...and how do I backup a partitioned hard drive and/or copy all contents to an external hard drive. I am trying to copy my father-in-laws hard drive so that I can re-format it and use it for myself. When I do a copy and paste, it will copy until it says that a particular file, application or program is running or being used by another user and is unable to copy. The computer is running XP, it's a VAIO. Should I delete the extra user accounts and then try copying or is there another simpler way to do this? I have a feeling that I am making this more complicated than I need to. Oh, the EHD that I am attempting to copy to is a Maxtor 1TB OneTouch 4 Plus, not that it makes any difference but just in case.
How do I restore a partitoned hard drive to it's original state....
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Hefemeister
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You could ghost the drive or you could use M$ backup program to back everything up.
Yeah, I went into the tools tab under the properties menu and just clicked the "backup now" button and directed it to my EHD. First time for me doing this; will this work like a copy and paste? Will I be able to access the files and application, etc. from another computer later on? The most important things are the docs, but it would be preferable to have an exact copy of the HD that acts like it was still on the computer. Does that make sense?
No it is not like a copy/paste. They will be a file format that will not be recognized by anything but the Restore Ultility in Windows. So to be able to access these files again you would have to restore them.
There is no way that i know of to make a full image and have it fully accessible from another PC at any time. At that point you are just better off copy/pasting the material you want to access to the EHD for access. But be warned, if it is games or software that must be installed it might not work unless it is a stand alone application.
If it is games then there are Registry entries that are installed per machine as well as personal data in the App Data folder. Just trying to copy that stuff over wont allow for the game to just work.
My advice would be for things like pictures, music and executable files to backup for easy reinstall of those applications.
There is no way that i know of to make a full image and have it fully accessible from another PC at any time. At that point you are just better off copy/pasting the material you want to access to the EHD for access. But be warned, if it is games or software that must be installed it might not work unless it is a stand alone application.
If it is games then there are Registry entries that are installed per machine as well as personal data in the App Data folder. Just trying to copy that stuff over wont allow for the game to just work.
My advice would be for things like pictures, music and executable files to backup for easy reinstall of those applications.
So, if I am mainly concerned about files like docs and pics, I should just copy and paste those? Sorry if I'm sounding redundant, I just want to be sure I am doing this right. I have copied and pasted laptop HD's many times without much problem, but trying to copy a PC HD has presented me with some problems. Just to clarify, the HD on the PC is partitioned (why, I don't know) with multiple user accounts; when I try to copy and paste them (separately) I get a message saying that a file or application, or something, is open or in use by another user and is unable to copy it and then stops the whole process and I'm left with a partial copy. Should I delete the other user accounts and then try, or do I need to log in to each user account separately and copy the files from each account that way? Does it matter?
Should I stop the disk backup that I started using the Windows backup feature in the local disk properties menu?
Should I stop the disk backup that I started using the Windows backup feature in the local disk properties menu?
Are you logged in as the other user? Have you tried to take ownership of the files you are trying to copy to stop the error message?
Yes if they are just docs and pics just copy them over. Ghost images are tied to Norton Ghost. Same for Acronis Images. They are tied to Acrnois. There is no way to just open those files up and get the data you want without restoring the image.
If you stop the backup is your choice. But if you see it should be a file format that is not .doc or .txt or any kind of picture file. It will be 1 large file that has a format that is not recognized by Windows natievly.
Yes if they are just docs and pics just copy them over. Ghost images are tied to Norton Ghost. Same for Acronis Images. They are tied to Acrnois. There is no way to just open those files up and get the data you want without restoring the image.
If you stop the backup is your choice. But if you see it should be a file format that is not .doc or .txt or any kind of picture file. It will be 1 large file that has a format that is not recognized by Windows natievly.
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