Windows Vista Dummy needs advice on settiing up Vista the right way

I have been using XP Pro since it first came out, but Vista is a whole new ball game.

I set up a friend's new desktop that came with Vista Home Edition and it took me a week. It was a nightmare: some hardware would not work because I could not download Vista drivers; a lot of software was incompatible with Vista; Vista did not come with an installation disc so I had to make a six CD-Rom recovery set; and, to make things worse the Vista was painfully slow because the PC only had half a Gig of RAM.

After this I swore never, ever, to buy a computer with Vista!!! But I have now been forced to accept the inevitable and replace my aging 17" Compaq Presario with a Sony Vaio Notebook PC Core 2 Duo 4GB 17" that has VISTA Home premium.

I have recently returned to Australia after a long stay in the UK. I ordered the note book from the States and it was waiting for me when I arrived home.

As we all know one must be in full possession of one's senses to set up a new 'puter properly. However since I returned home I have been totally zonked out by jet lag so I have used my Compaq and done no work on the Sony other than to take it out of it's box, plug it in and charge the battery. I haven't even booted it!!! Now the jet lag has nearly gone and I am almost ready to start setting the Sony up.

The 160 GB HDD was partitioned by the supplier at my request. Why? Because I have a 100Gb backup drive that is the size of a cigar pack and use it to create an image of the operating system and critical data by using Seagate Disk Wizard. I can carry this image in my trousers pocket while I am traveling (I do a lot of traveling!!!)

Before the supplier dispatched the notebook he sent me the following email

[FONT= "Century Gothic"]“I created the partition for you. At this point you have:
C: 62.7 GB free of 82.9 GB
P: 58.5 GB free of 58.5 GB

Unfortunately, Sony takes up part of the hard drive for their stuff. I think that might be where the restore disks are. I'd recommend creating your own restore disks as soon as you get the laptop.

I have a suggestion for you. How about removing the partition I just created. Then on the C: drive create a folder called backup. Whenever you want to do a backup run this command from a command prompt: subst r: c:\backup
At that point you have an R: drive and you can do backups. You'll just need to make sure you don't back up the c:\backup folder and everything should be fine. That way you share the same disk space for both and don't have to worry about running out of space in one or the other. (Excuse my ignorance if I'm missing something here, but it sounds like a good idea to me.) "[/FONT]​

What do you expert guys at WindowsBBS suggest I do???

As the supplier says, the first thing I must do is create my own restore disks, but how should I do this?

The notebook has an optical drive specifications as follows:
[FONT= "Century Gothic"]

DVD SuperMulti DVD±RW/CD-RW drive supporting 11 formats
-Maximum speed and compatibility: CD-ROM (24x), CD-R (24x), CD-RW (16x), DVD-ROM (8x), DVD-R (Single Layer, (8x)), DVD-R (Double Layer, (4x)), DVD-RW (6x), DVD+R (Single Layer, (8x)), DVD+R (Double Layer, (4x)), DVD+RW (8x), DVDRAM (5x)

* 4x DVD+R DL
* 4x DVD-R DL
* 8x8x8 DVD+RW
* 8x6x8 DVD-RW
* 5x DVD-RAM
* 24x16x24 CD-RW​

[/FONT]

The first thing I need to know is can I create a single restore disk using the DVD+R (Double Layer, (4x) format or must I create a restore set using numerous conventional CD-ROMs?

Friends, I'm really sorry for this long post!!! But after my nightmare experience setting up Vista on my friend’s PC I want to be sure I get this 100% right and make a difficult task as easy as I can for myself!

 

Hi Peter Lovell,
You wisely have partitions, so don't change that.

After making the first restore disk, the first thing I do is start > control panel > personalize > themes > windows classic.

Then adjust font size, screen resolution, etc., as you like.

Next, I call up explorer (start-e) and choose classic view. Then in tools > folder options unhide EVERYTHING and apply and make all windows similar.

Finally in explorer, using shift-delete, remove all the stupid pointers with folder icons (they only point to an error message; they must be 'features' added by marketing to make vista appear extremely secure. There is nothing lost by cleaning up the explorer display in this way. Only one (Recent) won't delete in this manner, so I leave it.

The image you make is very necessary for the first few days, but I make another image with acronis or ghost before going online after installing the security programs on D:, and again after going online and updating the security and windows. In other words, a new image at every step so my work doesn't need repetition if disaster strikes in the future.

 

The first restore disk can be made on a dual layer DVD, but after you add security and updates the vista footprint is too large to fit, so I use an external eSATA drive for later images; they can also be made, or preferably be copied, to multiple DVDs

 

I think that's a terrible idea. The main reason is that a disk cannot be copied to itself. I use the second partition to make and store an image of the first partition and copy the image elsewhere later, because it's much faster, and more convenient if the image needs to replace the other partition.

Edit: IMHO, imaging is the preferred backup method.

 

What is an external eSATA drive and other questions

OK, so I'll make my first restore on a dual layer DVD.

But this Vista Dumbo has couple more questions.

Firstly what is an "external eSATA drive" and, crucially, what port does it use to connect to the notebook?

Here is a list of the ports on my new Sony

Ethernet Port
HDMIâ„¢ Connection Output
i.LINK® Interface(4pin) i.LINK® connector (IEEE FIREWIRE 1394)
Memory Stick® Media Slot
Secure Digital Slot
S-Video Output(s)
USB Port(s): 3 (2.0 compliant)
VGA Output(s):
S/PDIF Output
Express Cardâ„¢ Slot: /54 41

Done a Google search. Tells me that an external eSATA drive is a lot faster than a USB 2 Compliant drive but doesn’t tell me what port it uses to connects to the notebook.

Secondly what was what my supplier saying when he wrote:

“I created the partition for you. At this point you have:
C: 62.7 GB free of 82.9 GB
P: 58.5 GB free of 58.5 GB
Unfortunately, Sony takes up part of the hard drive for their stuff. I think that might be where the restore disks are. I'd recommend creating your own restore disks as soon as you get the laptop.
I have a suggestion for you. How about removing the partition I just created. Then on the C: drive create a folder called backup. Whenever you want to do a backup run this command from a command prompt: subst r: c:\backup
At that point you have an R: drive and you can do backups. You'll just need to make sure you don't back up the c:\backup folder and everything should be fine. That way you share the same disk space for both and don't have to worry about running out of space in one or the other. (Excuse my ignorance if I'm missing something here, but it sounds like a good idea to me.)â€

To be quite honest I don’t understand what he is saying! And, as Sparrow adds in his latest post (thank you Sparrow)

“I think that's a terrible idea. The main reason is that a disk cannot be copied to itself. I use the second partition to make and store an image of the first partition and copy the image elsewhere later, because it's much faster, and more convenient if the image needs to replace the other partition.â€

The whole point is to keep a backup which will remain SEPARATE from my notebook. So that, if something happens the HDD in my note book, I can replace it and restore my data. If I buy an external eSATA drive can I get one big enough to serve as a back up for the whole 160Gig HDD

I confess that I am acutely "Vista Phobic" and that I am scared to death that I will ***** things up.

I am not even absolutely sure how too remove the partition 58.5 GB partition P: without running the risk of doing something irretrievably damaging to the crucially important partition C: !!!!

confused:

 

Sparrow, missed this post some how.

[FONT= "Arial Black"]Thanks so much for your help Sparrow!! [/FONT]

I searched for an "eSATA drive" on eBay and they appear to connect through a conventional USB port, I am I right? As I said in my original post, I have a 100Gb backup drive that has a USB connection and is the size of a small cigar pack. I use this backup drive to create an image of the operating system and critical data using Seagate Disk Wizard.

Now, please correct me if I am wrong,

1] I create the first restore disk using a dual layer DVD

2] I then create an image of my C: drive on this pocket sized HDD "before going online after installing the security programs on D:, and again after going online and updating the security and windows. "

Has this Dumbo go it right at last?

3] Finally when you write about installing the security programs on D:, do you mean the programs stored on the partition which the supplier labelled P:??

Thanks a million!!!

Peter

 

When everyone is talking about the first recovery image, I believe they are talking about the original Sony preinstalled image - as in the image that will revert your system back to the way it was when you bought it.

Once you get the system up and running, look for the utility that will walk you through the process of burning the recovery image to a couple dvd+ or - rs (single layer) or a dual layer disk, or many cds.

In my case, I have an HP laptop and I backed up the recovery image to two single layer dvds before I did anything else.

Yes you should be able to fit the c: partition on your backup / external drive, as long as the image size is smaller than 100 gb (if that external drive is empty).

What I'd suggest is creating that recovery image to cds/dvds first, customizing the system the way you want it (install windows updates, install antivirus/firewall/antispyware/ and customize everything the way you want it, and install all the programs you use) then create a backup image to your external hard drive.

You can also buy programs like acronis true image or norton ghost which can create images that it will burn to cds/dvds, back up to a drive, or even another partition on the drive (if it's big enough).

I hope this clears up some things.

 

Your present external drive is satisfactory for backups. Few computers presently have eSATA ports; this is an example.

My eSATA drive also uses USB with computers that don't have the latest stuff. If you purchase another external, get an enclosure with both abilities and then you can install a HDD of any size.

The 83GB C partition is rather large for my taste. I make a 35-40GB system partition, and install all programs on the second partition where they're safe from attack and don't make images too large to be practical. The free space indicates that the Vista footprint is 20GB, about right.

Vista can shrink the partition; go to control panel > administrative tools > computer management > disk management and highlight the partition and choose action > all tools > shrink.

If you do that, you can then enlarge the second partition using the unallocated space, and use it to install programs and save data. I move My Documents to d: also.

I call the second partition d: (same as your p: ). You can call it any letter you wish and change that in disk management.

Good luck.