Thanks K,

I have a second hard disk in the PC anyway.

I use Retrospect to copy to it every night using their system that keeps the files that have been changed. It does clog up fairly quickly but it's a comfort to know that something you deleted, or overwrote in error, is recoverable.

In the case of a disk crash on my C: it would have everything from yesterday, but be no good for restoring software.

When the drive D: gets too full I copy everything from C: to an external firewire drive using the other Retrospect prog that copies everything that has change. I then purge my D: and start again.

And finally, each night I use something called Karen's Replicator to copy my data files to an office server, which is taped. The previous night's tapes are taken off the premises each night in case the building gets straffed over night.

All of which still does not do what Acronis looks to be capable of doing, namely re-loading all my progs.

TP

TP

If you are simply installing a new disk all you have to do is install the new hard disk as a secondary, run your partition management program which should have an option to copy your entire disk to the new device and enlarge the partition to the size of the new disk. When it's done, you simply swap the cables around, and remove the old disk if you want to.

The True Image program that Bolshi referes to has an option to backup the entire disk image as a file on another disk which can then be imported onto the existing or a new disk. Although you need a lot of backup disk space, it is an excellent way to backup your system but you do not require that just to transfer to a new HDD.

TP - agreed, if you're partition software can copy/ghost from one hard drive to another you don't necessarily need something like True Image. It sounds like you have a fairly good backup strategy in any case :-)

I suppose this second hard disk strategy could be a good safety net for my 'Restore' issues. Probably cheaper than other options and as long as it's bootable I suppose.

Op,

Well that's easy then. Install the new hard disk as the secondary and follow your work flow.

And Partition management is within Win 2000 - or I need to download it?

K,

"It sounds like you have a fairly good backup strategy in any case :-)"

Yes, once, or actually several times, bitten once shy. I also have a folder called Sources into which I put the downloaded installation software for the myriad of progs I use. Saves a heck of a time if one is doing a clean installation, as long as they are copied to somewhere I can access.

TP



TP

TP

No! partition management is not part of Win2K or XP. I used it as a generic term for the software which you will have to install.

If you Google "partition managers" you will find plenty of options. It appears that the one I was refering to is now called Paragon Partition Manager but there are loads of others.

Op,

I thought that was what you meant.

As ever I'd opt for the one that someone around here has used and found OK.

Taking a long weekend so off in a mo'.

Thanks for all the advice, friends.


TP

I have an 80GB hard disk and it was divided into 8 x 10GB partitions by my computer maker.

The first partition is called 'Drive C' and, as you can imagine, it is well full. It carries the Windows XP Professional operating system and is hovering at around only 16% empty.

When I download software from the Internet, I pop the actual (usually zipped) download file into a named folder after installing it. I then save these individual download folders in a separate 'Downloads' master folder on one of the partitions.

I use two partitions, together with a separate external hard drive, for backup purposes.

Thus I have all my programs for re-installation on either a CD or on this one partition and all my data on one of the other partitions and also on my separate external hard drive.

Most of the other partitions are completely empty.

I would think a completely fresh re-install of Windows would be best, as it would clear out what may well be a very cluttered Registry. However, here's my question:

Q. Is it possible to resize the partition, which I call 'Drive C' without doing a clean re-install of Windows?

Doc
VCom do a product called Partition Commander, 29. Not used it myself (no partitions) but do use their Fix-It utilities.
http://www.shop.avanquest.com/uk/prod.php?pid=1979

Bolshi

It says:-

"Redistribute Disk Space - Easily increase free space in a partition by moving unused space from another partition on the same drive. Windows alone cant do this, and without VCom Partition Commander, this procedure requires a complex sequence of resising and moving of partitions and data. The built-in wizard performs all the necessary actions in a few easy steps."

This looks like it does just the job I want. Thank you. :-)

Get the right download for your Windows system for Internet Explorer 7 Release Candidate 1 - Beta

Browser Add-ons are also available wth a link from the above site:-

Browser add-ons can help personalize the way you use the Internet. The add-ons available here have been carefully screened by Microsoft and rated by users to help you select the ones that suit your needs and preferences. eg,

Online Protection
Parental Controls
Pop-Up Blockers
Privacy

Auto-Fill Forms
Bookmark Managers
Business Tools
Developer Tools
Download Managers
Tools and Utilities
Web Feeds

Offline Browsers
Other Browsers

Animation (Flash) Players
Design Tools
Digital Photography
Music and Audio Players
Video Players

The add-ons available here have been carefully screened by Microsoft

Let's hope it's more careful than the feckless screening of their own products.

I tried an earlier beta of IE7 and it had an unusal problem which may be particularly revelant to traders - it wasn't possible to open and maximise IE windows on two screens with F11. Maybe they've fixed this by now, although the chances are that IE7 will still be full of bugs when it's launched so this may still be one of them.

It was also extremely difficult at the time to get back to IE6 and the process involved doing a system restore under XP.

Kyoto. You say "It was also extremely difficult at the time to get back to IE6 and the process involved doing a system restore under XP. "
Groan :-(
I've loaded IE7.3 Beta. I think it works fine but my provider, BT/Yahoo sys their browser doesn't support it and shouldn't be used! Darn it! Oh well, I'll plough on with it until something bad happens.

Bolshi

"BT/Yahoo sys their browser doesn't support it"

I'm not sure what you mean?

Doc. My browser is BT/Yahoo and I had a problem with an error message that kept cropping up on start up, so I sent their helpdesk a message and they said..........

"I would like to inform you that BT Yahoo! Browser and BT Broadband Desktop Help are not compatible with the Internet Explorer version 7. Therefore, I request you to downgrade the Internet Explorer version from 7 to 6. "

I solved my initial query by deleting the BT helpdesk program!

Doc

Thanks for the reminder. I've just upgraded to RC1 (from Beta 3). Apart from crashing the install program twice, which was mainly due to my system configuration, my initial impression is that it is a lot faster than the previous beta versions and is using less memory.

Bolshi

My rule is NEVER use an ISP that insists that you install their software or use their home page.

Win XP Pro SP2 fully updated. Turned on my pc yesterday afternoon and found that both my optical drives are missing their drivers (apparently) and do not appear in the drive listing in explorer. Windows cannot re-install the drivers, it says they are missing or corrupted. I have uninstalled both and allowed the hardware detection to find them, but it does not install the drivers. I have been in the usual circles with the supposed windows trouble shooter. It advises me to do what I have already tried, ie re-installing the drives. Now for both my CDRW and my DVD drives to go at once is highly suspicious, they re both on the same IDE channel, so I suspected a loose cable or plug, but they are ok. They are both recognised correctly by the bios and by windows but I do not believe that both drivers were corrupted at the same time. I run Zone Alarm and AVG updated daily.
Of course I cannot re load drivers from the CD since the CD and DVD drives are the problem. Should I try the old original driver on the Win XP discs? I have tried to find drivers on the inet but can only find flash firmware upgrades for the Sony and nothing for the LG The devices are:
LG DVD ROM GDR861B and Sony CDRW CRX210E1
Many thanks

rpaco

I doubt that it is a driver problem, as I would expect the standard Windows drivers to at least make the drives partially usable.

Have you any software installed which could take control of the drives? Have you tried running in safe mode to see if they work?

You could also try disconnecting the drives, booting Windows, shutting down and then connecting one drive to a different IDE channel.

OK, 1) Same in safe mode, dirves recognised ans listed on Device manager but showing E

Sorry about above, (typing in akward conditions) I meant:
1) Same in safe mode. dirves show as "!" on device manager
2) Have swapped ide cables, same result, both optical drives U/S
3) Swapped ide channels and firstly same results ie no optical drives usable but then on 50% of boots my primary drive not found resulting in NTLDER not found.
So its my guess that my not very old ASRock motherboard is knacked.
Please give your opinion.
Also somewhere is the boot log but I cant find the damn thing to see if there is a record of some drivers not loading. Any idea where it is and what it's called in XP Pro?