[jpro747]

Hello,

After about 8 months since I built my new system I am starting to have some problems.

Firstly I have two Hard Drives:
1. 30GB OCZ Vertex SSD - this contains Windows Vista 64bit, Nvidia Drivers, and some other windows related programs
2. 1TB Samsung 7200rpm HDD - This contains all of my programs and files such as photos, music, videos, FSX, Photoshop, etc.

The hard drive that I installed windows on is running out of space (only 342MB left!!!) and is causing all sorts of problems. I want to move the whole contents of this drive over to my second hard drive which is a lot bigger (630GB left out of 1TB).

I mainly use my system for FSX and its a nightmare to have to re-install all of it and I dont want to lose any of my files, So is there any way I can just move windows over to the secondary hard drive without losing all the programs and files? Or would I have to do a full re-install and start from scratch?


Thanks,
James.

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Hi,

You want disk copy software. Try typing "disk copy software free" into google.

You can also trying using the Vista backup program to backup your data to a USB device. Then remove your 30 GB hard drive and restore the data on to the 1 tb drive. You will need a Vista boot disk to restore the data though.

Good luck.

Dennis

[densolis]

Hi,

You want disk copy software. Try typing "disk copy software free" into google.

You can also trying using the Vista backup program to backup your data to a USB device. Then remove your 30 GB hard drive and restore the data on to the 1 tb drive. You will need a Vista boot disk to restore the data though.

Good luck.

Dennis

[peter99]

Which version of Vista do you have

Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore

Available in Windows Vista Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions,

Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore is a comprehensive, image-based backup tool that will help you out of a tight spot if you need to recover your entire system.

While file restore is useful in cases of file loss and data corruption, Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore is most useful for disaster recovery when your PC malfunctions. This feature helps you create complete PC backups, and then in the event of a serious system issue or data loss, Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore can restore your entire PC environment, including the operating system, installed programs, user settings, and data files.

You can restore your PC back to its original state or onto another PC. Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore can be initiated from within Windows Vista or from the Windows Vista installation CD, if the PC is not able to start up normally from the hard disk


you will also need to create a vista 64bit recovery disk or download one

in win7 top end versions you can create a recovery cd disk should work work on vista but not to sure

create a image backup to an external drive

create a free space or new partition at the beginning of the drive you wish to install to

connect drives insert recovery disk
install from backup image to new partition or free space


or use a third party image software if you are more used to using or the version of vista does not have the backup to image software

[diabillic]

You could change the default directory Program Files to a different drive to save some space.

http://en.kioskea.ne...c-program-files

[jpro747]

Thanks for the help guys!

I have Windows Vista Home Premium so the backup tool isnt available. I tried changing the path for the program files but a lot of stuff wouldnt move across because "you need permission to perform this action".

Now I'm about to download this disk copy software, and try that.

thx again,
James.

[diabillic]

Do it in Safe Mode

[jpro747]

OK I downloaded a program called R-Drive Image that is supposed to copy disk to disk. I tried to copy my primary drive to my secorndary drive, but it shows a warning message that says "the entire contents of the destination disk will be lost!"
So I didnt proceed.

Then I tried another option where you can create a disk "image", which copies the contents of the primary disk to an .arc file on the secondary drive.

Now i'm a bit confused about what to do next...

What is a disk image and what do i do with it?

[jpro747]

Now change of plan:

installed a 3rd hard drive from my old PC containing 500mb

So i'll try the disk to disk method again, overwriting this new hard drive.