[violator]

right my laptop has 2 hard drives built into it, and i wanna move everything off the 'main' hard drive into the other one, now i know i can copy and paste from one to the other, but my question is do i just format the 'main' one after the data swap, i wont loose any important documents will i ??

i know i wont, i jut want someone to tell me im right lol, peace of mind and all that.


cheers

[Tom]

If you 'format' your main drive (Usually 'C') after moving your files (Documents/ films, etc etc) to the secondary drive- You may well fook your laptop up.

As far as I know- Most laptops have the operating system installed on C drive, so if you format it- You're going to wipe it all, and without any operating system files on your hard drive- your laptop will not function.

What are you trying to do exactly?

If you're trying to 'start a fresh'- The way I normally do things is-

Transfer all files etc that I want to keep (Films, music, documents etc) to an EXTERNAL hard drive. THEN- Boot the computer from the XP Disc, and reinstall windows, choosing the format option so you get a complete fresh install.

[violator]

was thinkin if a transfer everythin to the other drive it would keep the main one clear and the speed of the laptop up...if i copy it all though tom (right click the 'C' drive and copy and paste into 'D' drive would the system files not go too ?

[Tom]

	Quote:
	Originally Posted by violator was thinkin if a transfer everythin to the other drive it would keep the main one clear and the speed of the laptop up...if i copy it all though tom (right click the 'C' drive and copy and paste into 'D' drive would the system files not go too ?

Yes- they SHOULD- But when you format the drive- you'll wipe EVERYTHING- Including the operating system.

This is not the right way to go about doing it.

My old Vaio- I tried doing what you want to do... I moved all my personal files from C over to D, then done a format/ reinstall- But because it restored everything to how it was when it left the factory- it wiped D drive too- Losing all my personal files.

Best thing you can do is use an external hard drive- that way you know all your files are safe.

Or if you don't have HUUUUGE amounts of data to save- Burn it to DVD's as a 'data dvd', using Nero.

Or- If you have a PC also- setup a network between the laptop/ PC, and transfer everything you want to keep from your laptop to the PC by wireless or ethernet cable- It's a fast way of transferring things.

[violator]

ok cheers tom was just an idea, as its runnin slooow lately even though C drive still has 55 gb free, ive done 3 boot scans and nothing found thought it might sort that prob out !

[Tom]

	Quote:
	Originally Posted by violator ok cheers tom was just an idea, as its runnin slooow lately even though C drive still has 55 gb free, ive done 3 boot scans and nothing found thought it might sort that prob out !

To-rent Advanced uninstaller pro, and then once installed- view 'startups' and see what ones you can disable.

Startups IMO are the main cause of a slow-running computer and is always the first thing I check.

You can do this without advanced uninstaller pro, but I always suggest using this program as it's noob-friendly, and has a few more useful tools built in such as a registry scanner that fixes things, and removes ****e.

Run cleanup also- This will help.

And lastly- Run your antivirus, and then superantispyware.

After you've done all that- Reboot your computer, then download, install, and run Udefrag. It's much better than the windows defrag tool, and will only take about 30 minutes at the very most to defrag your system.

Now reboot your computer and it should be faster.

[violator]

and thats tomorrow sorted, cheers tom ! got most of that stuff on my pc but not the laptop.

oh can u reccomend me a good firewall ?

[Tom]

	Quote:
	Originally Posted by violator and thats tomorrow sorted, cheers tom ! got most of that stuff on my pc but not the laptop. oh can u reccomend me a good firewall ?

For ease of use, and something that runs perfectly alongside NOD32 or Avast (And Probably most decent AV's)- Sygate

For something more secure, but a bit of a pain in the arse to setup/ use properly- Comodo, or even Zone Alarm.

[violator]

ok cheers tom

[Space_Cowby]

just a thought on the hd issue.

I would not do as you suggested simply becuase it is probaby one drive anyway, just partitioned to looked like a seperate one.