another reformatting question

I would like to reformat my HD but i need to copy(backup) everything from it to dvd's, can i just copy the files over and if so will i be able to just move the files back to the HD after a reformat

any help, software suggestions and what not would be great

thanks you the help

yeah you can just burn your files to a blank DVD and then copy all the information to your newly formatted hard drive. I did that before, I had about 8 DVD backups....and after i formateed I just plugged them in and copied all my flies to my hard drive. It takes a butt load of time but is worth it to save all your files. If this was helpful, +KMA is apperciated )

just make sure not to copy any malicious files ;)

You can't just copy any installed files or programmes though and transfer them back after reformat and expect them to work. You'll have to re-install anything you had previously.

[quote24684dfd27="theysayjump"]You can't just copy any installed files or [b24684dfd27]programmes[/b24684dfd27] though and transfer them back after reformat and expect them to work. You'll have to re-install anything you had previously.[/quote24684dfd27]

[quote24684dfd27="guelah75"]can i just [b24684dfd27]copy the files[/b24684dfd27] over and if so will i be able to just move the files back to the HD after a reformat
[/quote24684dfd27]

You can just copy files over. Obviously you can't just copy programs, just copy the installation files and you'll be all set...

Oh by the way... 500th post 8)

one of the best things to do is to partition during reformatting so you have an extra chunk of your hard drive to store your good stuff.

[quoteb6c114d317="PokerNerdAA"]You can just copy files over. Obviously you can't just copy programs, just copy the installation files and you'll be all set...[/quoteb6c114d317]

I guess I don't know what OS you're using... but for 90% of mac programs. You can just drag it over.

[quote1992f6c8da="theysayjump"]You can't just copy any installed files or programmes though and transfer them back after reformat and expect them to work. You'll have to re-install anything you had previously.[/quote1992f6c8da]

anyway to copy the programs to a dvd so that i can reinstall them after reformatting or do i need the installer files for that

also the OS is XP Home


also, should i just wait for my freepay giftcard to get another HD and then copy everything to the new drive then reformat the old drive, would that be easier, also would doing that solve the "copying programs" problem?

[quote506276d310="guelah75"][quote506276d310="theysayjump"]You can't just copy any installed files or programmes though and transfer them back after reformat and expect them to work. You'll have to re-install anything you had previously.[/quote506276d310]

anyway to copy the programs to a dvd so that i can reinstall them after reformatting or do i need the installer files for that

also the OS is XP Home


also, [b506276d310]should i just wait for my freepay giftcard to get another HD and then copy everything to the new drive then reformat the old drive[/b506276d310], would that be easier, also would doing that solve the "copying programs" problem?[/quote506276d310]

That would be a great deal easier. Just use norton ghost or something to copy all of the contents of the old onto the new, then boot from the new hdd. Is it just me, or is this place getting more and more tech questions? We could use a separate tech forum where people can ask questions like this.

^
does that make like a disc image of the hard drive?

doesn't my registery go bye-bye when i reformat, would the programs that I "ghost" over to the new drive still be able to work?

big thanks to

Brok3n_Sword
TSJ
PokerNerdAA (how much snow did you get today, we got a inch or so in knoxville)

[quote2821f81f1a="guelah75"]^
does that make like a disc image of the hard drive?

doesn't my registery go bye-bye when i reformat, would the programs that I "ghost" over to the new drive still be able to work?

big thanks to

Brok3n_Sword
TSJ
PokerNerdAA (how much snow did you get today, we got a inch or so in knoxville)[/quote2821f81f1a]

just a dusting. Although it's the second Saturday I woke up to this stupid snow (. Not bad considering Thursday and Friday were so nice..... anyway as to your computer check SlickDeals.net you can find like a 300gb one for less then a hundo.

Also - I thought formatting deletes everything hardcore, but use http//dban.sourceforge.net/[]http//dban.sourceforge.net/ to do away with everything (what i was told from my thread 8) )

+karma PokerNerdAA

I'll hit the rest of you up as soon as I can

thanks for the great help

maybe a TECH section of the forum would be a good idea, just a repeated thought

[quote395fc98c5d="guelah75"]+karma PokerNerdAA

I'll hit the rest of you up as soon as I can

thanks for the great help

maybe a TECH section of the forum would be a good idea, just a repeated thought[/quote395fc98c5d]

Thanks, muchly apperciated. Tech section would be nice....

Get a second drive and put all the good shit you want to keep on that drive and then reformat your first drive.

Ive had a 3rd drive from my old pc hanging around and no extra bay to stick it into my pc. Luckily I chose to buy a USB-IDE converter. So basically I hooked up the 3rd drive via USB and was happy to find 111 gigs of possible space. I realized that the drive had an existing partition and also had Windows installed on it from the old pc. I had no idea about formats and what not and actually spent the entire day doing google searches. Was even gonna come in here and ask around but it never got to that point. I was able to download Partition Magic and it pretty much automatted the merging of partitions and easily reformatted the drive. Glad to say I have an extra 111 gigs available.

BTW much easier to transfer from one drive to another rather than burning and then recopying later. Hit me up with a Pm if you have any questions.