restore points won't restore

As strange as this sounds none of my restore points will work. I seem to be having a problem with Windows Media Player (9).

So I read some forums and searched. I try not to post unless I really need to. Read where one person deleted temp files, backups, and other things to get rid of "mp9" and they still were not sure. Another said to restore to a point prior to the install.

Which is where I am now. I tried the restore route and have no points past 2/14/03. That date and others earlier (or later depending on how u look at it) would work but when I try it acts like it will until the last moment when it says something about not being able to restore because of "mp9" .

I see that almost everyone says not to reformat or start over like the help desks generally tell you to because they don't know how to fix the problem. But I'm to that point

My Question is this? If I have a 30G hd split in half that is dual boot with xp/98se and I'm having problems with:

1) wmp9
2) no restore points that work
3) fellow users (roommates) who put **** wherever they want (files saved all over the place)
4) some files saved on C: some on D: etc.

why not start over! With more forthought like:

1) more partitions (some that only I have access to like my operating systems), (one for games), (one for downloads) etc.

What do you guys (and ladies ) think?

 

I think unless you've got a real need for 98, redo the thing with XP and lock it down tight. You as admin. The others as users and I'd put em in a group where all they could do outside their personal working space would be read & execute. No changes. No system-wide tweaks. No new apps installed.

And run NTFS rather than FAT32 because of the greatly increased security options it offers.

Most 98 apps will either run normally in XP or will run in 98 compatibility mode. The few that won't are those trying to make direct hardware calls (no NT system will allow that) and making them in such a way the HAL (reads application hardware calls and tells the hardware what to do) gets confused.

 

Thanks newt,

My next question would be were would I find the information to do it properly. I also have a new 80G HD that I would like to install in conjunction w/my 30 . I also have to admit my experience is fragile, as can be noted by my numerous posts (HA). Actually, I don't think I will have any problem as long as I'm prepared. Right? Hello, anyone the there?

Can I "A" Install the new HD, load another copy of XP on it and then transfer what I want from the other HD and then erase the old one?

What size should the partitions be?

How do you lock a partition?

Where on the HD should OS go (first to be read on HD?)?

With out being drawn out with my questions I think you see that I would like to do it over yet do it right.

I would appreciate anyones input.

Newt, maybe this will also get you over the 3000 posts plateau.

I have to work today 3/4 and then go see the BOSS (springsteen) tonight in Jacksonville so I wont be around till tommorrow 3/5. Thanks.

 

Moving this to the XP section since it now seems to be a clear OS thread.

bbob - you can do this pretty much to suit yourself.

Since the 80Gb will probably be faster, it seems reasonable as your system disk. As to the partitioning part, no real need to chop it up unless that fits your preferred work style better.

If you use NTFS (my preference for stability and because I like the additional security options) you can just make the whole thing one big partition.

If you really prefer partitions, allow about 5-6Gb for the system partition and do the rest to suit yourself. This assumes you'll move the pagefile off the system partition - always a good idea for performance.

Some folks like to keep the system partition FAT32 and the data partition(s) NTFS. In terms of being able to use most any utility on the system partition, this has merit.

If you decide to go all FAT32, anything up to the limit FAT32 can deal with should be fine. I think that's 32Gb or some such but not sure.

As to the mechanics - certainly safe enough to disconnect the 30 and connect the 80 then load the OS. After that is done you can set the 80 as Master and the 30 as Slave and since the boot.ini file won't know anything about the slave drive, it will boot nicely from your new OS. Then move stuff around to suit yourself and after you have what you want on the 80, format the 30 for a fresh start. This would be the way I'd do it - certainly not the only way and maybe not even the most elegant but simple. And I like simple.

Before doing any of this, I'd prepare a slipstreamed CD with XP and SP1. Take a look at some of the recent threads for specifics on doing this. Much cleaner than loading XP and then applying the SP. Slower the first time but can save lots of time down the road. For one thing, any file repairs you do with sfc will pick up the newest version of files it replaces.

Once you are all done, I really don't know if you'll see the best performance from having your pagefile on a partition on the 80Gb or on the 30Gb. Moot point if you don't partition the big drive since running it on the small one will be a clear winner. Otherwise, probably depends on how much faster the new drive is. Easy enough to move it from drive to drive for performance testing though.

As to your other questions:

"How do you lock a partition?" I don't know what that means.

"Where on the HD should OS go (first to be read on HD?)?" I'd just take the default. After you've been running a little while and done some cleanups and defrags (using the native XP tools) files/folders will have been moved around to optimize performance based on the structure of your drive. Pretty smart apps in their XP iteration.

 

I like the idea of NFTS. Will do some research and try to create the slipdisk. will get back to you shortly.

 

Newt, I have The slipstreamed CD created. Is there any thing I should know about storing or collecting info that I will need.?

1) Do I need my product ID#?
2) Product Key?

I loaded AIDA32 and have access to it if needed.

anyones input would be helpful.

 

You will need the product key. Nothing else strange I can think of.

Not sure what you mean by this.

 

I'm only asking if there is something I need to do in conjunction with the slipstream disk?

Do I need to do any upgrades to my drivers, Or do it later?
What about flash bios?

Or maybe I'm over thinking this thing and should unhook my HD and put the other one in and boot up and go.

Am I supposed to install the new HD and treat it as though I have a computer with no operating system?

 

Overthinking I think.

It'll be like installing a fresh, new system. And I like the idea of swapping out the old HD for the new one, doing the install, then adding the old one back (after doing the master/slave thing). Maybe not absolutely necessary but simple and sure which does it for me.

Might be worth checking for a bios update first and flashing the new version if you need it.

Other drivers - you'll pretty much need to wait until the system is loaded and running then see what extra stuff you need new drivers for. Maybe nothing.

 

Well I'm back to my old HD. I'm not doing something right. I've tried useing the WD hard drive disk and I tried putting the slipdisk in. With the slipdisk I can get to the the point to where it wants to load but wants me to partition my hard drive and then it wont let me do it.

I don't know what to do?

Do I need to format the new hard drive first or why won't the disk do it for me.

 

still waiting for someone to give me a suggestion.
anyone want to give it a try?