formatting hard drive but need to keep windows?

[eyeswithoutaface]

right i want to format the drive on this machine but i need to keep the current installation of windows, as i dont have the original disk that came with it anymore :(

i have brand new copies of Norton Save and Restore and Go Back to install, was just wondering if anyone here knew the best way i should go about all this as its a first for me, i can find my way around a studio but im buggered if i know how to format a disk drive haha

any help appreciated

[benzene]

My answer would be to

1/ take an image of your current installation, using Ghost or DriveImage XML (free, works well for me) or maybe the stuff you mentioned will do it.

2/ test the image!! by restoring it to an empty partition on your existing disk.

3/ Now you are sure the image is OK, format the partition windows was on, then restore it from the image you took in step 1

There's a bit more to doing this properly than I can mention here, might be worth reading through some online guides on how to backup / restore drive partitions via an image.

In fact it's a good idea to take regular images of your hard drive as backups, it's nice to go back to an ultra-clean install of windows and all your programs in one fell swoop.

I'm sure there was a post here a while back about this, splitting your disk up into partitions and backing them up. In a nutshell:

- Partition 1: Windows and music software
- Partition 2: Samples
- Partition 3: Other data

Then the idea is that you install everything on partition 1, image it, and restore to the clean image if/when the installation starts running like a dog. Also, you never need to reinstall the individual programs or enter licence keys again :)

*** Careful with restoring to disk images though, as you can seriously lose data! ***

[stjohn]

this is assuming that you have windoes on a partition already, i think

[eyeswithoutaface]

yeah i dont have partitions on here, ive never known how to do them and never wanted to start fiddling with this machine as it does the bulk of my audio work, but now i want to format it but keep the installation of windows like i said

seeming trickier than i thought :(

[eyeswithoutaface]

the thing is, i dont mind losing alot of the applications and software on here already, i just need to keep windows and a few things, so im not worried about losing data as everything i need off here for audio is either already at the mastering peeps or has already been sent for release/is released. I have another machine too for audio, i just want to use this one for the internet now and managing all my paperwork, and doing the odd beat or 2 on seeing how its still got a nice soundcard and stuff on it

[eyeswithoutaface]

sorry should of added, can i not just take an image of what i want to keep i.e windows then format, THEN create 2 partitions?

[benzene]

TBH if you only have the 1 partition with windows on it, then you're going to be in a situation where you have a formatted unbootable machine ...

I'm a bit out of my depth, I've got this kind of thing working myself with plenty of trial and error, but of course it really depends on your exact setup.

Maybe something like Ghost can give you a bootable CD/DVD that will drop the image onto your newly formatted HD. I'm pretty sure I've seen this sort of thing in my work.

In fact .... Assuming you can get Ghost from somewhere, this might just help:

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/ghost.nsf/docid/2000030611414425

Again don't forget doing this may leave you with an unbootable machine if it doesn't work out ... :(

Good luck!

[Tyrisia]

The boot partition is always on the C: drive, so if you partition your drive first, then take an image using ghost of the C: drive, save it on the new partition as an image, and then check the image in dos on bootup with the ghost boot cd, to make sure you can see the image on your new partition from dos via the Ghost boot cd BEFORE you format anything.

To partition your drives use Partition Magic, makes it easy as pie to split a drive into upto three seperate partitions, it has step by step instruction wizards so you can't really mess anything up, and it stores all actions so you can check em before you execute.

If you need anymore advice, give me a shout and I'll try to help as best I can.

[eyeswithoutaface]

right so i need to get partition magic and ghost, split the drive into 3, take an image of the C: partition..... then i started to get lost im afraid, i didnt understand the last bit at all mate

my msn is texture2006@hotmail.co.uk any help appreciated mate, i really need to get this sorted out thanks

[Tyrisia]

Right I've added you to me msn mate, give me a shout and I'll try to explain the options.