After Windows gave my laptop a minor case of the flu yesterday, I've decided that I really need to partition my hd and seperate the OS from the stuff I really care about. But then there's the problem that I don't know how to do that.
Do I need to format the hd before I insert the recovery disk or will it prompt me for that option? As I understand it I can't partition an hd containing files already...?
If I want to partition the hd into 3, how much space would just Windows XP require? I haven't decided if 3 really is necessary though. Any thoughts on the matter? (Have 80 GB)
I have several programs where I lack the installation disks. Using an external hd, can I just copy the folders and move them back once I've partitioned the hd? For some of these programs, like Nero, I needed to enter a registration key. How do I retrieve that and enter it into regkey afterwards? Obtionally, is there a good program out there to make backup of applications that would also retrieve the reg key?
Any help on these matters would be highly appreciated. Thanks!
Do I need to format the hd before I insert the recovery disk or will it prompt me for that option? As I understand it I can't partition an hd containing files already...?
If I want to partition the hd into 3, how much space would just Windows XP require? I haven't decided if 3 really is necessary though. Any thoughts on the matter? (Have 80 GB)
I have several programs where I lack the installation disks. Using an external hd, can I just copy the folders and move them back once I've partitioned the hd? For some of these programs, like Nero, I needed to enter a registration key. How do I retrieve that and enter it into regkey afterwards? Obtionally, is there a good program out there to make backup of applications that would also retrieve the reg key?
Any help on these matters would be highly appreciated. Thanks!