Vista - External Harddrive Help.

Hello all,

Tomorrow (Sunday) I am getting a 1TB external harddrive and was wondering weather I could basically copy the whole of my C: drive including the OS to it. I also want to boot straight from the external drive. I also do not really care if it is'nt recommended lol. If this is possible would it also be possible to dual-boot with XP? I have both install disks for Vista and XP and I am willing to buy software.

Please could you tell me exactly what to do and what programs I need.

Thanks in Advance

Super_JS

Hello super_js.

You could use Acronis to create a ghost of the HDD, including C:.

Backup software for data backup and disaster recovery in Windows and Linux - Acronis

Also have a look at the link below.

How to dual boot Vista and XP (with Vista installed first) -- the step-by-step guide with screenshots

Keep us informed!






Later Ted

Thanks a lot Ted. When i get the drive I'll try it out.

Ok Guys, I've just Purchased Acronis True Image 11 and Acronis Disk Director Suite. So do what exactly do I do after I have installed these programs? Like how do I make the disk image and how do i put it on my External Hard drive?

Super_JS

Hello again.

As there is plenty of info on the net on how to use Acronis, it may be easier to 'ask' google.

Keep us informed!













Later Ted

Thanks for all your help Ted, Acronis explained itself I didn't need to google it.

I'm running from my external drive now and its actually faster than off my internal lol. I have one last question for you.

Is it worth Dual-Booting with XP?

Super_JS

Hello and thanks for posting back.

From what I've seen, most people that dual boot don't do it very long, too much trouble.
Besides Vista is more than capable of handling whatever you need on it's own.

One tutorial to have a look at.

System Restore Points - Stop XP Dual Boot Delete

Keep us informed!








Later Ted

Turns Out that I was running from my Internal Drive. When I booted from the external it was sloooooooooooooooooooooow. Now i have all my files back in my C: drive loads of my programs have errors .

Also my internal HDD has lost about 100gb due to having vista cloned onto it. Does anyone know if the Windows Format will bring back my 1tb? When i click in the format is says capacity 852GB and When i tried earlier it was 930GB.

Lol thanks anyway Ted for all of the info-it was good knowledge.

Super_JS

If you were connecting using a USB it will be slower.
Just because the HDD manufacturer 'says' it's 1TB doesn't mean you get 1024GB.
It depends on the formula they use to rate it.

If you want to remove the clone just re-format and find out.

Run this System Files - SFC Command to see if it can repair the corruption.

Keep us informed!









Later Ted

Ok I formated and My external Drive is still only 852GB. Please help me gain back my 930GB someone.

Acronis seems to have done something to the drive.....

Super_JS