Is my C partition and F partition combined?

[whs]

You are doing good. You moved the documents the right way. That way you don't get the path to them fouled up. I personally have never seen a real performance impact with files stored on external disks. That may be different with games (that I never use). But I have e.g. videos and music on external disks that play just as well as from the internals. But you have still plenty of space on L. So you can move even more folders.

 

[TheTalker]

Thank you for your input WHS. I always enjoy it. (I know what you mean about the paths fouled up and such. I did that with my links folder. I got it back thanks to the tutorial on this site however: User Folders - Restore Default Location

I actually made a mistake. My L drive is not an external drive. I make mistakes in times of worry, heh heh. My L drive is an internal drive. But I do appreciate your input because now I know that external drives with stuff such as music on it don't really have an impact on performance.

My plan is to buy a 1TB or 1.5TB and place my backups on there. I will leave My Documents as is.

Thank you everyone!

 

[gregrocker]

Just an observation from the bleachers:

With those large internal HD's, consider backing up a Win7 Backup image so you never have to reinstall again, just reimage using DVD or Repair CD from stored image.

I agree that using Backup and Restore to back up files wastes a lot of space. Better to drag over your active User files, or just your named User Account should get everything.

 

[karlsnooks]

gregrocker,
Yes, restoring from the Win 7 System Image backup is a snap and an easy way to replace your present hard disk with a larger harddisk since in reality Win 7 creates a VHD file which makes mobility easy.

Win 7 Backup and Restore will allow you do do a backup of all or selected libraries. I'm doing a backup of my Documents Library at this very minute.

I agree that there are other tools better designed for straight data backups. I like Microsofts SyncToy but there are many out there and the good old brute force "sneaker net" (copy to UFD) approach I use quite often when I know that I'm going to need certain tools for fixing a computer.

 

[gregrocker]

Selected Libraries might be a better option than active User folder which would get a lot of extra unneeded stuff.

I still like dragging and dropping better than trying to figure out the automated backup folders.

 

[whs]

He Talker,

Since you are always worried that things might not work, I suggest the following test.

1. Shrink 2GBs from C or F and define a simple volume (partition) - let's call it Y
2. move some files (any files) into Y - I always also move the sample picture folder in (you'll see why)
3. Define a test folder on L - call it Mtest
4. Make an image of Y to Mtest - requires that you make a new definition
5. Delete a couple of pictures from the sample picture folder on Y (I always use the 2 animals)
6. Reboot and tap (I think it is ESC on your system) to get into the BIOS boot sequence
7. Set your boot sequence to CD/DVD reader
8. Throw in the Macrium recovery CD and let it run, then hit Enter
9. Now you are in the recovery wizard, set it to Mtest where it says "Locate Image" and to Y where it says " Choose partition to overwrite with the image data". Note: the partition letters may not be the same as on your system. Macrium uses it's own lettering. Best is to go by the size of the partitions and open it with the little + in the front.
10. Watch out when it asks whether to replace the Master Boot Record - in this case say "do not replace" because this is only a data partition. If that were your system partition, you would replace the MBR
11. When you get the little window saying "Your computer will now reboot", you have to hit "Cancel" (on the bottom" to get it to reboot. That's a little strange way to end the session, but that's the way it is.
12. Check whether the 2 animals in the sample picture folder are back. That shows you that the recovery worked.

When you have done these steps, you did the whole cycle and have learned

1. That your recovery disk works
2. how to recover
3. that things work

Now you can delete the little 2GB partition and add it back to it's originating partition.

 

[TheTalker]

Just an observation from the bleachers:

With those large internal HD's, consider backing up a Win7 Backup image so you never have to reinstall again, just reimage using DVD or Repair CD from stored image.

I agree that using Backup and Restore to back up files wastes a lot of space. Better to drag over your active User files, or just your named User Account should get everything.

I made an image of my C drive which is the OS. I also made a Restore CD using Macrium. So I believe I'm good on that point.

WHS - I'm not worried that the backing up won't work. I'm sure it will work. I watched your entire video on Macrium and I understand how that works now. To be honest, I'm afraid to go through all that work with the test because I'm the type to mess something up. My brother says, "If it's not broke don't fix it."

I just want to make sure the computer is safe, (which I think I've done by using Kaspersky, MRT, Malwarebytes, Defragging, Clean Disk, etc.) I also want to backup my important files---which I've done the most important ones already and put them onto my USB device. I want to buy a 1TB or 1.5TB to backup the rest. For that I'll just copy the files over to it. I might make an entire image of B since I've got some important but large stuff on that HD.

Thank you very much for all the information! It is much appreciated and will be taken to heart.

 

[whs]

I think you make a mistake not practicing. If something goes wrong with this little test, nothing is broken. But if you don't know exactly what you need to do when a serious situations arises, that's dramatic. I go thru this little test in every one of my imaging classes. It takes about 20 minutes.
But it is, of course, your choice. Seeing is believing.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Talker:

I use Macrium myself.

I'd advise you to boot from the rescue CD you made at a bare minimum.

You can walk through the steps you would go through if your hard drive had actually failed, but stop short of doing any actual restoration.

The point of no return is quite a few steps into the process, but as it is now, I guess you don't even know if that CD will boot. Maybe you made a bad burn? If it is fouled up, better you find out now than when you really need it.

At least see if it will boot your PC. You can always cancel out and reboot to your hard drive.

 

[TheTalker]

I actually did do a test with the CD and it worked. What I did was burned it with Macrium and then rebooted the PC with the CD inserted in my disk drive.

I booted from the CD/DVD drive. (My button is F12 to get to the Boot Menu.)

The restoration Wizard came up just like WHS's did in his pictures. Maybe if my brother will devote some of his time to help me I'll do the test.

But I do know that the disk works. I just never thought that actually doing a full-blown test was necessary as I know the CD works. Am I wrong?

 

[whs]

It is, of course, not "neccessary" - but you will learn something. At your tender age one should always learn as much as possible as fast as possible. Even at my age, I still try to do that.

 

[TheTalker]

It is, of course, not "neccessary" - but you will learn something. At your tender age one should always learn as much as possible as fast as possible. Even at my age, I still try to do that.

Heh heh, tender age. That made me laugh.

Anyways, back to the matter at hand, if my brother is willing to help me then I'll do a full-blown test doing as you said in your instructions. I do not want to do it without his assistance and I will mess something up doing it alone.

Thank you.
I'm going to bed now, goodnight. Will be back tomorrow.

 

[not so gray matter]

Ok, most of this has been posted, but there's been some "confusion" with some things so I'll mention it all.

#1 - Accessing an internal drive w/out a operating system on the hard drive

• If you have two partitions on the same drive and the drive isn't corrupted but the OS is, you can still access the data on the second partition. However, in order to do so you would need to do one of the following things:
  • Boot from a Live CD
  • Connect the HD to another computer via:
    Removing the drive and physically placing it in another PC.
    Using a SATA to USB transfer cable and/or SATA USB Docking station

#2 - Accessing drives from other computers

• Your backup harddrive would be easily accesible by another computer using the methods mentioned above. There are some things that could hinder this, but user permissions usually aren't one of them.
  • If the drive is formatted in NTFS, you may not be able to access it on a Mac without special software, and vice versa with HFS+.
  • If you encrypt the drive, the second computer will need decryption software to read it.
  • If you password protect the files/drive you'll need the password to access it.
    (Simply accessing/formatting a drive from a password protected PC does not password protect the drive)
  • If the drive is corrupted, you may need to use a disk manager to repair it.

#3 - Backup Software

• You shouldn't use any "backup software" unless you have to. It's much better just to manually copy and paste data to the backup hard drive. This way you know exactly what you're placing on the hard drive and where to find it. If you really need constant backups, write/obtain your own scripts with which to backup files. Not only will it save you from running the backup program, but you'll know exactly what is being done.

#4 - Computer Password Protection

• There is no real reason to remove your password from your account on your computer. This is especially true if you are logged into an Administrator account like most people. Not only does it make your computer more susceptible to attacks, but it also makes it much easier for someone to physically access your computer. (I.E. Wife/Co-Worker/Children/Roommate/ETC)

#5 - Internal vs. External

• I don't know where this stereotype came from but using an external hard drive for backups is not necessarily the best idea even though it's convenient. External hard drives are known to fail faster than internal drives if they're used as often. This in part due to their casing and the fact that they get moved around a lot. In other words, if you have the space, buy a secondary internal drive instead.

#6 - System Images

• It's definitely worth it to create a System Image. As mentioned, this will allow you to repair your OS in case of damage without losing preferences/data/time.

#7 - Data Security

• If you'd like to secure the data on your storage drives, merely using a password is not your best bet. The best thing to do is to use encryption along with passwords or, if you can, use steganography (hidden volumes). You can do these things from programs like TrueCrypt.

Note: If you need a program to manage your partitions Partition Wizard is a good free option.

--Al

 

[seekermeister]

notsograymatter,

I agree with most of what you said, except item #3. There is no point in copy/pasting data to another drive, when you can simply set the path of your libraries to that drive in the first place.

As far as I'm concerned. The backup image of C: is only for the purpose of restoring the OS, because everything else is either on another drive or partition. For that reason, a backup image has nothing to do with laziness, it is simply a way to avoid the tedium and time wasted repeating the initial setup.

EDIT: I should have included the time involved in reinstalling some programs, because unless I feel that they might contribute to fragmentation of C: too much, I often install them on C:, because if there were installed elsewhere, they would still have to be reinstalled in this situation to have them registered with the OS. Therefore having them within the image saves more time.

 

[gregrocker]

If you have two partitions on the same drive and the drive isn't corrupted but the OS is, you can still access the data on the second partition. However, in order to do so you would need to do one of the following things:

• • Boot from a Live CD
  • Connect the HD to another computer via:
    Removing the drive and physically placing it in another PC.
    Using a SATA to USB transfer cable and/or SATA USB Docking station

I suggest reinstalling the OS to access your files on data partition. If you also have files on the irreparable OS you need to retrieve, then use free Partition Wizard CD to shrink the damaged OS, install Win7 in the shrink space or to a new HD, browse into the old OS to retrieve files to copy over to data partition, then use PW to delete old OS and expand new Win7 into the space. I call this "drilling a rescue shaft."

notsograymatter,

I agree with most of what you said, except item #3. There is no point in copy/pasting data to another drive, when you can simply set the path of your libraries to that drive in the first place.

Except to back up files to a secondary, as opposed to an external - same difference.

Here is Brink's tut to change User file locations as am not sure it's been posted here yet: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/18629-user-folders-change-default-location.html

 

[TheTalker]

Wow, this is a lot of good information! Thank you everyone.

Ok, most of this has been posted, but there's been some "confusion" with some things so I'll mention it all.

#4 - Computer Password Protection

• There is no real reason to remove your password from your account on your computer. This is especially true if you are logged into an Administrator account like most people. Not only does it make your computer more susceptible to attacks, but it also makes it much easier for someone to physically access your computer. (I.E. Wife/Co-Worker/Children/Roommate/ETC)

--Al

I actually only have one question at the moment. I already removed the password. I figured it's not really that important to have since I can trust my family to not touch my computer.

But you also said, "Not only does it make your computer more susceptible to attacks", etc, etc. So, my computer should be password protected to not only keep it safe from family members/friends/etc but also to keep me safe from attacks such as viruses and stuff?

I suggest reinstalling the OS to access your files on data partition. If you also have files on the irreparable OS you need to retrieve, then use free Partition Wizard CD to shrink the damaged OS, install Win7 in the shrink space or to a new HD, browse into the old OS to retrieve files to copy over to data partition, then use PW to delete old OS and expand new Win7 into the space. I call this "drilling a rescue shaft."

It sounds complicated but a good idea. Maybe my brother knows how to do that.

Thank you everyone for the information!

 

[whs]

But you also said, "Not only does it make your computer more susceptible to attacks", etc, etc. So, my computer should be password protected to not only keep it safe from family members/friends/etc but also to keep me safe from attacks such as viruses and stuff?

I would not worry about it. I have never used a password in my life and all my systems are alive. If something happens, go back to the last image.

 

[TheTalker]

But you also said, "Not only does it make your computer more susceptible to attacks", etc, etc. So, my computer should be password protected to not only keep it safe from family members/friends/etc but also to keep me safe from attacks such as viruses and stuff?

I would not worry about it. I have never used a password in my life and all my systems are alive. If something happens, go back to the last image.

Okay, thank you very much for putting my mind at peace!

 

[seekermeister]

I have always passworded my computers, even though no one normally has access to them accept me. The one time that I didn't was with a computer that I had when I had a stroke and got evicted from my home, and wasn't allowed to remove the computer. My personal belongings were left in the house when it was resold, supposedly to be stored until I later removed them. When I was finally able to try to do so, and I met with the new owner, he claimed that house was broke into, and the computer, TV and window AC/heat were stolen. It might not have prevented the PC from being stolen anyway, but if it had been passworded, maybe the new owners (who I believe were the thieves) wouldn't have been so tempted to take it. The moral of this is that someone that you don't expect, may access your computer if it is easy.

 

[whs]

I have always passworded my computers, even though no one normally has access to them accept me. The one time that I didn't was with a computer that I had when I had a stroke and got evicted from my home, and wasn't allowed to remove the computer. My personal belongings were left in the house when it was resold, supposedly to be stored until I later removed them. When I was finally able to try to do so, and I met with the new owner, he claimed that house was broke into, and the computer, TV and window AC/heat were stolen. It might not have prevented the PC from being stolen anyway, but if it had been passworded, maybe the new owners (who I believe were the thieves) wouldn't have been so tempted to take it. The moral of this is that someone that you don't expect, may access your computer if it is easy.

You live in a bad area. Move to the other side of the tracks - LOL.