[aaaa44]

Motherboard: Elite Group ECS P4M900T-M2, socket 775, supports 4 Gigs RAM, accommodates two DDR2 unbuffered DIMMS
O/S: XP Home from installation cd I bought directly from MS, 32 Bit
RAM: 1 GB Crucial PC4200 DDR2 533 MHz
CPU: Intel Celeron Dual Core E1200, 1.6 GHz, 512K, 800 MHz, OEM, Advanced Performance Series, Allendale, socket 775
PSU: Power Up 450 Watt ATX
HD: WD Caviar SE, 320G, IDE
Monitor: Samsung 2032NW, SyncMaster, 5ms, 3000:1, Dynamic Contrast, 20”
DVD burner: Memorex multi format, double layer
CPU fan:Ultra X Wind, aluminum socket
Case: from an old Compaq Presario
Avast scanner, Comodo firewall, Spybot Search and Destroy, Ad-Aware, CCleaner


How do I create a hd partition? I want to create a hd partition to save my data on another partition with the XP Home data backup utility. I just installed the utility. In Disk Management when I right click the C drive, which is the only hd on my computer, the Mark Partition As Active, Format, and Delete Partition options are in gray. Open, Explore, Properties, Help and Change Drive Letter and Paths... are black. Where do I go from here? Thanks for any replies.

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First of all I would like to explain a few things to you. Though I always encourage keeping backups of important documents, what you are wanting to do may not be the best idea. Creating a partition for backups is perfect for backing up and restoring files and for organising your drive, but you have to keep in mind that if your hard drive goes bad you will loose all information in both partitions. I always recomend getting a thumb drive, external hard drive, or a second hard drive or backing up your files on the internet. If you would still like to set up the partition please let me know and I'll look into how to set that up for you.

[Oreo Collas]

First of all I would like to explain a few things to you. Though I always encourage keeping backups of important documents, what you are wanting to do may not be the best idea. Creating a partition for backups is perfect for backing up and restoring files and for organising your drive, but you have to keep in mind that if your hard drive goes bad you will loose all information in both partitions. I always recomend getting a thumb drive, external hard drive, or a second hard drive or backing up your files on the internet. If you would still like to set up the partition please let me know and I'll look into how to set that up for you.

[aaaa44]

Good ideas. I always questioned the effectiveness of backing up data on the same drive. Since I only use about 30 gigs total on my hd a thumb drive would probably be the best option. Are some brands of thumb drives significantly better? Are there any free methods of storing files on the Internet or do all services charge?

[123Runner]

I personally do not like on-line storage. But yes, I believe there are a few.
There is an article this month in PCWorld on page 18 on Windows live skydrive. PC World rates it as 1 of the best and states its free.

You can also get a external USB drive for about $125.00
I buy the case and add a hard drive. Case and 500gb drive cost me $125.00
I use the free program called SyncBack to back up my files.