Jimbo
February 27th, 2005, 23:08
If you have any files on your computer that you would hate to lose, plan ahead for a disaster. This past few months, I have had to help 5 different people with their operating systems. In 4 of those cases, we had to format their hard drive, and do a clean install of their operating system.
To save their important files, I had to take their hard drive out of their computer, and hook it up to mine. Then, I moved the important files onto my hard drive, and then move them back when we had the system back up and running.
This was a big pain in the neck for both of us, but it was better than losing their important files. The way to avoid all this hassle is to plan ahead for it. When the kitchen is on fire, it's a little late to be considering buying a fire extinguisher.
First off: Strongly consider getting Windows XP. I hated XP when it first came out, but have grown to love it after using it a while.
Second: Either install a second hard drive in your computer, or partition the one you have into 2 sections. Use the first partition to load all your programs on, but keep all of your important files on the other partition. With the cost of a 60 GB hard drive being around $50, it's not much money to guard against a real disaster down the road.
If installing a hard drive is out of your ability range, you can put a hard drive in an external case, and hook the case to your computer with a USB connection. If you have any questions about how to do anything I mention here, you can E-mail me. If you are looking to get Windows XP, I can get it for you for about $100. Either way, don't wait for a loss of important files to motivate you into planning ahead.
To save their important files, I had to take their hard drive out of their computer, and hook it up to mine. Then, I moved the important files onto my hard drive, and then move them back when we had the system back up and running.
This was a big pain in the neck for both of us, but it was better than losing their important files. The way to avoid all this hassle is to plan ahead for it. When the kitchen is on fire, it's a little late to be considering buying a fire extinguisher.
First off: Strongly consider getting Windows XP. I hated XP when it first came out, but have grown to love it after using it a while.
Second: Either install a second hard drive in your computer, or partition the one you have into 2 sections. Use the first partition to load all your programs on, but keep all of your important files on the other partition. With the cost of a 60 GB hard drive being around $50, it's not much money to guard against a real disaster down the road.
If installing a hard drive is out of your ability range, you can put a hard drive in an external case, and hook the case to your computer with a USB connection. If you have any questions about how to do anything I mention here, you can E-mail me. If you are looking to get Windows XP, I can get it for you for about $100. Either way, don't wait for a loss of important files to motivate you into planning ahead.