-=PCTechTalk=- Re: pctechtalk new question

Not quite sure what you're asking but I give it a shot.  See replies 
inline--

ted wrote:
> Being 77 and grumpy, i occasionally have bother translating
> 'big A' into english, this makes XP help a little difficult to follow.
> 1. my interpretation of what i've read, is that XP OS with NT does not need 
> any third party app to create partitions. however it is
> unclear as to whether or not it formats in the process. if it doesn't, i 
> would appreciate help in clarifying this process.

###  "XP OS with NT" is sort of a misnomer.  XP is based on the NT 
operating system and is an extension of it.  It's not 2 things put 
together.  Systems shipped these days can be divided into 2 basic 
groups:  Those supplied with an XP restore image and those supplied with 
an XP CD.  With the first group you get an image of what the company 
installs on the harddrive but there was never an installation, per se, 
done on that harddrive.  What happens is that XP is installed on a 
harddrive on a base system for that group and then software is installed 
as well, like CD burning software, office apps, etc.  once everything is 
added and the system deemed stable, an image is created of that 
harddrive.  This image is then copied to thousands of harddrives that 
are put into identical systems.  Sometimes that image is also included 
on CD's or it is copied to a hidden partition on the harddrive.  When 
your system goes belly up and you need to "restore" it, you either boot 
from the restore CD or a CD that will access the image on the hidden 
partition and restore the active partition to its original condition. 
Some restore software has the ability to restore everything or just the 
system files.  The only way to separate the partitioning (fdisk) and 
formatting tools is to create a floppy or use the install floppy setup 
available from Microsoft.

The other group comes with an actual XP CD, usually with an OEM license. 
  There may also be an applications CD if there is added software 
installed on the system.  The XP CD's are bootable and contain all the 
tools to partition and format, either FAT or NTFS file system.  If you 
can boot from the XP CD, you can partition and format your harddisk.

To modify existing partitions without losing data, you will need a third 
party (meaning not made by Microsoft) utility like Partition Magic.  It 
is always best to back up any important stuff on the harddrive before 
you start messing with partitions.

> 2.  i'm also having bother interpreting what it says about 'double booting'.
> please can someone set me straight.

###  The term you're looking for is 'dual-booting'.  This is the ability 
of a system to boot into one of several operating systems, say Windows 
98 and Windows XP or Windows XP and a version of Linux like Mandrake or 
Fedora.  Windows XP can set up a boot manager on the harddrive so that 
you are offered a selection when you turn the machine on.

HTH  Tom
> cheers ted
> 
> From: "T. Hunt" <ilrover@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:ilrover@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
> Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: pctechtalk new question
> If you have recovery CD's, you normally will not be able to access any
> of XP's install functions, as the procedure for replacing your OS is 
> completely different. One way to preserve the status quo is to
> create
> an image of your harddrive as it exists right now. You will need either
> a CD burner or an external harddrive and some sort of imaging software.
> I use Ghost and many here recommend Acronis True Image (I hope that's
> the correct name). You can create an image of your drive, redo the
> partitions and then restore the image to the primary partition and use
> the other partition for whatever you want.
> There are tools like Partition Magic that will resize existing
> partitions, leaving the data intact. Please back up anything that is
> important to you as these things can always find a way to screw up when
> you least expect it.
> 
> From: "Don" <don101@xxxxxxxxxx <mailto:don101@xxxxxxxxxx>>
> Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: pctechtalk new question
> Date: Fri, 29 Oct 2004 11:57:59 -0400
> You cannot format a hard drive without destroying (for all practical
> purposes) all the data on it.
> I suspect what you want to do is to partition your harddrive into 2 or more
> partitions with your perfectly honed XP Home on the boot partition.
> You do not need to format to do that. There are many utilities that will
> create, remove and change partitions without loss of existing data.
> If you feel you MUST format, then make a back up copy of what you want to
> keep or use a utility like Norton GHOST or DISK IMAGE to create an image,
> save it to CD or DVD Rom, format and partition the drive and then restore to
> the desired partition. Be sure the partition you restore to is large enough
> to accept everything that you backed up or imaged.
> Greetings from the sunny east coast of Central Florida.
To unsub or change your email settings:
http://www.freelists.org/webpage/pctechtalk

To access our Archives:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PCTechTalk/messages/
http://www.freelists.org/archives/pctechtalk/

For more info:
http://www.freelists.org/cgi-bin/list?list_id=pctechtalk

Other related posts: