Bought an external hard drive- How to transfer entire C drive?

[DieAGator]

Getting low on space and decided I wanted to back up entire C drive then start deleting files off my computer. I would like to transfer my entire C drive, including desktop files. If I go file by file, folder by folder I could miss something.

Is there an easy way to do it so that my entire C drive moves to the external HD? It seems that from going through Windows Explorer there's the potential to duplicate a lot of files cutting and pasting documents. I just wonder if there's a way or utility in Windows that transfers the entire C drive.


Side question: I bought a USB 2, 300GG HD off ebay for $51 total with S/H. I just looked online and found some same models cheaper but if I'm reading it correctly are just the enclosures, no HD. Is that right?


http://www.smarterdeals.com/hardware/goods-cat_id-483-brand-6231-sort-72.html
http://goldduo.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=7_78&products_id=100203

So do I need to be concerned with what kind of HD my purchase includes or our they all pretty dependable nowadays?

[helix139]

go to my computer, double click C: drive, press ctrl A to select everything, ctrl C to copy, then open up your new drive in my computer and paste. Alternatively, there are backup utilities that can do this for you. What OS are you using?

[DieAGator]

Windows XP

When I double click C drive the search utility pops up- the one that I would use to search my computer for files. I wonder why?

I just noticed I can right click the C drive icon and select copy. I wonder if I could paste that into my E drive and move my entire C drive that way?

[LakeGator]

That is strange that a double click on the C drive causes the search to appear. Another approach is to do a right click on the C drive and then select Open from the menu. I suggest not using the Copy option as that will attempt to copy the entire C drive to the paste buffer which will almost certainly fail.

Before doing the Ctrl-A I suggest that you make sure that hidden files are set to be shown in the explorer window. You do this via Tools -> Folder Options … -> View and then click on Show hidden files and folders. This will be sure to reveal all the files and folders.

It sounds like you are planning to use the USB drive as a backup for the C drive. You might want to consider having some sort of scheme other than just a blind, one time, copy. As helix notes, there are commercial backup products that can setup and maintain regular backup copies of your computer. The Backup utility that comes with XP is not great, especially when compared to the competition but it might work for you. It is under All Programs -> Accessories -> Systems Tools -> Backup, if you want to take a look.

[DieAGator]

There seems to be a minor discrepancy. My Computer shows:
Free space: 5.9GB
Total size: 111GB

But when I do a Ctrl-A and then properties I come up with this number:
Size: 100 GB (108,434,350,937 bytes)
Size on disk: 100 GB (108,381,955,324 bytes)

Does that suggest I'm not completely copying my files, that there are a few GBs somewhere other than my C drive... or that it's not copying all my files within files? I did change the setting to show hidden folders.

[lacockaroacha]

If you are having space issues I would just run a search on the C: and find all files that are larger than say 10000KB. Just right click on the C: and then choose the Search option. Under file name just put a * in there and at the bottom choose "What size is it" and choose at least 10000KB. Then decide if you can delete any of these larger files. If you are not sure what to delete I would avoid touching the files in (C:\Program Files) and your main Windows directory(C:\Windows). This will ensure that most of your applications will continue to work and you won't screw up your Windows operating System.

[LakeGator]

The numbers you are seeing comparing the properties of the Ctrl-A selection and the drive total are off by more than a little bit. I just did the same thing and the difference was about 1 GB for a drive just under 100 GB whereas you have a difference of over 6 GB. There is always some file system and other overhead but certainly not as much as you seem to be seeing.

You might want to run the Error checking tool on the C drive to see if this helps recover some space and correct any file system errors. This is available on the C drive properties under tools.

[DieAGator]

Now I'm getting the dreaded "cannot copy NTUSER: it is being used by another person or program.

My primary purpose is to create space but also have the backup of files like family pictures, etc.

Maybe I should just go ahead and through windows explorer copy and past the files I want to save? But I still think I run into the NTUSER problem copying from Documents and Settings don't I? Or if I copy and paste files from that folder manually do I bypass NTUSER?

[lblgator]

You will not be able to copy system files/directories that are in use (i.e. \system32, \winnt). Basically there are a bunch of files that are opened by the system, they cannot be copied while open. You may just want to manually go through your directory structure and backup one by one - I would imagine your \MyDocuments folder would be first.

[Urban_Warfare]

Buy a copy of Norton Ghost. It will back up EVERYTHING and not be a total pain in the butt. Trust me, it's worth it.

[DieAGator]

So far I've only copied four folders; Programs, My Documents, Desktop, and most of Windows, although I doubt I'd need those files.

So from that I copied 96 of 105MBs. That's probably enough unless someone can suggest files in other folders I might need in the event I lose my computer or it crashes. My biggest concern was not losing personal files.

I am going to run the error checking tool and see what happens too.

Thanks all.

[LakeGator]

A key folder tree to copy is C:\Documents and Settings, especially the part for the name you use to log onto the system. This contains things like your favorites and things like that. It also contains the NTUSER file as you have discovered which will not be available for copy while you are logged on.

If all you want to protect are your personal files then all you need to copy is My Documents and Documents and Settings. The other folders you listed will not be particularly useful should your hard drive go toes up.

You need to appreciate that should your hard drive fail that the only way to completely restore your system is to have a REAL backup on some other device. Making a copy as you are doing will not bring the system back to its original state. For example, making a copy of the Program Files folder tree will not allow you to restore the applications which these programs perform. You would have to install the applications from the CD or other distribution media. Just copying the program files from your USB drive will never work for any sort of complex application as the application requires other things like registry settings.

You would be well served to spend a little more money and get a backup and restore program. As already mentioned Ghost would be the way to have a ‘real’ and complete backup of your system. I lean more toward Acronis as it has all the features of Ghost at roughly half the cost and is a bit easier to use than the current versions of Ghost (IMaHO). You can see a cost sorted list of backup software from Newegg at this page (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2060350377&srchInDesc=backup&bop=And&Order=PRICE&Page=1).

[NothingRemains10]

i have a copy of ghost 7.0 that runs on a floppy that works great

[DieAGator]

You would be well served to spend a little more money and get a backup and restore program. As already mentioned Ghost would be the way to have a ‘real’ and complete backup of your system. I lean more toward Acronis as it has all the features of Ghost at roughly half the cost and is a bit easier to use than the current versions of Ghost (IMaHO). You can see a cost sorted list of backup software from Newegg at this page (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2060350377&srchInDesc=backup&bop=And&Order=PRICE&Page=1).

My system came with a Windows restore disk.... I thought. I figured if I crash I would restore/reinstall Windows then load or download old programs and add back some personal files. I also have my bookmarks for Firefox exported and emailed to a yahoo mailbox. Does a backup program do more than that?

[vaxcardinal]

You can use http://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm. It will create a backup of your C: drive. You then move the backup files to your external drive.

[slmdLS1]

this is why i have one folder with tons of subfolders of my stuff in it (ie: pics, videos, word docs, bills, etc) so when i bought my 1 Terabyte external HD i selected the one folder on my desktop and copied it. i dont want a bunch of useless windows files over there anyways.

[DieAGator]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm good now with all the files I copied. If my comp was stolen or crashed I would buy a new one or reload windows- which wouldn't be a bad thing. Then I would have all my files, links, folders of programs I had loaded and could download them again. I would be back up and running without too much trouble and wouldn't want or need much of what I copied to the external restored anyway.

[LakeGator]

Your restore disk will basically wipe out the C drive and recreate the system to be exactly how the manufacturer had it when you received it. It will not, of course, restore any software you may installed after that time. If you haven’t added any software then the approach you are taking is fine and you are pretty well protected.

Kudos for thinking about doing what you’re doing. Most folks don’t think about saving their files until right after they realize the hard drive is dead.

[philnotfil]

Can't you startup up from a Windows CD and then just copy the whole hard drive?

[grengadgy]

Can't you startup up from a Windows CD and then just copy the whole hard drive?


Yes............... You can clone as long as the target drive is as big or bigger than the source drive.