Dell 8400 & PartitionMagic?

David

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I have a Dell Dimension 8400 and am trying to put a backup partition on it.
Every time I click the "create a backup partition" and click next in the pop
up box another little pop up box pops up stating "The selected disk contains
one or more partitions which cannot be moved. To complete this task use the
Operations menu rather than a wizard." In the Partition Operations the
Create partition is darkened out so I can't click it. I have never used
PartitionMagic before and know I am missing a step but don't know what. I
haven't installed any partitions. I have a 250GB hard drive with about 5%
used. I have change the drive letters on the DVD & CD drives so this can't
be the problem. I would appreciate any help on this problem.
david
 
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"david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
news:KpCJd.25458$8u5.4204@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>I have a Dell Dimension 8400 and am trying to put a backup partition on it.
>Every time I click the "create a backup partition" and click next in the
>pop up box another little pop up box pops up stating "The selected disk
>contains one or more partitions which cannot be moved. To complete this
>task use the Operations menu rather than a wizard." In the Partition
>Operations the Create partition is darkened out so I can't click it. I
>have never used PartitionMagic before and know I am missing a step but
>don't know what. I haven't installed any partitions. I have a 250GB hard
>drive with about 5% used. I have change the drive letters on the DVD & CD
>drives so this can't be the problem. I would appreciate any help on this
>problem.
> david
>


There are (2) hidden partitions on your 8400 from the factory; one is approx
40mb (utility partition) which contains diags and the OS boot record. The
other (ranges from 3.5 to 4.6gb) is a hidden duplicate restore image of your
OS, software and drivers as the machine was configured out of the box.

What you want to do from here is up to you. In effect, you already have a
backup partition minus any created data or added apps.


Stew
 
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Some friendly advice: You want to read a lot about disk partitioning in
general and particularly the documentation that comes with Partition Magic.
This is not software that you want to use without knowing exactly what you
need to do.

If your hard disk has only one partition - C: - you'll need to shrink the
size of that partition in order to create unpartitioned space.

Ted Zieglar

"david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
news:KpCJd.25458$8u5.4204@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>I have a Dell Dimension 8400 and am trying to put a backup partition on it.
>Every time I click the "create a backup partition" and click next in the
>pop up box another little pop up box pops up stating "The selected disk
>contains one or more partitions which cannot be moved. To complete this
>task use the Operations menu rather than a wizard." In the Partition
>Operations the Create partition is darkened out so I can't click it. I
>have never used PartitionMagic before and know I am missing a step but
>don't know what. I haven't installed any partitions. I have a 250GB hard
>drive with about 5% used. I have change the drive letters on the DVD & CD
>drives so this can't be the problem. I would appreciate any help on this
>problem.
> david
>
 
G

Guest

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"Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com> wrote:

>"david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote

>>I have a Dell Dimension 8400 and am trying to put a backup partition on it.
>>Every time I click the "create a backup partition" and click next in the
>>pop up box another little pop up box pops up stating "The selected disk
>>contains one or more partitions which cannot be moved. To complete this
>>task use the Operations menu rather than a wizard." In the Partition
>>Operations the Create partition is darkened out so I can't click it. I
>>have never used PartitionMagic before and know I am missing a step but
>>don't know what. I haven't installed any partitions. I have a 250GB hard
>>drive with about 5% used. I have change the drive letters on the DVD & CD
>>drives so this can't be the problem. I would appreciate any help on this
>>problem.
>> david

>Some friendly advice: You want to read a lot about disk partitioning in
>general and particularly the documentation that comes with Partition Magic.
>This is not software that you want to use without knowing exactly what you
>need to do.

Let me echo and reinforce Ted's words. I've been using PM since
DOS days, and if I haven't used it during the last year, I
*always* scan through the manual before going forward, even if
I'm "sure" that I'm doing such a simple change that it shouldn't
be necessary.

In your case, had you done so, you would have known what to look
for in the initial screens, before you embarked on doing an
operation, either via one of the wizards, or through menu
control, and seen those two "hidden" partition Stew told you
about in his response to your post.

I may not RTFM on the latest MS Word version, or whatever, but I
never fail to read the PM manual if, as I said above, I haven't
used it in quite a while.

>If your hard disk has only one partition - C: - you'll need to shrink the
>size of that partition in order to create unpartitioned space.

That, too. Between the two "hidden" partitions and the factory
set C: primary partition/drive, your HD hasn't any free space to
create a new partition from.
--
OJ III
[Email to Yahoo address may be burned before reading.
Lower and crunch the sig and you'll net me at comcast.]
 
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Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

What are the present partition sizes (in order) and what do you want the
final result to be? I'll try and make it easy.

Brian



"david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
news:KpCJd.25458$8u5.4204@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>I have a Dell Dimension 8400 and am trying to put a backup partition on it.
>Every time I click the "create a backup partition" and click next in the
>pop up box another little pop up box pops up stating "The selected disk
>contains one or more partitions which cannot be moved. To complete this
>task use the Operations menu rather than a wizard." In the Partition
>Operations the Create partition is darkened out so I can't click it. I
>have never used PartitionMagic before and know I am missing a step but
>don't know what. I haven't installed any partitions. I have a 250GB hard
>drive with about 5% used. I have change the drive letters on the DVD & CD
>drives so this can't be the problem. I would appreciate any help on this
>problem.
> david
>
 

David

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"S.Lewis" <stew1960@cover.bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:TJCJd.9632$ud3.1763@bignews1.bellsouth.net...
>
> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
> news:KpCJd.25458$8u5.4204@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>>I have a Dell Dimension 8400 and am trying to put a backup partition on
>>it. Every time I click the "create a backup partition" and click next in
>>the pop up box another little pop up box pops up stating "The selected
>>disk contains one or more partitions which cannot be moved. To complete
>>this task use the Operations menu rather than a wizard." In the Partition
>>Operations the Create partition is darkened out so I can't click it. I
>>have never used PartitionMagic before and know I am missing a step but
>>don't know what. I haven't installed any partitions. I have a 250GB hard
>>drive with about 5% used. I have change the drive letters on the DVD & CD
>>drives so this can't be the problem. I would appreciate any help on this
>>problem.
>> david
>>
>
>
> There are (2) hidden partitions on your 8400 from the factory; one is
> approx 40mb (utility partition) which contains diags and the OS boot
> record. The other (ranges from 3.5 to 4.6gb) is a hidden duplicate
> restore image of your OS, software and drivers as the machine was
> configured out of the box.
>
> What you want to do from here is up to you. In effect, you already have a
> backup partition minus any created data or added apps.
>
>
> Stew
Thank you Stew for the quick response. I did see the two hidden partitions
on my "C" drive. One at 47mb and the other at 3.5gb, but don't know about
the backup partition?
Thanks again.
david
 

David

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Thank you Ted Zieglar for the response and advice. I read through the
PartitionMagic Quick start guide that came with the program, but it didn't
say anything about having to shrink the existing drive before using the
wizard. I also read the user guide which also didn't elaborate upon having
to shrink the existing "C" drive partition magic before using the wizard. I
did though think I had to, but wanted to get advice from this newsgroup
before using it..
Thanks again.
david

"Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com> wrote in message
news:eKCdnbsws7cSimrcRVn-gw@comcast.com...
> Some friendly advice: You want to read a lot about disk partitioning in
> general and particularly the documentation that comes with Partition
> Magic. This is not software that you want to use without knowing exactly
> what you need to do.
>
> If your hard disk has only one partition - C: - you'll need to shrink the
> size of that partition in order to create unpartitioned space.
>
> Ted Zieglar
>
> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
> news:KpCJd.25458$8u5.4204@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>>I have a Dell Dimension 8400 and am trying to put a backup partition on
>>it. Every time I click the "create a backup partition" and click next in
>>the pop up box another little pop up box pops up stating "The selected
>>disk contains one or more partitions which cannot be moved. To complete
>>this task use the Operations menu rather than a wizard." In the Partition
>>Operations the Create partition is darkened out so I can't click it. I
>>have never used PartitionMagic before and know I am missing a step but
>>don't know what. I haven't installed any partitions. I have a 250GB hard
>>drive with about 5% used. I have change the drive letters on the DVD & CD
>>drives so this can't be the problem. I would appreciate any help on this
>>problem.
>> david
>>
>
 
G

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Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

No offense, but this is a BAD idea.

If you create this as your backup partition and the drive fails, ALL the
paritions fail. You'll lose your primary AND you backup.

Get a cheap external USB2 drive and backup to that. Even better, keep it
outside your house when not backing up.

Tom
"david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
news:HXGJd.90228$w62.77139@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> Thank you Ted Zieglar for the response and advice. I read through the
> PartitionMagic Quick start guide that came with the program, but it didn't
> say anything about having to shrink the existing drive before using the
> wizard. I also read the user guide which also didn't elaborate upon having
> to shrink the existing "C" drive partition magic before using the wizard.
> I did though think I had to, but wanted to get advice from this newsgroup
> before using it..
> Thanks again.
> david
 

David

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19,780
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"Ogden Johnson III" <oj3usmc@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:q18ev051aupnfnm7guugao38pp1jg171t4@4ax.com...
> "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com> wrote:
>
>>"david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote
>
>>>I have a Dell Dimension 8400 and am trying to put a backup partition on
>>>it.
>>>Every time I click the "create a backup partition" and click next in the
>>>pop up box another little pop up box pops up stating "The selected disk
>>>contains one or more partitions which cannot be moved. To complete this
>>>task use the Operations menu rather than a wizard." In the Partition
>>>Operations the Create partition is darkened out so I can't click it. I
>>>have never used PartitionMagic before and know I am missing a step but
>>>don't know what. I haven't installed any partitions. I have a 250GB
>>>hard
>>>drive with about 5% used. I have change the drive letters on the DVD &
>>>CD
>>>drives so this can't be the problem. I would appreciate any help on this
>>>problem.
>>> david
>
>>Some friendly advice: You want to read a lot about disk partitioning in
>>general and particularly the documentation that comes with Partition
>>Magic.
>>This is not software that you want to use without knowing exactly what you
>>need to do.
>
> Let me echo and reinforce Ted's words. I've been using PM since
> DOS days, and if I haven't used it during the last year, I
> *always* scan through the manual before going forward, even if
> I'm "sure" that I'm doing such a simple change that it shouldn't
> be necessary.
>
> In your case, had you done so, you would have known what to look
> for in the initial screens, before you embarked on doing an
> operation, either via one of the wizards, or through menu
> control, and seen those two "hidden" partition Stew told you
> about in his response to your post.
>
> I may not RTFM on the latest MS Word version, or whatever, but I
> never fail to read the PM manual if, as I said above, I haven't
> used it in quite a while.
>
>>If your hard disk has only one partition - C: - you'll need to shrink the
>>size of that partition in order to create unpartitioned space.
>
> That, too. Between the two "hidden" partitions and the factory
> set C: primary partition/drive, your HD hasn't any free space to
> create a new partition from.
> --
> OJ III
> [Email to Yahoo address may be burned before reading.
> Lower and crunch the sig and you'll net me at comcast.]

Thank you Ogden Johnson III for you help and advice. Like I
stated to Ted I did read the quick start guide and the user manual
but didn't find any mention of having to shrink the existing "C" drive
to accommodate using the "create a backup partition wizard". Like
I also stated to Ted I thought this was the case but wanted to check
the newsgroup before doing anything wrong.
Thanks again.
david
 

David

Distinguished
Apr 1, 2004
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0
19,780
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Thanks Brian for the help. Here are the present partition sizes:
DELLUTILITY{*:} FAT 47.0MB 7.3Used
MB 39.7 Unused MB Status None Primary
Local Disk {C:} NTFS 234778.7MB 10075.4
UsedMB 224702.7 Unused MB Status Active
Primary
Local Disk [*:] CP/M Conc... 3584.8 Used MB
0.0 Unused MB Status None Primary
■ Unallocated 7.8MB 0.0 Used MB 0.0
Unused MB Status None Primary
What I am trying to do is create a backup drive so I can backup some of my
important programs in case of a disk failure and I have to reinstall
windows. This way I can save them from being deleted on the reinstall. I
will also have a CD backup of them . On my old computer I had two drives and
used the second one for this and it saved me a couple of times.
Thanks again.
david

"Brian K" <iibntgyea4 REMOVE_THIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:TMEJd.134728$K7.29201@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> What are the present partition sizes (in order) and what do you want the
> final result to be? I'll try and make it easy.
>
> Brian
>
>
>
> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
> news:KpCJd.25458$8u5.4204@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>>I have a Dell Dimension 8400 and am trying to put a backup partition on
>>it. Every time I click the "create a backup partition" and click next in
>>the pop up box another little pop up box pops up stating "The selected
>>disk contains one or more partitions which cannot be moved. To complete
>>this task use the Operations menu rather than a wizard." In the Partition
>>Operations the Create partition is darkened out so I can't click it. I
>>have never used PartitionMagic before and know I am missing a step but
>>don't know what. I haven't installed any partitions. I have a 250GB hard
>>drive with about 5% used. I have change the drive letters on the DVD & CD
>>drives so this can't be the problem. I would appreciate any help on this
>>problem.
>> david
>>
>
>
 
G

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Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

First up David, we have to reduce the number of Primary Partitions to 3 so
we can create a new one and have 4 again (the new data partition).

Right click on the CP/M rectangle (top of PM screen) and left click
Resize/Move. You should see 7.8 MB in the "Free Space After" box. Change
this to 0 (zero) and click OK. You should now have 3 Primary Partitions. If
so, click Apply. If you are uncertain, don't click Apply and nothing will be
changed.

Report back when you have done the above.

I did it differently, so I don't have your partitions to look at. I deleted
both the backup and diagnostic partitions.


Brian





"david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
news:jxHJd.90393$w62.57287@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> Thanks Brian for the help. Here are the present partition sizes:
> DELLUTILITY{*:} FAT 47.0MB 7.3Used
> MB 39.7 Unused MB Status None Primary
> Local Disk {C:} NTFS 234778.7MB 10075.4
> UsedMB 224702.7 Unused MB Status Active
> Primary
> Local Disk [*:] CP/M Conc... 3584.8 Used MB
> 0.0 Unused MB Status None Primary
> ■ Unallocated 7.8MB 0.0 Used MB 0.0
> Unused MB Status None Primary
> What I am trying to do is create a backup drive so I can backup some of my
> important programs in case of a disk failure and I have to reinstall
> windows. This way I can save them from being deleted on the reinstall. I
> will also have a CD backup of them . On my old computer I had two drives
> and used the second one for this and it saved me a couple of times.
> Thanks again.
> david
>
> "Brian K" <iibntgyea4 REMOVE_THIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:TMEJd.134728$K7.29201@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>> What are the present partition sizes (in order) and what do you want the
>> final result to be? I'll try and make it easy.
>>
>> Brian
>>
>>
>>
>> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
>> news:KpCJd.25458$8u5.4204@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>>>I have a Dell Dimension 8400 and am trying to put a backup partition on
>>>it. Every time I click the "create a backup partition" and click next in
>>>the pop up box another little pop up box pops up stating "The selected
>>>disk contains one or more partitions which cannot be moved. To complete
>>>this task use the Operations menu rather than a wizard." In the
>>>Partition Operations the Create partition is darkened out so I can't
>>>click it. I have never used PartitionMagic before and know I am missing
>>>a step but don't know what. I haven't installed any partitions. I have
>>>a 250GB hard drive with about 5% used. I have change the drive letters
>>>on the DVD & CD drives so this can't be the problem. I would appreciate
>>>any help on this problem.
>>> david
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
 
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Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

On second thought, if you can't absorb the 7.8 MB into the CP/M partition,
do this. Right click on the CP/M rectangle (top of PM screen) and left click
Resize/Move. You should see 7.8 MB in the "Free Space After" box. Change
this to 0 (zero) and type 7.8 MB in the Free Space Before box and click OK.
Right click the C: rectangle, left click Resize/Move. You should see 7.8
MB in the "Free Space After" box. Change this to 0 (zero) and click OK. You
should now have 3 Primary Partitions. If so, click Apply. If you are
uncertain, don't click Apply and nothing will be changed.

Brian








"Brian K" <iibntgyea4 REMOVE_THIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:zHIJd.135143$K7.63913@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> First up David, we have to reduce the number of Primary Partitions to 3 so
> we can create a new one and have 4 again (the new data partition).
>
> Right click on the CP/M rectangle (top of PM screen) and left click
> Resize/Move. You should see 7.8 MB in the "Free Space After" box. Change
> this to 0 (zero) and click OK. You should now have 3 Primary Partitions.
> If so, click Apply. If you are uncertain, don't click Apply and nothing
> will be changed.
>
> Report back when you have done the above.
>
> I did it differently, so I don't have your partitions to look at. I
> deleted both the backup and diagnostic partitions.
>
>
> Brian
>
>
>
>
>
> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
> news:jxHJd.90393$w62.57287@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>> Thanks Brian for the help. Here are the present partition sizes:
>> DELLUTILITY{*:} FAT 47.0MB 7.3Used
>> MB 39.7 Unused MB Status None Primary
>> Local Disk {C:} NTFS 234778.7MB 10075.4
>> UsedMB 224702.7 Unused MB Status Active
>> Primary
>> Local Disk [*:] CP/M Conc... 3584.8 Used MB
>> 0.0 Unused MB Status None Primary
>> ■ Unallocated 7.8MB 0.0 Used MB 0.0
>> Unused MB Status None Primary
>> What I am trying to do is create a backup drive so I can backup some of
>> my important programs in case of a disk failure and I have to reinstall
>> windows. This way I can save them from being deleted on the reinstall.
>> I will also have a CD backup of them . On my old computer I had two
>> drives and used the second one for this and it saved me a couple of
>> times.
>> Thanks again.
>> david
>>
>> "Brian K" <iibntgyea4 REMOVE_THIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:TMEJd.134728$K7.29201@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>>> What are the present partition sizes (in order) and what do you want the
>>> final result to be? I'll try and make it easy.
>>>
>>> Brian
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
>>> news:KpCJd.25458$8u5.4204@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>>>>I have a Dell Dimension 8400 and am trying to put a backup partition on
>>>>it. Every time I click the "create a backup partition" and click next in
>>>>the pop up box another little pop up box pops up stating "The selected
>>>>disk contains one or more partitions which cannot be moved. To complete
>>>>this task use the Operations menu rather than a wizard." In the
>>>>Partition Operations the Create partition is darkened out so I can't
>>>>click it. I have never used PartitionMagic before and know I am missing
>>>>a step but don't know what. I haven't installed any partitions. I have
>>>>a 250GB hard drive with about 5% used. I have change the drive letters
>>>>on the DVD & CD drives so this can't be the problem. I would appreciate
>>>>any help on this problem.
>>>> david
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
 
G

Guest

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Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Ogden,
I used MP to partition an external usb hard drive. It was rather
straight forward. There wasn't any need to shrink the drive, MP handled
it all.
Paul


Ogden Johnson III wrote:
> "Ted Zieglar" <teddyz@notmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>>"david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote
>
>
>>>I have a Dell Dimension 8400 and am trying to put a backup partition on it.
>>>Every time I click the "create a backup partition" and click next in the
>>>pop up box another little pop up box pops up stating "The selected disk
>>>contains one or more partitions which cannot be moved. To complete this
>>>task use the Operations menu rather than a wizard." In the Partition
>>>Operations the Create partition is darkened out so I can't click it. I
>>>have never used PartitionMagic before and know I am missing a step but
>>>don't know what. I haven't installed any partitions. I have a 250GB hard
>>>drive with about 5% used. I have change the drive letters on the DVD & CD
>>>drives so this can't be the problem. I would appreciate any help on this
>>>problem.
>>>david
>
>
>
>>Some friendly advice: You want to read a lot about disk partitioning in
>>general and particularly the documentation that comes with Partition Magic.
>>This is not software that you want to use without knowing exactly what you
>>need to do.
>
>
> Let me echo and reinforce Ted's words. I've been using PM since
> DOS days, and if I haven't used it during the last year, I
> *always* scan through the manual before going forward, even if
> I'm "sure" that I'm doing such a simple change that it shouldn't
> be necessary.
>
> In your case, had you done so, you would have known what to look
> for in the initial screens, before you embarked on doing an
> operation, either via one of the wizards, or through menu
> control, and seen those two "hidden" partition Stew told you
> about in his response to your post.
>
> I may not RTFM on the latest MS Word version, or whatever, but I
> never fail to read the PM manual if, as I said above, I haven't
> used it in quite a while.
>
>
>>If your hard disk has only one partition - C: - you'll need to shrink the
>>size of that partition in order to create unpartitioned space.
>
>
> That, too. Between the two "hidden" partitions and the factory
> set C: primary partition/drive, your HD hasn't any free space to
> create a new partition from.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote:
> > Thank you Ted Zieglar for the response and advice. I read through
> > the PartitionMagic Quick start guide that came with the program,
> > but it didn't say anything about having to shrink the existing drive
> > before using the wizard. I also read the user guide which also didn't
> > elaborate upon having to shrink the existing "C" drive partition magic
> > before using the wizard. I did though think I had to, but wanted to
> > get advice from this newsgroup before using it..

"Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote:
> No offense, but this is a BAD idea.
>
> If you create this as your backup partition and the drive fails, ALL
> the paritions fail. You'll lose your primary AND you backup.
>
> Get a cheap external USB2 drive and backup to that. Even better,
> keep it outside your house when not backing up.

Tom: I don't necessarily agree that it's such a "BAD idea". What you say
is true and advice David should consider, but compare it to what he's got
now--a single HD with a hidden restore partition on the same HD. What he
wants to do is not any worse.

I don't see where David indicated what kind of backup he's contemplating
(Data? image of entire OS?), but I always keep a backup image of my OS on
another partition on the same HD. Of course, I also have a copy burned onto
CD/DVD in case the HD fails, but over 90% of my restores are due to software
issues rather than hardware failures, so having an image readily at hand is
convenient. David didn't say whether he intended that would be his sole
backup.

David: heed Ted and Ogden's warnings--PM is a great product but not to be
taken lightly. If you didn't know you had to carve out space from existing
partitions in order to make a new one, then I'm with Ted: you've got some
learning to do. It would be nice if you had a surplus HD to play around
with first to get the hang of PM, but if you insist on diving straight into
your main HD, at least make sure you have Dell's restore CDs in case you
accidentally trash Dell's utility or restore partitions.
 

David

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"dg1261" <dg1261nojunk@cs.com> wrote in message
news:uoUJd.15366$wZ2.6562@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
>
>> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote:
>> > Thank you Ted Zieglar for the response and advice. I read through
>> > the PartitionMagic Quick start guide that came with the program,
>> > but it didn't say anything about having to shrink the existing drive
>> > before using the wizard. I also read the user guide which also didn't
>> > elaborate upon having to shrink the existing "C" drive partition magic
>> > before using the wizard. I did though think I had to, but wanted to
>> > get advice from this newsgroup before using it..
>
> "Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote:
>> No offense, but this is a BAD idea.
>>
>> If you create this as your backup partition and the drive fails, ALL
>> the paritions fail. You'll lose your primary AND you backup.
>>
>> Get a cheap external USB2 drive and backup to that. Even better,
>> keep it outside your house when not backing up.
>
> Tom: I don't necessarily agree that it's such a "BAD idea". What you say
> is true and advice David should consider, but compare it to what he's got
> now--a single HD with a hidden restore partition on the same HD. What he
> wants to do is not any worse.
>
> I don't see where David indicated what kind of backup he's contemplating
> (Data? image of entire OS?), but I always keep a backup image of my OS on
> another partition on the same HD. Of course, I also have a copy burned
> onto
> CD/DVD in case the HD fails, but over 90% of my restores are due to
> software
> issues rather than hardware failures, so having an image readily at hand
> is
> convenient. David didn't say whether he intended that would be his sole
> backup.
>
> David: heed Ted and Ogden's warnings--PM is a great product but not to be
> taken lightly. If you didn't know you had to carve out space from
> existing
> partitions in order to make a new one, then I'm with Ted: you've got some
> learning to do. It would be nice if you had a surplus HD to play around
> with first to get the hang of PM, but if you insist on diving straight
> into
> your main HD, at least make sure you have Dell's restore CDs in case you
> accidentally trash Dell's utility or restore partitions.
>
>
Thanks dg1261 for the advice. I was mainly concerned about backing up my
financial program and maybe some photos. I think your idea of playing
around
with another HD first is a great idea. I still have my old computer with
two HD's
and will install partition magic on one of them first to get the hang of it.
Another Question? What backup program do you use to backup to you CD/DVD.
I have Record Now but it isn't a very good backup. I would like one I can
back up
my financial program and others and it would copy over and add to the
existing backup.
I have to erase the CD now before I can add the new backup. Also backing up
the
OS on CD is a good idea, but I don't think possible with my backup program.
Thanks again.
david
 

David

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I did Right click on the CP/M Conc... rectangle but the resize/move option
was grayed out? If I right clicked NTFS the resize/move item was available
Also Brian what are the extra three existing partitions I now have for. I
know that the NTFS is my main system but what do the other three do?
david

"Brian K" <iibntgyea4 REMOVE_THIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:iYKJd.135359$K7.18577@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> On second thought, if you can't absorb the 7.8 MB into the CP/M partition,
> do this. Right click on the CP/M rectangle (top of PM screen) and left
> click
> Resize/Move. You should see 7.8 MB in the "Free Space After" box. Change
> this to 0 (zero) and type 7.8 MB in the Free Space Before box and click
> OK.
> Right click the C: rectangle, left click Resize/Move. You should see 7.8
> MB in the "Free Space After" box. Change this to 0 (zero) and click OK.
> You should now have 3 Primary Partitions. If so, click Apply. If you are
> uncertain, don't click Apply and nothing will be changed.
>
> Brian
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "Brian K" <iibntgyea4 REMOVE_THIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:zHIJd.135143$K7.63913@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>> First up David, we have to reduce the number of Primary Partitions to 3
>> so we can create a new one and have 4 again (the new data partition).
>>
>> Right click on the CP/M rectangle (top of PM screen) and left click
>> Resize/Move. You should see 7.8 MB in the "Free Space After" box. Change
>> this to 0 (zero) and click OK. You should now have 3 Primary Partitions.
>> If so, click Apply. If you are uncertain, don't click Apply and nothing
>> will be changed.
>>
>> Report back when you have done the above.
>>
>> I did it differently, so I don't have your partitions to look at. I
>> deleted both the backup and diagnostic partitions.
>>
>>
>> Brian
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
>> news:jxHJd.90393$w62.57287@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>>> Thanks Brian for the help. Here are the present partition sizes:
>>> DELLUTILITY{*:} FAT 47.0MB 7.3Used
>>> MB 39.7 Unused MB Status None Primary
>>> Local Disk {C:} NTFS 234778.7MB 10075.4
>>> UsedMB 224702.7 Unused MB Status Active
>>> Primary
>>> Local Disk [*:] CP/M Conc... 3584.8 Used MB
>>> 0.0 Unused MB Status None Primary
>>> ■ Unallocated 7.8MB 0.0 Used MB 0.0
>>> Unused MB Status None Primary
>>> What I am trying to do is create a backup drive so I can backup some of
>>> my important programs in case of a disk failure and I have to reinstall
>>> windows. This way I can save them from being deleted on the reinstall.
>>> I will also have a CD backup of them . On my old computer I had two
>>> drives and used the second one for this and it saved me a couple of
>>> times.
>>> Thanks again.
>>> david
>>>
>>> "Brian K" <iibntgyea4 REMOVE_THIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>> news:TMEJd.134728$K7.29201@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>>>> What are the present partition sizes (in order) and what do you want
>>>> the final result to be? I'll try and make it easy.
>>>>
>>>> Brian
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
>>>> news:KpCJd.25458$8u5.4204@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>>>>>I have a Dell Dimension 8400 and am trying to put a backup partition on
>>>>>it. Every time I click the "create a backup partition" and click next
>>>>>in the pop up box another little pop up box pops up stating "The
>>>>>selected disk contains one or more partitions which cannot be moved. To
>>>>>complete this task use the Operations menu rather than a wizard." In
>>>>>the Partition Operations the Create partition is darkened out so I
>>>>>can't click it. I have never used PartitionMagic before and know I am
>>>>>missing a step but don't know what. I haven't installed any
>>>>>partitions. I have a 250GB hard drive with about 5% used. I have
>>>>>change the drive letters on the DVD & CD drives so this can't be the
>>>>>problem. I would appreciate any help on this problem.
>>>>> david
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

The first is the Dell diagnostics partition. Not really necessary as
diagnostics can be run from the Dell CD. The CP/M partition is an image
backup of the C: drive which can be used to restore your computer to the
state when you received it. I use Norton Ghost 9 for imaging so I didn't
need to keep this partition. The Unallocated space is just a leftover from
partitioning.

I just did some testing and Unallocated Space doesn't count as one of your 4
Primary partitions so you can do this.

Right click on the WinXP rectangle (top of PM screen) and click Resize/Move.
In the "Free Space After" box type the MB amount of your proposed new
partition, eg 120,000 MB. Click OK.In the unallocated space rectangle just
created, right click and click Create. Create as...Logical Partition.
Partition Type...NTFS. Label..Data (or whatever). Leave the rest as is.
Click OK. Click Apply. (Nothing happens to your computer until you click
Apply). You will be told of the reboot etc. Let it do it's thing and don't
touch anything until it has rebooted back to your desktop. The whole process
may take over 10 minutes.

Let me know if anything is unclear.

Brian





"david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
news:edVJd.94448$w62.69824@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>I did Right click on the CP/M Conc... rectangle but the resize/move option
>was grayed out? If I right clicked NTFS the resize/move item was available
>Also Brian what are the extra three existing partitions I now have for. I
>know that the NTFS is my main system but what do the other three do?
> david
>
 

David

Distinguished
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Followed your instructions. Right clicked on the WinXP rectangle which I
took to mean the Local Disk [C]. After completing the steps I ended up with
a new Data [D] NTFS partition but also an [8] Extended partition with the
same Size MB. Is this normal? I haven't as yet clicked apply so I can
still cancel.
david

"Brian K" <iibntgyea4 REMOVE_THIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:YhWJd.136000$K7.129032@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> The first is the Dell diagnostics partition. Not really necessary as
> diagnostics can be run from the Dell CD. The CP/M partition is an image
> backup of the C: drive which can be used to restore your computer to the
> state when you received it. I use Norton Ghost 9 for imaging so I didn't
> need to keep this partition. The Unallocated space is just a leftover from
> partitioning.
>
> I just did some testing and Unallocated Space doesn't count as one of your
> 4 Primary partitions so you can do this.
>
> Right click on the WinXP rectangle (top of PM screen) and click
> Resize/Move. In the "Free Space After" box type the MB amount of your
> proposed new partition, eg 120,000 MB. Click OK.In the unallocated space
> rectangle just created, right click and click Create. Create as...Logical
> Partition. Partition Type...NTFS. Label..Data (or whatever). Leave the
> rest as is. Click OK. Click Apply. (Nothing happens to your computer until
> you click Apply). You will be told of the reboot etc. Let it do it's thing
> and don't touch anything until it has rebooted back to your desktop. The
> whole process may take over 10 minutes.
>
> Let me know if anything is unclear.
>
> Brian
>
>
>
>
>
> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
> news:edVJd.94448$w62.69824@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>>I did Right click on the CP/M Conc... rectangle but the resize/move option
>>was grayed out? If I right clicked NTFS the resize/move item was
>>available
>>Also Brian what are the extra three existing partitions I now have for. I
>>know that the NTFS is my main system but what do the other three do?
>> david
>>
>
>
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

That's correct David. The logical partition is inside the Extended
partition. In fact you can have as many logical drives within that Extended
partition as you have drive letters remaining. The Extended partition counts
as only one primary partition even though it may contain 1 to 10 logical
partitions. But at present you only need one. You are ready to click Apply.

Brian


"david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
news:%C%Jd.29653$8u5.2980@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> Followed your instructions. Right clicked on the WinXP rectangle which I
> took to mean the Local Disk [C]. After completing the steps I ended up
> with a new Data [D] NTFS partition but also an [8] Extended partition with
> the same Size MB. Is this normal? I haven't as yet clicked apply so I
> can still cancel.
> david
>
> "Brian K" <iibntgyea4 REMOVE_THIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:YhWJd.136000$K7.129032@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>> The first is the Dell diagnostics partition. Not really necessary as
>> diagnostics can be run from the Dell CD. The CP/M partition is an image
>> backup of the C: drive which can be used to restore your computer to the
>> state when you received it. I use Norton Ghost 9 for imaging so I didn't
>> need to keep this partition. The Unallocated space is just a leftover
>> from partitioning.
>>
>> I just did some testing and Unallocated Space doesn't count as one of
>> your 4 Primary partitions so you can do this.
>>
>> Right click on the WinXP rectangle (top of PM screen) and click
>> Resize/Move. In the "Free Space After" box type the MB amount of your
>> proposed new partition, eg 120,000 MB. Click OK.In the unallocated space
>> rectangle just created, right click and click Create. Create as...Logical
>> Partition. Partition Type...NTFS. Label..Data (or whatever). Leave the
>> rest as is. Click OK. Click Apply. (Nothing happens to your computer
>> until you click Apply). You will be told of the reboot etc. Let it do
>> it's thing and don't touch anything until it has rebooted back to your
>> desktop. The whole process may take over 10 minutes.
>>
>> Let me know if anything is unclear.
>>
>> Brian
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
>> news:edVJd.94448$w62.69824@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>>>I did Right click on the CP/M Conc... rectangle but the resize/move
>>>option
>>>was grayed out? If I right clicked NTFS the resize/move item was
>>>available
>>>Also Brian what are the extra three existing partitions I now have for.
>>>I
>>>know that the NTFS is my main system but what do the other three do?
>>> david
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
 

David

Distinguished
Apr 1, 2004
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Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Thank you Brian for the advice and help. One more question? If for some
reason the WinXP "C" drive crashes and I have to reinstall WinXP will the
new "D" drive partition still be intact with the copied folders? Also when
I copy the financial folders to the new partition is there a certain way of
doing this?
Thanks again.
david


"Brian K" <iibntgyea4 REMOVE_THIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:_N%Jd.136376$K7.99901@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> That's correct David. The logical partition is inside the Extended
> partition. In fact you can have as many logical drives within that
> Extended partition as you have drive letters remaining. The Extended
> partition counts as only one primary partition even though it may contain
> 1 to 10 logical partitions. But at present you only need one. You are
> ready to click Apply.
>
> Brian
>
>
> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
> news:%C%Jd.29653$8u5.2980@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>> Followed your instructions. Right clicked on the WinXP rectangle which I
>> took to mean the Local Disk [C]. After completing the steps I ended up
>> with a new Data [D] NTFS partition but also an [8] Extended partition
>> with the same Size MB. Is this normal? I haven't as yet clicked apply
>> so I can still cancel.
>> david
>>
>> "Brian K" <iibntgyea4 REMOVE_THIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:YhWJd.136000$K7.129032@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>>> The first is the Dell diagnostics partition. Not really necessary as
>>> diagnostics can be run from the Dell CD. The CP/M partition is an image
>>> backup of the C: drive which can be used to restore your computer to the
>>> state when you received it. I use Norton Ghost 9 for imaging so I didn't
>>> need to keep this partition. The Unallocated space is just a leftover
>>> from partitioning.
>>>
>>> I just did some testing and Unallocated Space doesn't count as one of
>>> your 4 Primary partitions so you can do this.
>>>
>>> Right click on the WinXP rectangle (top of PM screen) and click
>>> Resize/Move. In the "Free Space After" box type the MB amount of your
>>> proposed new partition, eg 120,000 MB. Click OK.In the unallocated space
>>> rectangle just created, right click and click Create. Create
>>> as...Logical Partition. Partition Type...NTFS. Label..Data (or
>>> whatever). Leave the rest as is. Click OK. Click Apply. (Nothing happens
>>> to your computer until you click Apply). You will be told of the reboot
>>> etc. Let it do it's thing and don't touch anything until it has rebooted
>>> back to your desktop. The whole process may take over 10 minutes.
>>>
>>> Let me know if anything is unclear.
>>>
>>> Brian
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
>>> news:edVJd.94448$w62.69824@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>>>>I did Right click on the CP/M Conc... rectangle but the resize/move
>>>>option
>>>>was grayed out? If I right clicked NTFS the resize/move item was
>>>>available
>>>>Also Brian what are the extra three existing partitions I now have for.
>>>>I
>>>>know that the NTFS is my main system but what do the other three do?
>>>> david
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

If the C: drive becomes corrupt, viral infected etc, your D: drive is not
affected and it's contents are safe. Of course if the hard drive
fails.......

Just regard the D: drive as another folder and copy or move in the usual
fashion.

Have you done it yet?

Brian



"david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
news:3a0Kd.29748$8u5.5517@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> Thank you Brian for the advice and help. One more question? If for some
> reason the WinXP "C" drive crashes and I have to reinstall WinXP will the
> new "D" drive partition still be intact with the copied folders? Also
> when I copy the financial folders to the new partition is there a certain
> way of doing this?
> Thanks again.
> david
>
 

David

Distinguished
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What you saying then is if the hard drive fails or WinXP has to be
reinstalled then the contents in the D drive would be lost also? If this is
true I'm confused as to the reason for the partitions, I was under the
impression another partition was like a second hard drive and would keep the
backup files safe. I also back them up to a DVD/CD. Although the backup
program I use isn't very good. It's Record Now that came with the computer..
Do you know of a good backup program to be used with a DVD/CD?
I also wanted to ask you about Norton Ghost 9. In one of your earlier post
you mentioned you used it. Is this a better program for restoring than the
program that came with WinXP?
I will install the new partition tomorrow and let you know how it is doing.
Thanks
david
"Brian K" <iibntgyea4 REMOVE_THIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:qm0Kd.136422$K7.8879@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> If the C: drive becomes corrupt, viral infected etc, your D: drive is not
> affected and it's contents are safe. Of course if the hard drive
> fails.......
>
> Just regard the D: drive as another folder and copy or move in the usual
> fashion.
>
> Have you done it yet?
>
> Brian
>
>
>
> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
> news:3a0Kd.29748$8u5.5517@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>> Thank you Brian for the advice and help. One more question? If for some
>> reason the WinXP "C" drive crashes and I have to reinstall WinXP will the
>> new "D" drive partition still be intact with the copied folders? Also
>> when I copy the financial folders to the new partition is there a certain
>> way of doing this?
>> Thanks again.
>> david
>>
>
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

No, if WinXP has to be reinstalled, the D: drive will still be there and
unaffected by the install. ie it's a way of keeping your data out of the
operating system partition so that if you have to reinstall WinXP your data
isn't deleted. It's still there.

If the hard drive fails all partitions are lost. Read dg1261's post again. I
agree with his points.

I think the easiest backup imaging program to use is Acronis True Image 8
(I've used it on friends computers but I prefer Ghost for mine) and I think
it's the one for you.

http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/

I believe in only installing an OS once and using images to restore
thereafter. You can restore an image of your OS partition, with all your
programs installed, in 3 to 4 minutes. Consider the time to install WinXP,
drivers, programs, preferences etc and you won't want to do it a second
time.

For backing up data I use Second Copy. Easy to use and it can be automated.

http://www.centered.com/download.html


Like dg1261, I store images and backups on the data drive (second HD) and
infrequently copy them to another computer or DVD. Copying directly to DVD
or CD from the backup program can be unreliable. Copy to the HD first and
then burn.

Brian







"david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
news:hY0Kd.96782$w62.24537@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
> What you saying then is if the hard drive fails or WinXP has to be
> reinstalled then the contents in the D drive would be lost also? If this
> is true I'm confused as to the reason for the partitions, I was under the
> impression another partition was like a second hard drive and would keep
> the backup files safe. I also back them up to a DVD/CD. Although the
> backup program I use isn't very good. It's Record Now that came with the
> computer.. Do you know of a good backup program to be used with a DVD/CD?
> I also wanted to ask you about Norton Ghost 9. In one of your earlier post
> you mentioned you used it. Is this a better program for restoring than
> the program that came with WinXP?
> I will install the new partition tomorrow and let you know how it is
> doing.
> Thanks
> david
> "Brian K" <iibntgyea4 REMOVE_THIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:qm0Kd.136422$K7.8879@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>> If the C: drive becomes corrupt, viral infected etc, your D: drive is not
>> affected and it's contents are safe. Of course if the hard drive
>> fails.......
>>
>> Just regard the D: drive as another folder and copy or move in the usual
>> fashion.
>>
>> Have you done it yet?
>>
>> Brian
>>
>>
>>
>> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
>> news:3a0Kd.29748$8u5.5517@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>>> Thank you Brian for the advice and help. One more question? If for
>>> some reason the WinXP "C" drive crashes and I have to reinstall WinXP
>>> will the new "D" drive partition still be intact with the copied
>>> folders? Also when I copy the financial folders to the new partition is
>>> there a certain way of doing this?
>>> Thanks again.
>>> david
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote:
> Thanks dg1261 for the advice. I was mainly concerned about backing
> up my financial program and maybe some photos.

Okay, that's helpful to know--it doesn't affect the question at hand
(creating a new partition), but helps people understand what your goal is.

Partitioning a HD creates segments which you can treat as separate "drives"
in which to load/store different things. This can be confusing for newbies
because you have to be careful to distinguish drives in the logical sense
(e.g., "drive C:" or "drive E:") from drives in the physical sense (e.g.,
"Seagate drive" or "slave drive"). There's a backgrounder on partitions on
my website at www.goodells.net/multiboot that may be helpful. The site is
really about multibooting, so the info may be a bit overwhelming, but maybe
you can glean something from the backgrounder on partitions that will help
you put the PM guide and Brian K's instructions into context.

As shipped, most computers come with a giant "C: drive" that contains both
the OS and the user's data--so if you have to reformat and reinstall the OS,
you lose everything in the partition, which includes user data. But if
partitioned into more than one logical drive, you can shift user data to the
non-OS partition--then when you have to reformat/reinstall the OS, you're
only touching the OS partition and not losing your data, which is tucked
away on the other partition. However, both partitions are on the same
physical device--so if the motor or something else on that device conks out,
you lose all logical drives on that device, not just the OS partition.


> Another Question? What backup program do you use to backup to
> you CD/DVD. I have Record Now but it isn't a very good backup.
> I would like one I can back up my financial program and others and
> it would copy over and add to the existing backup. I have to erase the
> CD now before I can add the new backup. Also backing up the OS on
> CD is a good idea, but I don't think possible with my backup program.

IMHO, Record Now is an adequate CD-burning program, and is perhaps a bit
easier for the new user than the more fully-featured programs like Roxio or
Nero. The problem is you're trying to turn it into a backup program, which
is a separate function from CD-burning. Like Brian K, I backup onto the
hard drive and then burn the backup file to CD, as two separate steps.

You should give some deliberate thought to your backup strategy rather than
just hoping some backup program is going to tell you what to do. First,
there are two different things to backup: the operating system and your
data. Then there are varying tiers of backup based on risk factors (which
are principally user error, OS error, hardware malfunction, and theft/fire).

Partitioning is a first step because it allows you to start separating your
data from the OS. Then you can use different approaches for backing up
each. Your OS is gigabytes huge but doesn't change much daily, so
time-consuming backups can be done less frequently, using an imaging program
(Brian K's Acronis recommendation is a good one). Your data is (typically)
not as large and should be backed up more frequently. When separated from
the OS, backing up data can be relatively quick and you can use a different
approach--backing up the files rather than the whole partition as a unit.
Brian K gave you one recommendation, while I use my own homegrown scripts
that backup my data automatically once a day without any intervention.

Where you put the backups depends on the degree of protection you're after,
and can range from separate partition (on same hard drive), to second hard
drive, removeable media (hard drive/CD/DVD/zipdisk), or even offsite
storage. A comprehensive strategy would cover multiple tiers--backup CDs
stored offsite are great protection against fire and theft, but not very
convenient when you just need to restore an Excel file you accidentally
overwrote. As an example, at home my strategy for data includes automatic
daily incremental backups (only files that have changed) on separate
partition, automatic full backups (all data files, changed or not) every 10
days, all backups (I don't overwrite--each daily backup is separate from
other days) manually copied to network share on home LAN once or twice a
month, and network share manually copied to CD every 3 months. These
timeframes reflect my perceived vulnerability to the various risk factors
mentioned above.
 

David

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Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Thank you Brian for your great help and advice on installing a partition on
my computer. I also want to thank you for the two programs you suggested
for backups. I have looked them over and decided to purchase them.
Thanks again Brian.
david

"Brian K" <iibntgyea4 REMOVE_THIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:_r1Kd.136558$K7.54480@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> No, if WinXP has to be reinstalled, the D: drive will still be there and
> unaffected by the install. ie it's a way of keeping your data out of the
> operating system partition so that if you have to reinstall WinXP your
> data isn't deleted. It's still there.
>
> If the hard drive fails all partitions are lost. Read dg1261's post again.
> I agree with his points.
>
> I think the easiest backup imaging program to use is Acronis True Image 8
> (I've used it on friends computers but I prefer Ghost for mine) and I
> think it's the one for you.
>
> http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/
>
> I believe in only installing an OS once and using images to restore
> thereafter. You can restore an image of your OS partition, with all your
> programs installed, in 3 to 4 minutes. Consider the time to install WinXP,
> drivers, programs, preferences etc and you won't want to do it a second
> time.
>
> For backing up data I use Second Copy. Easy to use and it can be
> automated.
>
> http://www.centered.com/download.html
>
>
> Like dg1261, I store images and backups on the data drive (second HD) and
> infrequently copy them to another computer or DVD. Copying directly to
> DVD or CD from the backup program can be unreliable. Copy to the HD first
> and then burn.
>
> Brian
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
> news:hY0Kd.96782$w62.24537@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>> What you saying then is if the hard drive fails or WinXP has to be
>> reinstalled then the contents in the D drive would be lost also? If this
>> is true I'm confused as to the reason for the partitions, I was under the
>> impression another partition was like a second hard drive and would keep
>> the backup files safe. I also back them up to a DVD/CD. Although the
>> backup program I use isn't very good. It's Record Now that came with the
>> computer.. Do you know of a good backup program to be used with a DVD/CD?
>> I also wanted to ask you about Norton Ghost 9. In one of your earlier
>> post you mentioned you used it. Is this a better program for restoring
>> than the program that came with WinXP?
>> I will install the new partition tomorrow and let you know how it is
>> doing.
>> Thanks
>> david
>> "Brian K" <iibntgyea4 REMOVE_THIS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:qm0Kd.136422$K7.8879@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
>>> If the C: drive becomes corrupt, viral infected etc, your D: drive is
>>> not affected and it's contents are safe. Of course if the hard drive
>>> fails.......
>>>
>>> Just regard the D: drive as another folder and copy or move in the usual
>>> fashion.
>>>
>>> Have you done it yet?
>>>
>>> Brian
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "david" <chevie@mail.com> wrote in message
>>> news:3a0Kd.29748$8u5.5517@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
>>>> Thank you Brian for the advice and help. One more question? If for
>>>> some reason the WinXP "C" drive crashes and I have to reinstall WinXP
>>>> will the new "D" drive partition still be intact with the copied
>>>> folders? Also when I copy the financial folders to the new partition
>>>> is there a certain way of doing this?
>>>> Thanks again.
>>>> david
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>