Ideal Image and Recovery Procedures...

Hi there...

I'm going to use Acronis 8 to image a Windows XPSP2 system. Except for Windows and some utility programs, AdAware, etc., WINASO Registry Optimizer, AOL, and stuff left over from the Sony System Restore disc, most of the install is Windows. It's over 5 gigs and I'd like to get it shrunk down as much as possible.

The compressed files and the cab files; can those be deleted before the imaging process? I want this image to be as clean as possible.

Right now there are two partitions, both FAT32, there is nothing on the D: drive, can I format that as NTFS, before Acronis cuts off a chunk for the Secure Zone?

Also, once I get my image created both on the disk and to CD; I'll need to install my old hard drive, which has a non working System partition and a data partition, to recover my programs.

So this is my plan, (Please feel free to poke holes in it.):
Create a Secure Partition.
Image my new system drive.
Install the old drive as a slave, and copy the programs to the New drive off of the old C: drive.
Image the New C drive with programs.
Format the old C: Drive.
Image (clone?) the New C drive back to the old C: drive.
Reinstall the Old C drive with the fresh image back into the computer as a System drive.
Then Image the Old C drive, which hopefully will be now be working.

Put the other C drive back in my daughter's computer and reinstall her programs.


Ok what am I missing?

Thanks,

 

Hi, Videocool

I could follow until:-

As that computer came from no where , Does that include installing the OS to her [the other C drive] system.

 

Oops...

Left out a detail or two...

Yes, I swiped her hard drive... (it's a linux box, so after I'm done with it I'll just reinstall linux to it). My C drive lost it's Hal.dll, so I had to reinstall windows, (I was already cleaning everything I could get off that machine in preparation for Imaging it), just needed another day or two... oh, well, now I've got a Clean Install or as clean as you can get with an OEM disc.

I created an 8 gig SECURE partition, and my Full Image Backup is a little less than 4 gigs with normal compression. I could probably get it on 5 CD's with high compression or one DVD-R. I've made a couple of bootable rescue CD's. Once I boot with one of those, can I then restore from the DVD as opposed to the SECURE partition, (if that didn't work, or if the drive were to fail)?

But back to my main question, can I safely dump the CAB files and compressed windows files? What else can be deleted before an image?

Thanks again...

 

Hi, Videocool

Thanks, seeing it clearer now .

It depends what or where the file are, deleting Windows files is Very Dangerous, the only files I would delete of Windows, and I am not advising you should do so [which I do not have on my system as I slipped streamed mine to the InstallCD] is SP1 or SP2 and any updates uninstall folders. [which are hidden, but once deleted you can never uninstall them for what ever reason]

Take Care,
TheQuest