Off topic. Can I replace my C drive without - Answer - YES!

[James.UK]

Hiya Mike..

All the techies I know just tell me I have to reformat!! that seems to be the be-all and end-all of C drive problems..

And they all tell me there is no way to replace a C drive without a complete reinstall to the new drive!! eeekkk!! Jims the only one to say it can be done another way..

If you backup (your way), then add a new C drive and put WinXP on it, will that then be able to copy the backed up files onto itself? I tried that with Ghost once and as it was overwriting itself it all went blank!! I lost not only my C drive but the ghost file I had saved on my D drive as wellll!!! duhhh...
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[MikeT]

Hi James,

Not all self-proclaimed techies are competent in this matter. Either that or they're just being too lazy to explain how it can be done. But if you decide to take my advice, you will realise it's not so difficult and you can then judge who are the deserving techies

But yes, if you create a Full Backup including System State Data using the NTbackup program then you will always have the same backup program wherever you have XP, enabling you to restore said backup.

With XP Pro you can go one step further and create an Automated System Recovery Set but I generally don't advise it.

There are many reasons I don't approve of Ghost or other imaging utilities too, but as most people that try it do get (seemingly) good results it becomes a well-promtoted product.

Anyway, if you don't have NTbackup (which comes free with XP) already installed (Start> All Programs> Accessories> System Tools> Backup) then you can install it from the XP Setup CD:\VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP

As long as you keep your original C drive "as is" then you can experiment with any method your prefer. HTH

[CitroJim]

There are many reasons I don't approve of Ghost or other imaging utilities too, but as most people that try it do get (seemingly) good results it becomes a well-promtoted product.

Ghost is excellent Mike, I use it almost daily for doing vary rapid disk imaging. I do concede it has its limitations though...

James,

Thanks for the server report. My Pipex ADSL has been playing up and did some really weird things this afternoon like allowing me to browse anywhere and everywhere on the 'net EXCEPT the FCF and BX Club Then it all came good and has remained so. Explain that one

[James.UK]

Hiya Mike.

And yes I do have "backup" in my system tools. Thanks for the info, I will try both methods and report back after I have done so.. Meanwhile -- lol --

I am considering using my existing D drive (40 GIG) as a replacement for my C drive, I will swop the ide and power leads over and use those that the C drive was on, then make it a "master" instead of a slave drive.. Will that be ok? I will then install WinXP on it to run the transfer of backup? (sounds dead iffy don't it) lmho

I can easily copy all the stuff on "D" over to my G drive as there is no operating system on it, just programmes like paintshop pro, Video edit, MS office 2003 etc etc. and I can make sure they all work before moving on.

After all that is done I will probably buy another drive to replace my D drive and then --- all should be well for a few more years!! *crosses fingers, toes and everything else crossable!! lol..

Jim. The internet works in mysterious ways huh? lmho...

I am extremely surprised that some Co hasn't made a CD that enables people to replace their C drives without having to reformat..
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[MikeT]

Jim, I used to like ghost and it's no doubt improved a great deal since. It's just not something I personally feel comfortable promoting even though Microsoft do - if not just because I wouldn't know how to use it now anyway. But I have several good reasons not to want to, some professional and some personal. Horses for courses I guess

James, yes, best practice is to configure your boot disk as Primary Master though modern PC BIOS's can boot from just about any drive now. How many disks have you got? If you have more than one disk when you setup XP afresh, make sure you identify the correct drive before your partition/format it!!. Don't trust drive letter alone, they can be re-ordered when you remove a drive from the system. Check & identify the disks first by attributes Volume Name and Total Disk Space.

[James.UK]

Hi Mike, I will double check before I install, thanks for reminder.. My 3 internal drives dont actually have names, just letters, but I can check their sizes.

Meanwhile all is not going to plan!! My "D" drive wont copy all of its files to my G drive... grrrr Sez certain files are in use.. and or.. can't be copied?

Also I have realised that the copy I made of my "C" drive tonight will have to be redone AFTER I move the "D" drive files over to the "G" drive, otherwise all the links to "D" drive programmes on the backup file will be obsolete! arghhh ...

The programmes I managed to copy over do work, but -- are they working direct from my "C" drive? or .. are they working via the original copies on the "D" drive? lol.. And -- will they still work once I delete the originals?? uh ohhhh Gets rather complicated dont it!!!!

I may have to revise my original plan of using my "D" to replace "C" drive if the programmes fail to copy across, and buy a new drive to replace my "C" drive instead..
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[MikeT]

James, when you backup "C" and "System State Data" just include "D" and all will be preserved. I didn't realise you had your programs spread across several disks so it's best include them all in your backup.

The things is, while the operating system is in use, it protects certain files which is why you can't simply copy important files that are locked. Being a microsoft product, backup can get around that and will allow these files to be copied.

[wrinklet1]

James, get a new hard drive, you can pick up a large capacity hard drive from www.scan.co.uk , put it in your pc as slave, boot your pc and it will find it, then go on www.cnet.com and download a free partitioning program, partition the new drive, once done, just drag anything thats on your c drive that you can do, eg, music, photo's etc. Leave the programs that you havent got the discs for on c drive. once done, delete dragged item from your c drive.
Use microsoft disk clean up and then defragment c drive.
your c drive will have a lot of space, you will have lots of new storage space and your pc will run quicker.
Dont bother using ghost type programs they only slow your pc down
Another thing to do it go into startup and look at the programs that are running in the background, maybe you can stop some from running. That will also speed up your pc.
I make up computers so this wiould be your best idea
Paul

[James.UK]

Hi again!! lol.. Ok I think you need some more info as to how I have my PC setup..

My "C" drive is a 20 GIG drive and approx 5 years old.. It contains MS office and a few other critical programmes inc AOL and all my anti virus stuff, total free space on it is 22% so 2 GIG ish..

All my other programmes eg "Flight Simulator" "Photoshop pro" etc are on either the "D" (40 GIG) or the "G" (SATA 300 GIG) Drives, as are all my photohraphs, text files, home Videos etc.. I also have copies of all my non-programme stuff on a removeable USB Drive "H" (500 GIG) ..

But I have noticed that adding stuff to my other drives still takes up space on my "C" drive.. I assume that's because it loads information, links, etc etc.. in WinXP system files etc.. And therin lies part of the problem, = my "C" is slowly but surely filling up!! ..

To make things even worse. my "C" drive is old and slow! PCPitstop gives my drive speeds as "C" = 25 .. "D" = 53 .. "G" = 55 .. so as you can see the "C" is slowing everything down and really does needs replacing..

Back to the present problems.. I would like to keep my "C" fairly empty with only my essential programmes on it, so I think a 60 GIG would be plenty big enough.. As you can see I am not exactly short of space overall!!! lmho..

I will deff buy a new drive this weekend to replace the existing "C" drive, so while i still have time to shop around, what sort of drive would be best? I know it must be IDE rather than a SATA drive, what about umm "up front RAM"? Should it have it? and if so, how much is best?

As it's the most important drive of all, I am prepared to pay quite a lot for it, I certainly don't want a cheap drive that may prove to be unreliable!! ooeerr lol.. I also intend to buy a new copy of WinXP as my old one had problems finding some of it's files last time I used it.. (feb 2006)

The back-up file I made yesterday is ermm big? like its 11.9 GIG!!!! lol and that's just my "C" drive!! and it took nearly 2 hours to complete and verify.. Still -- nothing worthwhile is ever easy huh? lol.

[MikeT]

I can imagine after 5 years use your system drive is in a very sorry state for sure. While a new drive will offer more capacity and possibly faster throughput, it too will be underperforming if problematic files are restored from your backup. Hopefully, it's just a case of your drive (clusters) slowly failing which can also cost performance.

Personally, I see little point worrying about the differences between hard drive performance - they're all slow IMO. Though you're correct in assuming that any on-disk cache means it has a buffer that will reduce read/write delays. No drive is infallable, they will all fail at some point so it's more important you learn how to easily backup and restore, rather than concern yourself with disk reliability.

From now until next week, I expect to be extrememly busy and won't have much opportunity to post here so don't think I've abandoned you if I don't reply soon. However, there's lots of good free advice all over the 'net (as well as some very dodgy advice!). What you want to look for is advice on how to safely find and delete virus, spyware, rootkits, adware, duplicated files & orphaned files.

I highly recommend AVGFree & Spybot Search & Destroy for malware removal.

[James.UK]

Hiya mike.. ermm I already have those lol I also run sygate, regedit, and NOD32.

I use a certain internet docking PC programme every week that searches my PC but does not rectify any faults it finds, but -- it does allow me to download the information regarding any found files.. Sooo I then go to the location and delete the files manually if any are found. 8) goodinnit!

As for the new drive I have been told about a very good local shop, so will visit it over the weekend. 8)
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[MikeT]

Good to know you're free from malware, you certainly don't want to be backing up and restoring those! How much ram is installed?

[James.UK]

Hiya Mike..

I have installed 2 RAM sticks of ! GIG DDR 400 something? mpg? lol.. So I have a total of 2 GIGs of RAM. I had to leave the central slot empty or I can't run on duel core?.. I did want to upgrade the RAM but I was unable to find any 2 GIG sticks of 400? and my motherboard wont take the DDR 800 (so I am informed)..

My M/board is an NF7 series approx 2 years old now... Hmm I will try to add a pic of my PC layout if I can get photobucket to work..

My PC is stood on an old VHS player that still works very well via my AverTV card.. I built my PC on the kitchen table and it's been there ever since! I had to buy another kitchen table for mealtimes.. lmho..

My desktop pic is of Charmouth in Dorset (looking Westward toward Lyme Regis) where I spend my holidays most years. I keep most of my shortcuts in a folder on my desktop so as not to spoil the picture..


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[MikeT]

1GB per core is fine, any more doesn't really see much returns unless a specific application needs more.

[Homer]

James, download HDClone here: http://www.miray.de/download/sat.hdclone.html

That looks handy.

I've replaced many C: drives without having to reinstall Windows. Up to Win98 it was a simple matter of making the new drive bootable then copying all the files over. Anyone who says it is difficult really doesn't qualify as a PC techie.

Maxtor have a nice utility which does it all for you, even tells you what changes you need to make to swap the drives over. Unfortunately only works if one of the dives is a Maxtor.

Although, if your Windows install is that old it's really time to think about starting again.