I want to partition my drive into C: & D: then format a filesystem on D to NTFS and install windows on C

Stacey:

Which version of Windows are you installing?

One option for Windows 7 is to boot your PC from the installation DVD and go to a command prompt. From there you can format any partitions existing on the disk, or even run the command-line program DiskPart to create and format partitions.

For Windows XP you can boot your PC from a WinXP installation CD and enter the recovery console as described here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058

The format command is available in the recovery console.

Hi,

Thanks for your reply, I'm installing Windows XP (Service pack 3). Do I need an existing or already pre-installed windows to access the recovery console ? I did not see the R option. Can I use Acronis BootCD to format a filesystem on D:/ then go ahead with the windows install on C:/ I heard an unattend answer file install would work but seems a little long winded and I've already spent to much time on trying to resolve this.

thanks

Stacey:

You do not need an installation of Windows to use the Recovery Console on a WinXP installation CD. To access the recovery console you need to boot the PC from the installation CD and let the Setup program begin. Setup will begin loading drivers and after a while you'll end up at this screen:

From there you can access a command prompt. I just tried this as an experiment. From the command prompt I used DiskPart to create two partitions and then used Format to format each of them:

You can also use the Acronis Boot CD to create and format partitions using the Add New Hard Disk tool. The tool will want to delete any existing partitions on the disk but you can then create two new partitions; an NTFS partition for the OS that is set to be primary and active and a second primary NTFS partition for your Documents. Here is an example from the boot CD for TI Home 2011:

Either of these two methods should work for you.

Thanks for the reply, Sorry I went ahead before I saw your reply with Acronis disk director.

I have a new problem now, I used Acronis Disk Director Bootcd. I went in and deleted the volume.. so the unallocated space was my full hdd capacity. I created a new partition (C:/) as Logical (ticked by default) with NTFS file system. I then created a (D:) partition using the rest of my hdd space (No unallocated space left) logical with NTFS. I noticed on my pc in disk director all my hdd was showing as primary so I decided to convert them to primary.

Now.. when I input the windows XP install disc or Acronis disk director nothing happens just a black screen until I eject the disc then it displays operating system not found. Have I messed up my MBR or something ? I'm not expert with PC just taking a wild guess. Idk but it's not my laptop now I'm starting to feel desperate.

Ok so I luckily managed to get Acronis Disk Director 11 on.. What should I do

Edit: I followed your instuctions above about True home.. created the disks now when I put windows install disk I'm getting

NTLDR is missing
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart

Edit: I changed the boot order to exclude hard drive from booting 2nd.. I'm back to Operating system not found (I have XP Install disc bootable ISO) and boot order as 1.IDE CD RW

Whoop whoop windows setup is back =) I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks in advance

Stacey:

Check your BIOS setup screens to make sure that the CD drive is the highest priority device to boot from. It sounds like the PC is attempting to boot from the hard disk instead of from the CD.

Just saw your latest comment. When you create partitions, make both of them primary partitions and be sure to make the partition that you will install XP on the active partition.

I'm back =). It appears to have worked. my documents and settings are now on D:/. I've just checked under "computer management" and my D drive is 2.00GB NTFS there is 50.30GB left unallocated is it safe to extend my d drive to 53GB ?.

Stacey:

Where is the 53 GB of unallocated space located? If it is located to the right of the D partition then yes, just resize D from the right. If it is located between the C and D partitions then resize the D partition from the left. If it's at the beginning of the disk then move the two partitions to the left and then resize D.

It was located to right of the D partition. I went ahead an allocated more space their is still 298MB unallocated is it safe to use the full 298MB. Here's a pic does everything look set ok:

http://i54.tinypic.com/2jd19xw.jpg

I have an error that appears for a split second during every shut down. It doesn't appear long enough to read before the laptop quickly powers off. Should this error be written in Event viewer ? I think it contains the words memory module. how can I locate and read the error. I have a free standing web cam handy if it has to resort to that but I'd really like to make use of event viewer.

Thanks

Stacey:

You should be able to resize the D partition to use the unallocated space. You may end up with a small remaining space, generally 1 MB or less, and if you do you can just leave it in place.

The error that appears briefly on shutdown may or may not be logged in the Event Viewer. Go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer and look for warnings and critical events as shown below:

If you suspect memory problems then you can download a copy of MemTest86 from http://memtest86.com/. Burn a CD and boot the PC from the CD. Allow MemTest to run for a long time, preferably overnight. If you see even one error then stop the test -- you do have a defective memory module. If the laptop has more than one module, try one at a time to isolate the bad one.

Thanks for your reply,

But I think I've just screwed my system up. I was trying to troubleshoot an issue with Internet explorer. A serious delay in displaying the typed characters a Google search was pointing to a video driver so I ran driver magician and proceeded to update all drivers. Everything went fine but did not resolve the issue so I found a Microsoft article

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/251787

I backed up the registry and created a system restore point. I didn't fully read and tried to delete the whole service hive. It prompted with cannot delete so stupidly I tried again and it didn't delete I re-read & saw it said delete "Protectedstorage" key not the whole hive lol. so I looked and couldn't find that key with-in that hive so I used the searchfind and found a differet key with the same name but in a different folder it was empty so I exported it then deleted it. Restarted the laptop now presented with BSOD. It gives options to start in safemode etc all leads to BSOD. Not sure what to do but It might be quicker just to do another fresh install rather then spend hours looking for a fix.

Export and then delete the ProtectedStorage key from the following:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services

Unless you have any idea's on how to gain access into the system so I can choose system restore. or/and re-import my backed up registry. This is crap =) It's not my laptop it's my fathers I've had it for 2 whole weeks I had everything fine except the delay character typing issue now I'm back to starting from scratch. I can probably get it all back with-in 16hours it's just those unexpected issues that continually present themselves out of know where. Thanks for all your continued support. I will wait this time for your response and if all else fails restart the instillation process.

=)

Stacey:

Try using System Restore from a XP CD per the following article:
http://www.faultwire.com/solutions/using_system_restore_xp.php#recovery…

See the section on "Recovery Console and System Restore from Windows XP Boot CD"

Hi,

I don't get that option menu it takes me straight to the install menu of windows setup in choosing between different partitions. I think its due to I used an option or function in nLite which disables the use of recovery not by choice but as a result of using a specific function.

Can you borrow an XP CD from a friend?

I can re-burn a copy without using any options or features from nlite.

Edit: But I suspect the core recovery files probably wasn't written to my system. Ima start from scratch I can't afford to delay any longer. I'd like to use this as an opportunity to get a step ahead of myself and explorer the option of creating a hidden partition to store my backup/clone image using acronis true image. My hard drive is 80GB would this be advisable how much compression does acronis apply to the image ?.

What are my other options to store the cloned image. I have 4.7GB Dvd+R cds. 2 USB thumb drives a 1GB & a 5GB. Could I transfer the clone image to another system like from my dads laptop to mine ? I have an 80GB Seagate, 2TB WD & 1TB. The 2TB is unoccupied but I plan on using that to store cloned images of my 80GB an Terabyte drive. Can I store multiple images on that 2TB drive ? Thanks

1. True Image has a feature that lets you store images in what's called a Secure Zone, which is a hidden partition on one of your disks. Be advised, however, that if you have only one disk and it fails you lose not only Windows but also your backup that was stored on the same disk. But it's not a bad solution for a laptop since it will allow recovery of files that are in the backup but get accidentally deleted from Windows.

2. A backup image of a Windows partition will generally end up at about half the size of the occupied space on the partition. For example, if you have an 80 GB disk that has 40 GB of files and 40 GB of free space then the final image size will be about 20 GB.

3. DVDs are a bad idea for storing images. They are error-prone and the quality of the stored information degrades with time as the dye in the DVD ages. Avoid at all costs...

4. External hard disks are a much better solution for two reasons. First, you will generally have room on today's large disks for multiple images made at different times. Having multiple images is good if something happens to Windows (virus infection or whatever) and you don't discover the problem until much later. You can then restore to a time when you know things were working correctly. Second, the disk can be physically disconnected from the PC and even stored off-site as insurance against fire, theft, or flood.

5. Yes; certainly a 2 TB disk will hold many images of an 80 GB disk, perhaps 100 of them using the rough estimate of image size in example 2) above.

Thanks =).

I owned an external terabyte drive once. I had a western digital (My Book) stands up vertical.. bad idea as I'm prone to breaking things the worst of it was, I had purchased an internal terabyte drive online to backup my files it was on supersave 5 day delivery and I broke my external 2 days before the internal was due to arrive. It only flopped on its side whilst cleaning. I got lucky and was just able to recovery most of my files.. various music files were broken with the slightest skips in random places the skips were playing music from a different MP3 file. Most of my modified photos had all reverted back to their original states maybe due to metadata/cache or something and a few failed to display all in all it took 3 solid days to scan and 2 whole days to bring it all back so I'm a bit cautious of buying another external I only had it for 9 months.

The Dvd Rs I was only thinking as a method to transfer the cloned image from a laptop to my desktop. Is there a practical way and time efficient way I could set up a transfer connection between the laptop and desktop to transfer that sort of data. My downstream connection is 14.5Meg off a 20Meg connection.

Thanks, You've been a great help

Stacey:

Yes, you can transfer an image from your laptop to a desktop PC via your home network. An image is just a file and can be transferred the same way as any other file. If you have a wired Ethernet port on the laptop and can plug it into a wired port on your network then that's the fastest method of transfer. Otherwise, wireless will work but more slowly.

True Image can also save an image across a network connection. For example, you can create an image of your laptop and tell TI to save it to a folder on your desktop PC provided that the laptop and desktop can communicate with each other over the network.

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.. Do you mean get another Ethernet cable and connect hard wired to the router ? Can I have my laptop and desktop work at the same time connected straight into the router, cause I have a spare yellow Ethernet cable handy right now =).

Can you direct me to that option in true image thank you.

Stacey:

Yes, you can connect both PCs to your router simultaneously with Ethernet cables. After doing so, make sure that each PC can see the other in Windows Explorer.

Once you have verified that the two PCs can communicate with each other over the network then you can save an image of your laptop on the desktop PC. If you have an existing image file then just copy it to the other PC. If you are saving a new image file then start True Image, select "Backup" and on the "Configure disk backup process" screen, find the "Destination" drop-down list and select "Browse" as shown in the figure below. Browse to your desktop PC and save the file there.

Hm, I think I have to set one up. Both computers are running XP. I'm in "My Network Places" which one do I choose also I think I have sharing disabled configured through a 3rd party program how do I manually open up sharing ? Thanks

Add a network place
view network connections
Set up a home or small office network
Set up a wireless network for a home or small office
view workgroup computers
Show icons for networked uPnP devices.

Stacey:

Here are some articles about setting up a home network using Windows XP:

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/windowsxpnetworking/ss/windows-xp-ne…

http://www.geekgirls.com/2010/03/setting-up-a-home-network-on-windows-x…

Networks been set up, thanks. Is there an option to disable or change the transparency GUI on true image 2011 - it's slightly distracting.

So firstly I want to create a "Disk and partition backup" to store on the same hard drive but located on a separate partition so it can be easily recovered. Do I make this option bootable, Use partition or disk mode, use compression and should I use "Back up sector-by-sector under image creation mode ?

Secondly I want to transfer a copy over the network to store on my desktop. Do I use the same "Disk and partition backup" method. Should I use the universal method so It works on VM software. How do I exclude the home network I just created or temporarily hide/disable. Just out of interest how do I make it a wireless connection, Do I have to create a new network or can I change a setting to make the network work over wireless. I guess it only works/allows access to files when both systems are switched on ?. Sorry for all the question it's just I want to get this laptop backed up soon so I can give it back to my dad. Lol I've had it for over 3 weeks :embarrassed:. I'll have a play with it in VM ware just to get me somewhat familiar thanks in advance for all your help. Home network thing is neat =)

I transfered a backup off my laptop to my desktop, Mounted Disk director using Daemon tools lite to recover my system in Virtual box but I get as far as Acronis True Image Home 2011 fully loaded then I can't move the mouse to choose Recover ?

Wow -- lots of questions.

1. You can't change the transparency of the GUI
2. When making a Disk and partition backup:
a. Bootable - no
b. Use Disk mode unless you want to omit some of the partitions
c. Standard compression
d. Sector-by-sector mode - no
3. You don't need to make a separate backup to store on your desktop machine. Just copy the backup file that you make for your laptop across the network to the desktop.
4. I'm not familiar with the Universal Restore option so I can't help
5. To make a wireless connection use a search engine to look this up
6. To disable the wired connection, unplug the cable
7. To boot your VM from Disk Director, why do you need Daemon tools? Boot the ISO directly from the VM or else boot the VM from a CD.
8. Why are you using Disk Director to recover an image made with TI? Boot the TI recovery CD or ISO.