
I can and do already run an external drive, but my bios won't boot from one.
What I'd like to do is have 2 drives set as master, each loaded with their own OS.
I would like to switch between the two.
I want complete division so there is no possibility the one I use online could ever corrupt/infect the other used for busines/taxes/family concerns. The 'other' would be configured so it is not internet aware. 
The 'ghetto switch' looks nice, but it won't turn off the hard drive that is ignored.
And the extra whine is a problem for me.

Currently I have 2 comps set up for this, but I'd like to merge the two, both for space considerations and I'd like to instal one faster scanner(than I already have) and share between the two operating systems.


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## Mulderator (Feb 20, 1999)

Stoner said:


> No. that's not what I want to accomplish.
> I can and do already run an external drive, but my bios won't boot from one.
> What I'd like to do is have 2 drives set as master, each loaded with their own OS.
> I would like to switch between the two.
> ...


What I would do is get a system with a tray for slide in and slide out drives--you just slide in the drive you want and slide out the other.

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/op/formTrays-c.html


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## saikee (Jun 11, 2004)

You should be aware of what is on offer by the software method.

You can use a Grub floppy to hide any partition you want and unhide it when you want to boot it. Grub is a free boot loader used by Dos 7.10, about 50% of the Linux and new Solaris. You can use a free Linux Live CD that to do the hiding and unhiding.

When hiding a partition its partition ID is flipped at the 5th bit (seems to be standard with PC as every boot loader uses it).

A Fat32 partition has an ID "b". Hiding it just turns it into "1b" and Windows would treat it as "non"-Dos" and proceed to ignore its presence. Unhiding it brings the ID back to "b".

I used this method booting 3 Dos and 3 Windows in 4 Disks in a box with over 100 systems (links in signature).

The work involved in hiding a Windows in the partition 1 of hard disk 1 is to boot up a Grub floppy and type

```
hide (hd1,1)
```
That got to be easier than fitting a hard-wired switch.


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Or set two partitions to 'primary-active' and use Boot Magic as the 'switch'. I already own BT.
That makes one Windows OS ignore the other active partition, but that limitation is to the operating system. Separating the OS's in the 'view' of the processor eliminates any considerations of intrusion by hacker/virus or corruption to data, that you might not want exposed.... from what I've been reading. Also, the drive expectancy for the Business OS which is used less fequently, would be greater. As I already have these drives, it's not an added expense.

While I have nothing against dual booting, I would rather not go in that direction for reasons I posted earlier.


Mulder:
I'm on a Dell GX110 Optiplex, so I only have 2 external bays and one is in use. I'm not sure my bios will boot from a removable tray.It wouldn't in a slightly older model Dell nor in my Gateway. I don't like the idea of pulling a HD out frequently and subjected to a lot of handleing. Accendents do happen and I feel better about the HD being a permanent resident 

Obviously this is not a pressing issue, time wise, so I think I'll keep looking 

gotrudedude suggested a power switch coordinated with the gehto swith, but I'm getting feedback from another source that the bios often delays the boot process while it figures out what to do in a case like that.
I'm going to try that out sometime and see what happens.


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## Mulderator (Feb 20, 1999)

Stoner said:


> Mulder:
> I'm on a Dell GX110 Optiplex, so I only have 2 external bays and one is in use. I'm not sure my bios will boot from a removable tray.It wouldn't in a slightly older model Dell nor in my Gateway. I don't like the idea of pulling a HD out frequently and subjected to a lot of handleing. Accendents do happen and I feel better about the HD being a permanent resident


I don't see how the tray being removable makes any difference to the BIOS or that there are two separate drives. It should work. If not, update your BIOS.

I wouldn't worry about damage--this trays are designed to have the drives taken in and out. But I can understand wanting to have a switch and have them permanently affixed.


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## Space Cowboy (Apr 19, 2005)

This is what I use. It's not hot swapable with windows xp but it is with windows 98? Anyway I had two hard drives in my old computer and when the power supply blew it took out both of them. Now I rotate swap harddrives and have 1 in the computer and 2 in the safe.

I have these in Black and I think I paid 5 bucks apiece on Ebay..The key is the power switch. Turn the key to lock it in and power is applied.

Good Luck


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## Mulderator (Feb 20, 1999)

Space Cowboy said:


> This is what I use. It's not hot swapable with windows xp but it is with windows 98? Anyway I had two hard drives in my old computer and when the power supply blew it took out both of them. Now I rotate swap harddrives and have 1 in the computer and 2 in the safe.
> 
> I have these in Black and I think I paid 5 bucks apiece on Ebay..The key is the power switch. Turn the key to lock it in and power is applied.
> 
> Good Luck


This would probably work as a permanent solution as well--just turn the key to turn the one you want to use on and the other off. Windows should find the hard drive and boot 'er up.

I used to swap hard drives (with OS) all the time on computers we had at work--they were all the exact same MOBOs and memory--identical configuration so you could swap out drives and they would work fine. That was quite a few years ago.

BTW--SATA drives are plug and play in WinXP. But practically speaking, what difference does it make since you'd have to be rebooting anyway when you wanted to change drives.

That's very odd that Win98 you could plug and play hard drives but not in XP?


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## Space Cowboy (Apr 19, 2005)

Mulder said:


> That's very odd that Win98 you could plug and play hard drives but not in XP?


I don't get it either? I may stick a 80mb harddrive in my spare and see what happens  Then again .. Maybe not ..

I have 4 of them total and keep one empty for retreving other peoples data. I only use one 5 1/4" Bay and just keep rotating every week.


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## lotuseclat79 (Sep 12, 2003)

Stoner said:


> No. that's not what I want to accomplish.
> I can and do already run an external drive, but my bios won't boot from one.
> What I'd like to do is have 2 drives set as master, each loaded with their own OS.
> I would like to switch between the two.
> ...


Hi Stoner,

You and I think alike with regard to what you are looking to accomplish.

I dislike the notion of more than one OS on a disk, even to the extent of my current setup which uses Grub for dual boot up with WinXP Pro SP2 and Linux FC3. My goal is complete separation and no other party boot loader intervention.

However, the best of both worlds would be to be able to choose either not to be able to switch (if you are not going to use the other OS and thus leave it in a powered down state), or to be able to switch live to it with the intention of using it for a period of time, then be able to shutdown either one when done and then switch back live to the other OS.

I assume that shared devices like your scanner or printers would have to necessarily be networked on their own separate nodes in order for this to work as I don't see how you could otherwise share the devices with both systems up and running.

-- Tom


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Morning Tom 

My thoughts were to be able to switch drives(both with a bootable OS ) and have one OS completly devoid of recognizing the ethernet card so that there was absolutly no exposure to the internet.

In the past, the removable tray cartridges were not recognized by the bioses. I don't know why other than the bioses in those comps just wouldn't.
They would be recognized by windows, though, as a removable slave.
This Dell I am now using does recognize the tray drive in the bios and boot from it, but the fan noise from the extra fan is bothering me. I have an extreme tenitus problem that is set off by fans and whirring sounds. It's unacceptable.
The tray situation would be acceptable if I had enough extra external bays to install 2 trays and alternate betwen them. And if the extra noise wasn't there.


In the scenario I want, each drive would be configured to only the software and hardware I wanted to use in each case. Rather than run 2 comps like I do now, I'd like to incorporate them into the more powerful one.
I've been using a P200 mmx, offline only, for record keeping and It's time to speed up some tasks especially document scanning and save some space at the same time 


I haven't yet tried the 'ghetto' switch. A power switch would be nice to power down the unrecognized drive, but I've gotten conflicting opinions on that and I probably won't know if it works till I try it


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## saikee (Jun 11, 2004)

The mobile rack mentioned by space cowboy is pretty standard. The solution is cheap, neat and simple.

As far as the hardware connection goes there is nothing inside a mobile frame except the rack is permanently fixed to the PC and the hard disk is fixed only to the caddy drawer. The removable caddy is mated to the stationary rack by a robust parallel port connector used for the printers in the past. The connection is purely electrical as the original system without the mobile rack and so it has nothing to do with the Bios.

I have 5 desktops in the family and over 20 hard disks all in mobile racks.

Try to beat these

(1) Every disk is jumpered as "cable select" therefore suitable for either a master or a slave according to the rack inserted. A rack fixed to the end plug of a ribbon cable is automatically a master and the middle plug is for slave (definition of "cable select"),

(2) All disks can be used as internal hard disks or external hard disks via USB connection to external ecnclosure. I screwed couple of the mobile racks into externel enclosures too. 

(3) Both 3.5" and 2.5" hard disks can be uses internally or externally and master or slave. This is made possible by a couple of 3.5" to 2.5" hdd adaptors inserted into the a laptop 2.5" disk inside the caddy.

(4) Moving a disk from master to slave, internal to external and PC to PC is a matter of seconds. From a brand new hard disk to the ready-fo- use state takes no more than 5 to 10 minutes, the box never needs to be opened once the racks have been installed.

(5) The PC can be run with any number of hard drives, including none as I could run the PC by a Live CD to work between external hard disks. 

(6) I have 60% of the hard drives off line so they are as durable as any method with hardware switches.

(7) I don't rely on any hard disk for booting up a PC. With a Grub floppy, which I also burn into a CD, I have no need for a MBR from a hard disk to boot up a PC but still be able to get to any of the 120 systems I want. Recently I compiled a Grub menu to boot over 100 of them in one box by assembling the systems into 4 hard disks. I know there are users dislike software booting possibly because it is too easy or simple. The Grub floppy is empty inside and has nothing except a boot loader of a size no bigger than 150kbytes. I never met a PC system that cannot be booted by it yet. The Grub menu is just the instructions I used to boot each system up, typically by 3 lines of generic commands.

If a double-post double-throw switch rated for 10 amp is a good enough solution for controlling two hard disks or booting two systems then I have no comment.


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

I just set one of my trays in the Dell I'm using......It's ok as a temp data source, but on all the time, the fan noise is just too much for me.
Actually, my trays are Genica's also.

I used to run multiple drives in other computers, but again, the noise became a problem for me. So I only want to use a setup with one drive powered up.
I actually prefer my less powerful Gateway P3 500 to my P3 800 Dell because it has a passively cooled CPU and is quieter. The Dell is currently just under a level of acceptable noise for me, the fan in the tray now made it an irritant. I'll be pulling the tray back out at lunch time.

That is an interesting set up you have


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

> If a double-post double-throw switch rated for 10 amp is a good enough solution for controlling two hard disks or booting two systems then I have no comment.


?
Do the master/slave jumpers have/need that high a capacity?


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## Space Cowboy (Apr 19, 2005)

Stoner said:


> I just set one of my trays in the Dell I'm using......It's ok as a temp data source, but on all the time, the fan noise is just too much for me.
> Actually, my trays are Genica's also.
> 
> I used to run multiple drives in other computers, but again, the noise became a problem for me. So I only want to use a setup with one drive powered up.
> ...


Jack,
Unplug the fan. I have one where the fan went bad and it took all of about 10 sec. to unplug it.

Good Luck


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## Space Cowboy (Apr 19, 2005)

I just tried putting in another swap cage so I would have two swap hard drives in at the same time and it wants to boot into a Raid or something even though I have the raid disabled in the BIOS?

I'm starting to run outa room on the Raptor so I was going to put the 300gb Seagate in and keep all Audio/Video files on it. Pretty much permanite unless I leave for a few day's then lock it up.

Hmmm

I wonder if I have to set them up as master and slave if I have 2 on the same IDE Channel?


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Space Cowboy said:


> Jack,
> Unplug the fan. I have one where the fan went bad and it took all of about 10 sec. to unplug it.
> 
> Good Luck


How long have you run unplugged and does the HD run much hotter?

I've never run for any extended length of time as a removable data tray, so I'm not familar with how hot they get in the case or if that's even a problem with out the fan.

Noisy bugger


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

> I wonder if I have to set them up as master and slave if I have 2 on the same IDE Channel?


Probably.
But then on my other comps, the bios wouldn't recognize either way. It was always a windows recognition issue and then only as a slave and Device Manager set so they were checkmarked as 'Removable'.


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## Space Cowboy (Apr 19, 2005)

Stoner said:


> How long have you run unplugged and does the HD run much hotter?
> 
> I've never run for any extended length of time as a removable data tray, so I'm not familar with how hot they get in the case or if that's even a problem with out the fan.
> 
> Noisy bugger


It's been unplugged for months. When you install a internal HD you don't put a fan on it so I don't see where it is needed. I have 4 coolermaster case fan's so my temps are very low allready.


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## Space Cowboy (Apr 19, 2005)

Set them up as follows:

C:\ => Sata 76gb Raptor (Boot)

D:\ => WD 120gb All Data & Multimedia Files (Swap Cage As Master)
R:\ => DVD Drive (Reader) Slave

W:\=> DVD\RW (Read\Writer) Master
E :\ => WD 160gb & Seagate 300gb (Swap Cage As Slave => Ghost Backup Drives)

Whataya Thinks


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Stopping the fan didn't seem to affect any heat build up, so that seems ok.
Still don't like the idea of a lot of handling and also possible wear on the tray connector.


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## Space Cowboy (Apr 19, 2005)

Stoner said:


> Stopping the fan didn't seem to affect any heat build up, so that seems ok.
> Still don't like the idea of a lot of handling and also possible wear on the tray connector.


Don't unplug the cage then. It is a pretty robust connector but all you will really need to do is turn the key. That is if you have Two 5 1/4" Bays.

Jack .. If you shop around you can get these for almost nothin and they are plastic so your drives should be safe from any static or mishandling. I think I got all 4 of mine for less than 20 bucks.

Just think .. This way if you go on vacation or outa town you can pull your data drive and lock it in a water/fire proof safe.

Good Luck


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

> Don't unplug the cage then. It is a pretty robust connector but all you will really need to do is turn the key. That is if you have Two 5 1/4" Bays.


No can do. Only have 2 external bays and one is filled with a CD writer.
The only option is to pull a drive and do a tray swap.......or try to set up a switch mechanism like in my first post. Or get another comp with more external bays. Did I mention I'm a 'tight wad' 



> Jack .. If you shop around you can get these for almost nothin and they are plastic so your drives should be safe from any static or mishandling.


I already own 3 of them. Have used them as removable storage in the past when drives were smaller. But not for the comp I use for record keeping. The data there, hasn't been so large as to fill up it's drive. And yes, it's backed up to CD.

I really am not concerned about swapping drives in general.
But, and it's a big one.....I have no intention of constantly handling and swaping out a drive with financial and tax records on it. It needs to be in an isolated environment( in a computer case), undisturbed for the most part. Right now, it's in a standalone comp that has grown old and it's advantageous for me to upgrade. But the switching idea I first posted looks like an idea that combines all the 'positives' with out the 'negatives' that concern me. But, there's always something .....and that is...with that switch layout, the drives are powered up all the time and the extra noise is a pain, literaly. 



> Just think .. This way if you go on vacation or outa town you can pull your data drive and lock it in a water/fire proof safe.


Actually, security from that angle really isn't a driving concern of mine. On site security is A-Ok .... And the backups on CDs are kept in that manner.


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## B.C. (Feb 14, 2007)

Stoner,

I attached a circuit diagram of how to wire the power to your drives using a DPDT switch. It's a bit messy as it was hastily done. The jumpers can be set to Master/Slave, or both to Cable Select. The BIOS should be set to autodetect the drives on the IDE channel.

The black wires (grounds) can be left un-switched. The switch position should only be changed while the system is powered down (obviously). You can use a keyed switch such as this: http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&productId=588297 to help prevent it. (It is P20113 on the data sheet: pins 1 and 5 are hot, and pairs 8/3 and 4/7 are switched.)

In one position, the Master drive receives power, and is autodetected at POST, in the other position, the Slave is powered and detected.

Hope this works for you.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I'm not sure why an external drive or two wouldn't do the trick. I have a stack of USB drives beside my tower for backup, I just turn them on when I need to access them.


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## saikee (Jun 11, 2004)

I know hardware electrical DPDT connectors can be fun to solder with but nowadays 

external USB hard disks are bootable, 

hard disks in mobile racks and caddies are swappable by "cable select", 

nearly all modern Bios can arrange the booting queue in any order one wishes to, 

the new eSata connection protocol is out for hotplug Sata disks, 

boot loaders are able to swap hard disks order on-the-fly 

is it really necessary to switch hard disk independently by self assembled electrical switches?

On the economic side of it a DPDT electrical switch rated at 5A or 10A will cost as much as 35% of two mobile racks for Pata disks which can offer the functionalities of 

(1) No need to bother with jumper position once set to "cable select"
(2) Any one disk can be used - same as an electrical switch
(3) Both disks can be used simultaneously
(4) Both disks can have Master and Slave positions swapped.
(5) No soldering required. Everything is plug and play.
(6) Unlimited additional disks can be freely introduced to the system.
(7) Disk swapping and removal can be done in less than a minute (after PC powered down, save as an electrical switch)
(8) All disks can be removed if needed for security a or disgnostic purposes.


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## B.C. (Feb 14, 2007)

As far as needing a 10A switch, even a 150GB Raptor seldom exceeds 10W total power consumption, so a 4A switch does suffice (at least I've never had an issue). I'm not sure where you shop, but if $5 is 35% of the cost of two mobile racks and caddies, then kudos to you.

This is posed as a low budget solution to a specific 'problem' posed by Stoner. It seems he doesn't want to spend a great deal of money buying removable this, USB that, and eSATA the other thing. Not to mention, _his_ BIOS mat not boot from USB (there are A LOT of systems still in use that don't).

He simply wants to move a hard drive along with it's O/S into an existing box with a simple way to switch between those two operating systems inside his sealed box while having the other drive INERT.

Sorry if that came off as a rant; it was not intended.


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## saikee (Jun 11, 2004)

B.C.

I am not attacking your solution although it does look I did. I was merely putting forward the various possibilities, based exclusively on technical merits.

In UK we can get a mobile rack for GBP5 and so two would be 10 Sterling pounds. A good quality DPDT switch can set us back for 3.5 Sterling pounds.

I had been thinking of fitting such a switch myself in the distant past but the advance in the bios had overtaken me by allowing users to freely choose different disks to boot first, thus I never had such a need again. If one sticks with old equipment then it is a different story.

I use mobile racks extensively between 4 PCs and I screwed them on the external enclosures too. Thus all my hard disks can be used as either master or slave, internally or externally and in any combination. Both 2.5" (requires adaptor) and 3.5" disks can be used on mobile racks. So much is missed out by pinning two hard disks down with an electrical switch.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

B.C. said:


> As far as needing a 10A switch, even a 150GB Raptor seldom exceeds 10W total power consumption, so a 4A switch does suffice (at least I've never had an issue). I'm not sure where you shop, but if $5 is 35% of the cost of two mobile racks and caddies, then kudos to you.


Is $5.95/ea good enough to qualify? http://www.computergate.com/products/item.cfm?prodcd=XMRL26A

I use these here, they work just fine.


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## TheTeZ (May 15, 2007)

so i see a few people in this thread have made the home made hard drive switches... 
I made one yesterday, and it sorta works, i mean the switch is wired up and all, but im not positive about ths bios or jumpers... ive got them both set to master, and the problem is depending on where the switch is .. switched.... the comp will boot to the newer os, or it will get a hard drive error, then boot to the newer os.... [if i only plug in one at a time either will boot up, so the HDD's do work]

can anyone help me, by telling me specifically what needs to be plugged in where... and what settings need to be what in the bios.


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

TheTeZ said:


> so i see a few people in this thread have made the home made hard drive switches...
> I made one yesterday, and it sorta works, i mean the switch is wired up and all, but im not positive about ths bios or jumpers... ive got them both set to master, and the problem is depending on where the switch is .. switched.... the comp will boot to the newer os, or it will get a hard drive error, then boot to the newer os.... [if i only plug in one at a time either will boot up, so the HDD's do work]
> 
> can anyone help me, by telling me specifically what needs to be plugged in where... and what settings need to be what in the bios.


In the first post, I gave a link to the method of connecting the switch.
http://www.dvhardware.net/modules.php?name=Sections&sop=viewarticle&artid=4
The down side was that both hard drives always ran, using extra power and putting wear on one HD that was seeing little use.
Turning off the power to the unused HD wouldn't allow the computer to boot.

Removable hard drive trays was a better idea, imo.


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## Raiser (Sep 5, 2007)

B.C. said:


> Stoner,
> 
> I attached a circuit diagram of how to wire the power to your drives using a DPDT switch. It's a bit messy as it was hastily done. The jumpers can be set to Master/Slave, or both to Cable Select. The BIOS should be set to autodetect the drives on the IDE channel.
> 
> ...


Hi All,

First post on these Fora, but have been lurking for a while - am currently researching this same situation for much the same reasons as described by *Stoner* - I plan on using a *5A* [Awaiting delivery; hopefully an adequate rating - please comment if not ] DPDT switch and am hoping to switch the +5V & +12V from the Molex connector. The aim here is to have a completely different OS and storage partition for different usage patterns/reqs. I also do not want to have a redundant disk spinning needlessly, nor do I want the idle disk to be accessible in any sense to the alternate OS or its User.

Now to get to the point - I'd love to hear from somebody who has implemented the above solution as described so helpfully by *B.C.* I've read elsewhere on the broad Intarweb that there may be issues whereby one IDE drive is connected to the IDE cable but is [alternately & at different times] powered down leading to data bounce-back and data errors  etc. etc. - Would it be best to have both of these on the same IDE channel or to split them and have one share with the DVD-ROM - as it happens, for one of the drives there will be no requirement to use the DVD-ROM drive concurrently with the HD meaning that this shouldn't be an issue performance-wise.

- Would love to hear any considerations, advice or warning of pitfalls in advance of falling into any pits 

Regards,

Raiser


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## lotuseclat79 (Sep 12, 2003)

Stoner said:


> In the first post, I gave a link to the method of connecting the switch.
> http://www.dvhardware.net/modules.php?name=Sections&sop=viewarticle&artid=4
> The down side was that both hard drives always ran, using extra power and putting wear on one HD that was seeing little use.
> Turning off the power to the unused HD wouldn't allow the computer to boot.
> ...


Hi Jack,

Wow, this thread is still alive - whodathought?

I now run Linux from a Live CD and for security reasons unmount my hard drives - and I only have a piddly 1GB of RAM.

There is a package known as sdparm that allows me to send a command to my Linux disk (which is spinning) and stop it: sdparm --command=stop /dev/sdb
Of course, a corresponding command exists to spin it up again (start).

I have not tried it on my WinXP disk (I should though), but since it also is a SATA drive it should work.

Have you thought of any free virtualization software like Virtualbox? The proprietary solution if free for personal use and I would choose that over the open source freeware approach which has functionality missing. I know, I know - not a hardware switch, but capable of running multiple OSs. I prefer a one disk - one OS approach myself.

-- Tom


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Hi Tom......With the advent of rootkits and trojans that can be flashed in to hardware's firmware, I've decided to continue keeping all my financial records in an offline computer.

The Live CD concept is still vulnerable to that concept because theoretically every time the computer is rebooted, out pops the code from the hardware and the rootkit/malware reinstalled.

I remembering reading of a rootkit app that even inspected the firmware of all hardware, looking for suspicious code.

It's not a common problem yet from what I've read, but I suspect it will become so.


Anyway, for backups on my online Acer that I don't want constant exposure to, I've taken the easy route and installed a removable tray.


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## lotuseclat79 (Sep 12, 2003)

Stoner said:


> Hi Tom......With the advent of rootkits and trojans that can be flashed in to hardware's firmware, I've decided to continue keeping all my financial records in an offline computer.
> 
> The Live CD concept is still vulnerable to that concept because theoretically every time the computer is rebooted, out pops the code from the hardware and the rootkit/malware reinstalled.
> 
> ...


HI Jack,

Good choice on keeping financial records offline - I don't keep any online myself.

Theoretically, maybe, however, that kind of attack comes only from someone after a highly valued target. With my dialup - what would a cracker gain - no financial records or identity docs, and really nothing of value as my machine is not on the Inet 24/7 and would be incapable of acting as a member of a botnet gang to spread spam. Anyone who would go to those lengths is after a much bigger target than my footprint.

Those kind of rootkits get spread by malformed website code which then take advantage of vulnerable computer systems - mostly Windows.

As long as I use common sense in where I surf - I should not have any problems.

-- Tom


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## Raiser (Sep 5, 2007)

lotuseclat79 said:


> HI Jack,
> 
> Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........Chat between two old friends...........
> 
> -- Tom


I thought the thread topic was "Hard Drive Selector" ? No offense intended here but if two folks want to chat on a public messageboard over a cup of tea then go seek out the Private Message button. 

_P.S. I know that this isn't my thread but do I really need to create a duplicate thread for this ? - I really don't think its a productive option or that it should be required._


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## lotuseclat79 (Sep 12, 2003)

Hi Raiser,

Looks like if you insist on not reading the entire thread and posting such nonsense where you edit the quoted material to very poorly make you point - you can easily be given a timeout by a moderator. Whining is such a poor way to make a good impression the first time - no 2nd time you post, but you've already blown that.

Despite you rwhining, evidently you cannot engage in a cogent discussion on the issues involved. Recommend you start from the first post and follow it through - you might learn something.

-- Tom


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## Raiser (Sep 5, 2007)

I'll repeat the fact that I meant no offence; but the message just ain't getting through to you Tom -If your pride is hurt then just send me a Private Message to complain..... If however you want to add to the thread, then please keep it on topic - thus you will become a contributer rather than a pedantic detractor.

Incidentally I have read this thread in its entirety; and I can reassure you that despite your your fears of a "botnet gang" "spreading spam" from your PC [All incredibly off-topic of course] - by far the greatest source of spam from said location seems to be emanating from your _"Submit Reply"_ button 

_P.S. My post-count here is a very poor metric of who I am, my abilities or anything else about me. As for your post-count, I hope you didn't maintain this stilted ethos, mis-placed cyber-vigilantism and general poor, petty form in the rest of your 6,315 posts......_


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

OK, let's knock off the argument and personal insults. Perhaps a review of the TSG Rules is in order.


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

Raiser said:


> I thought the thread topic was "Hard Drive Selector" ? No offense intended here but if two folks want to chat on a public messageboard over a cup of tea then go seek out the Private Message button.
> 
> _P.S. I know that this isn't my thread but do I really need to create a duplicate thread for this ? - I really don't think its a productive option or that it should be required._


I suggest you reread the thread again for the purpose of why it wasn't a viable idea.
BTW, I started the thread and so far, you've offered nothing constructive.

Requesting the thread be closed to prevent further trolling.


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## Cookiegal (Aug 27, 2003)

Closing thread as requested by the thread starter. I suggest anyone interested in getting more information should start a thread of their own for that purpose.


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