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new computer questions, please help pc challenged mecha! - The Trek BBS
Well, I finally made the plunge and got a new system- an HP Pavilion 6530f.
My first new computer in almost 8 years.
Now so far everything is going smoothly (haven't connected to the Internet yet, Im on my old comp now) but Im confused about the drives.
My old computer just had an A (floppy), C (where I stored my pics & all my programs), & D (cd player).
This new comp has a C drive (labeled HP) & a D drive (labeled factory image), then an E drive(dvdrw) & a whole bunch of other removable storage drives.
So which drive do I use to store all the pictures & music files from my old computer?
I assume C b/c D seems to be occupied with Something Important That Must Not Be Messed With & has little space on it left?
Also how do you do that thing were you partition the drive so that Windows is on one section & everything else like programs, pictures, & music files are on another section so that they can remain safe if windows crashes (I think that's how it works?)
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I'm not sure what D: represents on your new computer, but I think what might be easiest would be to burn all the pics into a DVR folder, then copy & paste them into the "My Pictures" folder on the new system, and a similar operation with the music files.
Back in the day, partitioning had to be done prior to a Windows installation, not sure how you would do it now.
I don't think you need worry much, though.
I've had to re-install / repair XP a couple of times, but the data and programs were ok.
I think it would be safer though to burn critical data on a DVR, that way it is completely independent of the system.
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Quote: : I think it would be safer though to burn critical data on a DVR, that way it is completely independent of the system.
You mean DVD-R, right?
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Quote: : Quote: : I think it would be safer though to burn critical data on a DVR, that way it is completely independent of the system.
You mean DVD-R, right?
I mean ****,
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I think I can help.
C:/ is likely the same as your old C:/.
The D:/ is likely the image of the install file.
Basically, if you screw up the C:/ you can reinstall Windows to state it was shipped to you in via the D:/.
If that is what it is, you shouldn't do anything to it.
It should stay untouched as a safety device for a fresh install.
The random drives are likely a memory card reader.
I don't know this for sure, but that is usually what causes it.
Basically, each type of memory card it supports gets its own drive.
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Removed = Already covered
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Quote: : Well, I finally made the plunge and got a new system- an HP Pavilion 6530f.
My first new computer in almost 8 years.
Now so far everything is going smoothly (haven't connected to the Internet yet, Im on my old comp now) but Im confused about the drives.
My old computer just had an A (floppy), C (where I stored my pics & all my programs), & D (cd player).
This new comp has a C drive (labeled HP) & a D drive (labeled factory image), then an E drive(dvdrw) & a whole bunch of other removable storage drives.
So which drive do I use to store all the pictures & music files from my old computer?
I assume C b/c D seems to be occupied with Something Important That Must Not Be Messed With & has little space on it left?
They would be stored on C:.
The best bet is to just store them in your Documents folder (if you're running Vista which I would assume you are since you just bought it, otherwise My Documents with XP), which is on the C drive.
And as stated above, the D: drive is the restore partition that is put on by HP in case you ever need to reinstall Windows.
Don't mess with that.
Quote: : Also how do you do that thing were you partition the drive so that Windows is on one section & everything else like programs, pictures, & music files are on another section so that they can remain safe if windows crashes (I think that's how it works?) There really wouldn't be a point in partitioning it to do so.
Programs installed on a different partition would be useless if you had to reinstall Windows anyways.
Not only that, if your hard drive does eventually crash a seperate partition will do nothing to protect your documents as a partition is merely a division of the drive itself.
Your better option is to purchase an external hard drive, like from Seagate, LaCie or Western Digital.
Vista (if you're running it) has a decent backup program built-in and often times external drives have their own backup software.
That way, if your hard drive ever does go bad, your documents will be safe on a different physical drive.
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Thanks everyone, so I was right, its C, & Im to leave D alone!
Im learning! (sniff)
and I mentioned partitioning b/c it seemed like something that was often recommended here...& I could have sworn it had something to do with making crashes easier to deal with but I must have mixed it up with some other function.
Edit- yes its Vista sadly
Quote: : Your better option is to purchase an external hard drive, like from Seagate, LaCie or Western Digital.
Vista (if you're running it) has a decent backup program built-in and often times external drives have their own backup software.
That way, if your hard drive ever does go bad, your documents will be safe on a different physical drive.
Yeah I plan to get me one of those, but dont know if I should get the less expensive portables or those pricier box-like ones...
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Well, here's a little free Dell Tech Support advice:
1.
Unplug your computer.
2.
Plug your computer back in.
3.
Start your computer.
4.
Shut down your computer.
5.
Unplug your computer.
Now, this next step is going to involve a hammer and a bottle of Jack...
J.
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It's a little more advanced, but I put "My Documents" on the D: drive, which in my case is a second physical hard drive.
I clicked on Properties for My Documents from the top-most folder view and changed it from there.
That way in case of a crash or if I have to re-format (which I have done a few times in the last weeks with a different/new OS), I don't lose anything in there.
Of course, once it's reformatted & the OS reinstalled, I had to "change" the path back to D: again so it knows where to look.
A second physical hard drive is a pretty good add-in.
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Quote: : Allen Now, this next step is going to involve a hammer and a bottle of Jack...
J.
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In effect you hard drive is already partitioned in to C and D, and if you crash C, you'll have the wherewithal to get it all back and running.
Back in the day, some would partition a small portion of their drive to have just the operating system, and everything else on the other partition, so that all that would be lost in the crash was the OS, which could be repaired and used to access the undamaged partition.
Or something.
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Quote: : Allen Well, here's a little free Dell Tech Support advice:
J.
Reminds me a bit of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcQ7RkyBoBc (the website is down [youtube.com])
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Ugh, Im not liking Vista, XP was so much easier to navigate.
the new Windows Player is a mess!
If it aint broke don't fix it Microsoft!
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Quote: : ugh, Im not liking Vista, XP was so much easier to navigate.
the new Windows Player is a mess!
If it aint broke don't fix it Microsoft!
You're just not used to it.
Give it about 2 weeks while you customize it.
RAMA
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Quote: : Quote: : ugh, Im not liking Vista, XP was so much easier to navigate.
the new Windows Player is a mess!
If it aint broke don't fix it Microsoft!
You're just not used to it.
Give it about 2 weeks while you customize it.
RAMA Bingo.
I've been using Vista for 2 months now and with SP1.
My system is fast, sleek, and runs exactly how I like it.
I'm familiar with it and know how it works.
If you offered to give me XP for free, I'd turn it down.
Vista's workin.
J.
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Meh. I have XP at home, Vista at work, and I still prefer XP for ease of navigation.
And I'm very underwhelmed with Office 07
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Quote: : You're just not used to it.
Give it about 2 weeks while you customize it.
RAMA Er...
Shell out scads of money and then do 2 weeks worth of work to de-stupid the OS?
People really do this voluntarily?
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Quote: : Quote: : You're just not used to it.
Give it about 2 weeks while you customize it.
RAMA Er...
Shell out scads of money and then do 2 weeks worth of work to de-stupid the OS?
People really do this voluntarily?
If by scads of money you mean virutally no difference in price at all (OEM prices of Vista Home Premium are on par with XP Professional) then yes.
Everyone takes time to get used to the computer that they purchase and use.
How is that unusual?
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Quote: : Quote: : You're just not used to it.
Give it about 2 weeks while you customize it.
RAMA Er...
Shell out scads of money and then do 2 weeks worth of work to de-stupid the OS?
People really do this voluntarily?
You did it when you got XP.
Believe me.
It's just that after 7 years, no one really remembers that.
XP when it was first introduced was horrid.
Authentications, verification by Microsoft, incompatibility with just about everything at the time, slow, bloated, overcomplicated and overpriced.
I was adamantly against it at the time, saying my business would never use XP.
Of course, we didn't expect it to go on for almost 7 years without a replacement.
J.
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