bellthecat Posted August 18, 2004 Report Share Posted August 18, 2004 I once knew how to do this, but have forgotten since it has been ages since I've done it. How do you copy all the operating system, including hidden files, etc, from one hard disk (my current c: drive) onto another bigger hard disk (my current D: drive, which I wish to make my new C: drive)? When I just copy the files the process stops when it reaches a file named win386, which a dialog box then says is in use and can't be copied. And I've got a strange file named ffastunT.ffx, 107mb in size, in my root directory. Any idea what it is. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azat Posted August 18, 2004 Report Share Posted August 18, 2004 Steve the best tool to use to get this done is Norton Ghost 2003. I think it is about 40 dollars. There may also be some free tools that will do the same thing. Maybe Sip, Anileve, Vava, Domino will have some suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellthecat Posted August 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2004 I've got a program called "Ghost" that came with my motherboard (sorry, mainboard for you PC obsessed Americans ). But I've never used it and thought it was just to make backups and clones. I can't just clone the C: disk because I already have lots of stuff on my D: disk. Disk D: is going to be the new C: since I have a new disk to replace the D: disk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vava Posted August 18, 2004 Report Share Posted August 18, 2004 If you boot with an OS that's entirely memory resident, say Knoppix Linux (which runs on CD), you can make your copy - as the OS is not 'using' the files you need to copy. There are other utilities like ghost that can copy your boot sector to your other drive, and you'll subsequently need to make bios changes. I've never done what you're trying to do - there may be some pitfalls I'm not aware of... Wouldn't you be better off with a re-install? the benefit is a nice clean system... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anileve Posted August 18, 2004 Report Share Posted August 18, 2004 Perhaps the "ffastunT.ffx" file is a worm. Try running the fixblast utility to remove it, see if it disappears. You can downlowd it from this link. http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/FixBlast.exe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vava Posted August 18, 2004 Report Share Posted August 18, 2004 (edited) Perhaps the "ffastunT.ffx" file is a worm. It's an MS office file as far as I know... edit: fixed quote Edited August 18, 2004 by vava Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azat Posted August 18, 2004 Report Share Posted August 18, 2004 That is the MS Fast Find index. I say turn the darn thing off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anileve Posted August 18, 2004 Report Share Posted August 18, 2004 I'm an ass , surely enough it's our dear MS Office Search Assistant. Well some would say that it comes close to being a worm at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellthecat Posted August 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2004 In the end copied everything from the D: drive onto cd-roms, then erased it all so I could just make a mirror copy of everything on the old C: drive. But the new udma66 ide cable is shorter than the old slow version of the cable - so, to reach the drive, I had to use a 3.5 inch bay that was previously occupied by the floppy drive, and so will have to get an adaptor to fit the floppy drive in a 5 1/4 bay (if they still make such things). You think fitting an upgrade will take an hour at most, but it ends up taking all evening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azat Posted August 18, 2004 Report Share Posted August 18, 2004 You think fitting an upgrade will take an hour at most, but it ends up taking all evening. an evening. that's nothing Steve. I have been playing with this stupid old laptop for some 3 days now and I still cant get the crappy thing to work fine with xp. Video driver is killing me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hytga Posted August 19, 2004 Report Share Posted August 19, 2004 bellthcat what windows version are you running? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vava Posted August 19, 2004 Report Share Posted August 19, 2004 You think fitting an upgrade will take an hour at most, but it ends up taking all evening. Sometimes you're better off (and quicker, too!) with a complete re-install... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellthecat Posted August 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2004 bellthcat what windows version are you running? Windows98 - haven't seen the need to upgrade yet. But the new hard disk I have, 160gb, is only useable as a 138gb disk because of this (though I think that only the very latest version of windows XP can use disks bigger than 138). So maybe the time has come. Vava, what with all the drivers and programs I'd have to to re-install (and dig out all the paswords and installation keys), it would probably have taken hours more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vava Posted August 19, 2004 Report Share Posted August 19, 2004 Vava, what with all the drivers and programs I'd have to to re-install (and dig out all the paswords and installation keys), it would probably have taken hours more! I hear ya! That's why a few years ago I bought these little flat aluminum boxes. For every OS, I slide in the Install CDs, Application CDs, all my serial numbers, shareware serials, keys, drivers etc. Then when I need to install, I pull out the box, and I'm ready to go. If not - it would be a disaster! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anileve Posted August 19, 2004 Report Share Posted August 19, 2004 Interesting idea.... You know I hate reinstalling as well. Not long ago I got a whole new system, I wanted to transfer HD from my old system to the new one. And being that Microsoft wisely loads all of the drivers into HAL you can't really transfer the drive. I realized what a disaster it would be for me to do a fresh install, since I have soooo much junk on my PC. So I went around it and fooled the system, and successfully transferred my old HD, I was told that it might become unstable or generate some errors, however I haven't encountered it yet. So bellthecat, I know the pain of letting go! I think it's always best to transfer all of the data onto a different HD and keep it as a backup drive. That way the transfer and installation is faster and less fussy. Maybe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sip Posted August 19, 2004 Report Share Posted August 19, 2004 Just the fact that one has "too much junk which would make it a disaster to install a fresh OS" is indication enough that a fresh OS install is waaaaaay overdue. Then only install things that you actually need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anileve Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 "Junk" was just a form of expression, what I meant by it is "numerous important files and applications." I need them all, even the photos of aesthetically beautiful men. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakharar Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 I really need help with my floppy disks. For some strange reason the Pc I'm working at doesn't read them at all and wants to format it. I can't afford to lose the info on the disks at all. I'm in an Internet cafe in a strange country with a very strange keyboard plus no English speakers in sight right now and I'm starting to lose my patience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sip Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 (edited) Maybe the floppies are bad in deed. Were they formatted on the same type of PC and operating system as you are trying to read them on? It could just be due to a bad floppy drive on that PC. Try another one if possible. Edited August 20, 2004 by Seapahn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sip Posted August 20, 2004 Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 (edited) "Junk" was just a form of expression, what I meant by it is "numerous important files and applications." I need them all, even the photos of aesthetically beautiful men. You should have backups of all those on CD or DVD anyway. Never rely on a hard disk as permanent storage. My brother just lost his primary hard disk 2 days ago ... he didn't lose a thing since he had copies of everything on his second hard disk Edit: This was more a general advice to novices and not directed to you eve. I know you know this Edited August 20, 2004 by Seapahn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellthecat Posted August 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2004 I really need help with my floppy disks. For some strange reason the Pc I'm working at doesn't read them at all and wants to format it. I can't afford to lose the info on the disks at all. I'm in an Internet cafe in a strange country with a very strange keyboard plus no English speakers in sight right now and I'm starting to lose my patience. If the disks were formatted on another disk drive, and that drive was slightly out of the standard alignment then you may not be able to read your disks on a different disk drive. The same might happen if the drive you are trying to use is out of the standard alignment. Or if the drive head is all clogged up with a layer of dust or smoke deposit (how grubby is your keyboard - the floppy drive could be equally as grubby inside!). Also, the magnetic patterns that are laid down on the surface of the disk will decay over time, so if you are not using those disks for years then you might find any data on them is unreadable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hytga Posted August 22, 2004 Report Share Posted August 22, 2004 Windows98 - haven't seen the need to upgrade yet. But the new hard disk I have, 160gb, is only useable as a 138gb disk because of this (though I think that only the very latest version of windows XP can use disks bigger than 138). So maybe the time has come. bellthecat i don't think you can do what you want. if it were Xp you could save the registry all configurations and then automatically install them to the new computer or drive. with 98 you can't do that, and even if you successfully copy all the fies in dos mode from one HD to anohter without booting the windows it still won't work, because you're changing hardware configuration (the hard drive) and for that you need to reinstall windows. i think you're gonna have to reinstall everything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellthecat Posted August 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2004 In the end I didn't have any problems. I used the "maxblast" software from Maxtor's website to copy everything on the old C:drive (a tiny 4GB thing) onto the now empty D: drive - then took out the C and replaced it with the D, and then put the new 160GB drive in as D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hytga Posted August 23, 2004 Report Share Posted August 23, 2004 (edited) and all your programs worked fine? you didn't have to reinstall them? i'm surprised windows even started up after that. OMG i'm lagging behind technology. ok don't panic Edited August 23, 2004 by hytga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellthecat Posted August 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2004 and all your programs worked fine? you didn't have to reinstall them? i'm surprised windows even started up after that. Everything seems fine so far, both hardware and software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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