HD to NTFS -> WinXP Home vs. Pro

[Rob Lohman]

Josh,

You cannot simply file-copy your C drive. Why? Because when
Windows (any version of it) is running it will LOCK certain files
it has in use (system files, swap file etc.). These cannot be copied
and your explorer will stop copying (instead of giving you an
option to ignore the ones it can't copy). You can do an ignore
copy with the DOS command XCOPY, but I don't know how good/
familiair you are with DOS.

In any regard, you will just need to backup the following:

- your programs settings
- your data (don't forget your favorite internet links etc.)

After that you can just wipe the drive clean, install the same or
another OS, re-install your applications and restore your settings/
data.

I keep all my data on another drive so that I do not have to do
this. Ofcourse I still need to backup my Internet Explorers favorite
list, my e-mail, etc. etc.

Good luck!

[Josh Bass]

Thanks, but I've pretty much given up on the idea. I also don't have the Window 98SE CD anymore (well, I do, but it's scratched and simply won't work), and the whole thing seems like it could cause more trouble than not. I don't mean to sound dense, but what do you mean by data? Program settings? Isn't data everything that isn't in the C/windows directory? I guess you mean projects created from various programs?

[Rob Lohman]

Where data (programs settings, projects, AVI files, text files etc.)
can be located almost everywhere. It depends on:

- what OS you are running
- where an application decides to put it (by default)
- where you have put it yourself
- settings can even be in the registry (a special settings database)

Data is more or less everything you use and create (documents,
DV footage, pictures etc.). Settings are more like how you have
setup your programs and these usually can just be written down
and re-entered when installing/running again. Data is the thing
you must be real carefull about!

[Robert Knecht Schmidt]

If you have the option of buying a new computer, or borrowing a a friend's computer (that has enough free space on its hard drive), consider using an ethernet crossover cable and setting up a direct connection between the two. With a 10 Mbps connection you should be able to back up all your data, even all your video data, in just a few hours (versus spending lots of money and hassle burning CDs, etc.).

If one of the computers doesn't have an ethernet card, you can buy one for ~$15 and install it; if you don't want to do that you can set up a maximum 4 Mbps connection between the two computers with a ~$75 parallel port transfer cable from Parallel Technologies.

Just some suggestions from a guy who's been there and had to do it all before....

[Bill Ravens]

Two potential backup solutions that I use:
1-perform a second installation of your OS on another partition. Install only the basic OS with no fancy add ons. By logging into the backup OS, you can easily copy the ENTIRE contents of your main OS partition anywhere you like....like to CDROM or DVD. This becomes a perfect source to copy back to the primary partition in case you corrupt your installation. Copying back must be done thru this backup OS installation. Be sure to copy all the hidden system files if backing up your primary partition. This works...I do it a lot, without admitting to how I fubar my primary installation...hehehehe.

2-buy a copy of Norton Ghost. Ghost will allow complete hard drive copying or just partition copying. This, too works very well. In fact the time to copy your hard drive is much faster than via method 1, above.

[Robert Knecht Schmidt]

Ghost works well for computers of identical hardware, but watch out when ghosting between unlike systems.

[Scott Silverman]

Also if you are interested in backing up your PC's files take a look at this thread below. The third post from the bottom of the first page mentions some software called Backup My PC. Pretty good stuff.
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...=Back+up+my+pc

[Josh Bass]

Well, I have a firewire drive, and I'd back up everything to that. Can I back up everything that isn't in the C/windows directory? I have too much random stuff scattered everywhere from my less disciplined days to simply reinstall all software. Also, like I said, the windows 98se disk is damaged and I wouldn't be able to reinstall it. I would need a new version of Windows.

Checked on the prices for XP Pro and Win 2k Pro. What does OEM mean? Is this something to watch out for.

My greatest fear is that one or some of the many things installed now would cease to work with the new version of Windows.

[Rob Lohman]

OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer and those are
the Windows versions that a shop is ONLY allowed to sell when
you buy a new PC. But, a lot of shops also sell these to anyone
who wants to buy them and that will only help you to get it
cheaper. They cannot see that this version is not supposed to
be with your PC, so no worries.

Oh, if you are going to buy OEM make sure you get your license
key and the CD!! Also OEM versions tend to ship without a
box and manual (don't know if the normal version of Windows
still includes a manual).

[Hans Henrik Bang]

Josh, you say your 98SE installation is unstable and you have 1 Gig of RAM installed.

For some reason Win ME and lower (including 98SE) become unstable with more than 512 MB RAM. Try yanking out some ram to get you to 512 MB.

To use >512 MB you have to go for Win 2000 or XP.

Hans Henrik

[Adrian Douglas]

In fact for Win98/ME 256MB is the recommended maximum. As Hans suggests, for video work you are better off with Win2000/XP. Win98/ME was never designed for the load placed on it by the demands of video editing. It is best suited to office work and 2000/XP are best used for video work.

I'm currently using Win 2000 on my editing computer and XP on my laptop. I'm finding XP to be a big of a pain in the arse and a total resourse hog so I'd suggest Win2000 for your high performance workhorse.

[Rob Lohman]

I had no problems with Win98SE and 768 MB of memory myself...
Upgraded to XP now for that machine. Editing is on my 256 MB
Windows 2000 Professional system.

[Hans Henrik Bang]

Sounds like you were lucky Rob :-)

I ran Win ME with 768 MB too, and had a lot of system hangs etc. I then pulled out 256 MB, and the system became stable.

I checked Microsoft knowledge base for the problem, and they actually have an article on it.

Look here:

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;253912

A short quote from it:

"If a computer that is running any of the versions of Windows that are listed above contains more than 512 megabytes (for example, 768 megabytes) of physical memory (RAM), you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:
You may be unable to open an MS-DOS session (or command prompt) while Windows is running. Attempts to do so may generate the following error message:

There is not enough memory available to run this program.
Quit one or more programs, and then try again.
The computer may stop responding (hang) while Windows is starting, or halt and display the following error message:

Insufficient memory to initialize windows. Quit one or more memory-resident programs or remove unnecessary utilities from your Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files, and restart your computer."


It seems that the problem is compounded by using an AGP graphics port with a large memory aperture. This was exactly where I ran into the problem. With 768 MB of physical RAM and an AGP aperture of 128 MB, I exceeded the 800 MB limit described in the article. The problem would manifest itself with system hangs in graphics intensive applications such as games.


Hans Henrik

[Adrian Douglas]

Well there you go. I will stand corrected on the 256MB limit for Win98.

[Josh Bass]

To you all I say: too bad. I just spent money to upgrade to XP Pro, so I will learn to live with it or pull my hair out trying.