Copy Image to New Partition

I have just set up a new computer and completed a full image of my main drive. I am thinking of re-formatting and creating a 2nd partition on the main drive, however. If I do, will the image on the 2nd drive work (given that it was an imgae of a drive with only 1 partition)? Someone had suggested that I create the 2nd partition as a way of splitting data from programs/OS, thereby enabling imaging of just the data partition (effectively) rather than the entire drive? THoughts as to whether this is a smart move? Thanks!

 

In theory putting your data on a second partition is good. However, while it's easy to put My Documents on a second partition, there is other data that's harder to find and move. For example, how will you put your e-mail and address book on the second partition? How about network or Internet access settings? Internet Favorites? Cookies required to access particular web sites, particularly for banking? Templates you made in Word or another word processor or spreadsheet? Configuration settings for applications? Windows Desktop organization? And so on...

I decided to just keep everything on C and do a full system backup each time because it was easier. Using an external hard drive, the size of the backup isn't very important.

 

There is no correct way. I like this way which I found somewhere.

"Looking ahead to image restoration .. restoring an image can have "adverse" effects. This concerns your personal data which gets "rolled back" to the state your system was in when the image was created.

To avoid this you can move four folders off your system partition:

* My Documents
* Favorites
* Address Book
* E-mail storage location

This is not necessary, but minimizes the adverse effects of restoring an image. Moving these folders is easy:

My Documents is moved by [in Windows Explorer] creating a new My Documents folder on a different drive. Right-click the desktop icon, choose "Properties" and then "Move". Point to the desired location. You will be asked if you want all sub-folders and contents to be moved also. The original folder can be deleted, but it can also be left as is. The registry is automatically edited to reflect the change.

The Favorites folder is moved [in Windows Explorer] from C:\Documents and Settings\"User name"\ by right-clicking and dragging-n-dropping to the new drive, and choosing "Move Here". The registry is automatically edited to reflect the change.

The Address book is moved by [in Windows Explorer] creating a new Address Book folder on a different drive. From:
C:\Documents and Settings\"User name"\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book\
Right-click and drag-n-drop "User name".wab and "User name".wa~ to the new folder and choose "Move Here".

You have to manually edit the registry. Click Start / Run and type "Regedit" in the run-dialog box and hit the <enter> key. Find the registry key: "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\WAB\WAB4\Wab File Name" and change the path to the new location. Close regedit and restart the computer. If you don't, it will create a new "User name".wab and default back to the original location.

E-mail storage location is moved by [in Windows Explorer] creating a new E-mail folder on a different drive. [I use the folder name "Mail".] From within Outlook Express, click Tools / Options / Maintenance and the "Store Folder" button. Click "Change" and point to the new location.

Using this method, you can configure multiple operating sytems to use the same email directory. Restart Outlook Express for changes to take effect. The registry is automatically edited to reflect the change.

These steps are valid in Windows XP Pro. Other operating systems may vary. It is still neccessary to backup the data in these folders."

 

Brian and I are in agreement. He likes to move the files specified to a different partition and I don't. There's no right or wrong just preferences. Thanks Brian for the clear description of how to move the key files.

Another idea is to make an image of the current drive - even if it is corrupted - before restoring an image made earlier. Once the image is restored, the data files can usually be recovered from the image of the corrupted drive. Of course, this won't work if the drive has physically failed, but it usually works if the problem is a virus, spyware, or corruption of drivers.

 

John, you have a devious mind. I like it.

 

Hi Brian,

I got tied up on other things for a few days and didn't see your compliment until just now.

Thanks,

 

John and Brian:

Thanks for your asnwers - helpful and most appreciated!!