From c_malmsten at yahoo.com  Sun Mar 15 22:48:58 2009
From: c_malmsten at yahoo.com (CLMalmsten)
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:48:58 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [mdlug-newbie] Swap Windows hard drive for openSUSE hard drive
Message-ID: <535846.88372.qm@web56401.mail.re3.yahoo.com>


Hello,

I'll soon be swapping out my Dell Inspiron 1000's hard drive, which is installed with Windows XP, and installing openSUSE on a new clean hard drive.

I learned yesterday at the mdlug meeting that before making the swap, I should backup the folder C:\Dell. I no longer have my original drivers/utilities disk from Dell, and Backup is not an option under System Tools. I'm wondering if I should backup anything besides this C:\Dell folder.

As a follow up to that question, does it matter whether I swap the hard drives out, or whether I keep the Windows hard drive where it is (in my laptop) and attach the new drive by USB? Any reason I wouldn't want to do that? and if I did connect the new drive by USB, would I have the option at startup to choose which hard drive to use?

Thanks for your help,
Christy



      


From Raymond.Ingles at compuware.com  Mon Mar 16 08:12:15 2009
From: Raymond.Ingles at compuware.com (Ingles, Raymond)
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:12:15 -0400
Subject: [mdlug-newbie] Swap Windows hard drive for openSUSE hard drive
In-Reply-To: <535846.88372.qm@web56401.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
References: <535846.88372.qm@web56401.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <319C03F7A120754B9128CF308BF5E0370120B309@nasa-dtw-ex004.nasa.cpwr.corp>

> CLMalmsten

> I learned yesterday at the mdlug meeting that before making the swap,
I
> should backup the folder C:\Dell. I no longer have my original
> drivers/utilities disk from Dell, and Backup is not an option under
System
> Tools. I'm wondering if I should backup anything besides this C:\Dell
> folder.

 Well, it never hurts to have good backups. Just copying the folder to a
flash drive or DVD should be enough, though, for backing up that folder.

> As a follow up to that question, does it matter whether I swap the
hard
> drives out, or whether I keep the Windows hard drive where it is (in
my
> laptop) and attach the new drive by USB? Any reason I wouldn't want to
do
> that?

 It'll be slower, that's all, if it's attached via USB.

 Another option, depending on how full the drive is, is to shrink the
Windows partition and put Linux on a new partition on the existing
drive.

> and if I did connect the new drive by USB, would I have the option
> at startup to choose which hard drive to use?

 Yeah, that can be done, but it can be a little trickier to set up.

 Sincerely,

 Ray Ingles                                              (313) 227-2317

  In economics, conservatives say that complex organization can arise
 without central planning. And then many of the same people turn around
 and say that can't happen in biology (so-called "intelligent design").
The contents of this e-mail are intended for the named addressee only. It contains information that may be confidential. Unless you are the named addressee or an authorized designee, you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone else. If you received it in error please notify us immediately and then destroy it.


From newmaniese at gmail.com  Mon Mar 16 08:59:51 2009
From: newmaniese at gmail.com (Michael)
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:59:51 -0400
Subject: [mdlug-newbie] Swap Windows hard drive for openSUSE hard drive
In-Reply-To: <319C03F7A120754B9128CF308BF5E0370120B309@nasa-dtw-ex004.nasa.cpwr.corp>
References: <535846.88372.qm@web56401.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
	<319C03F7A120754B9128CF308BF5E0370120B309@nasa-dtw-ex004.nasa.cpwr.corp>
Message-ID: <225acb190903160559q2fa36ecch9c8558f4227e17e7@mail.gmail.com>

On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 8:12 AM, Ingles, Raymond <
Raymond.Ingles at compuware.com> wrote:

> > CLMalmsten
>
> > I learned yesterday at the mdlug meeting that before making the swap,
> I
> > should backup the folder C:\Dell. I no longer have my original
> > drivers/utilities disk from Dell, and Backup is not an option under
> System
> > Tools. I'm wondering if I should backup anything besides this C:\Dell
> > folder.
>
>  Well, it never hurts to have good backups. Just copying the folder to a
> flash drive or DVD should be enough, though, for backing up that folder.
>
> > As a follow up to that question, does it matter whether I swap the
> hard
> > drives out, or whether I keep the Windows hard drive where it is (in
> my
> > laptop) and attach the new drive by USB? Any reason I wouldn't want to
> do
> > that?
>
>  It'll be slower, that's all, if it's attached via USB.
>
>  Another option, depending on how full the drive is, is to shrink the
> Windows partition and put Linux on a new partition on the existing
> drive.
>
> > and if I did connect the new drive by USB, would I have the option
> > at startup to choose which hard drive to use?
>
>  Yeah, that can be done, but it can be a little trickier to set up.
>

Take a look at trying to get a good image of your current computer. That way
you can always go back to it if you need to. You can also mount that image
in the future and access files on it of you happened to forget one. Another
nice thing about this is that when you buy a larger harddrive in the future
you can always just put that image on a partition and be all set up that
way. It is also possible to use that image (even on the USB drive) to run as
a virtual machine on your new linux machine, meaning that if you happened to
need a program that might not be available all you have to do is fire up you
'old' windows machine and be good to go.

Ghost 4 Linux http://sourceforge.net/projects/g4l is nice to do a full on
copy of everything on your computer and it can send that image to a local
mount (you might need to mount the USB drive before it works) or to a ftp
storage device or another computer on the network. It will take a little
while, but, for me at least, it is nice to know that you won't actually lose
anything, period, because you know you got it all.
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From driveray at ameritech.net  Tue Mar 17 11:39:26 2009
From: driveray at ameritech.net (Raymond McLaughlin)
Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:39:26 -0400
Subject: [mdlug-newbie] Swap Windows hard drive for openSUSE hard drive
In-Reply-To: <535846.88372.qm@web56401.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
References: <535846.88372.qm@web56401.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <49BFC42E.1090700@ameritech.net>

CLMalmsten wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I'll soon be swapping out my Dell Inspiron 1000's hard drive,
> which is installed with Windows XP, and installing openSUSE on
> a new clean hard drive.
> 
> I learned yesterday at the mdlug meeting that before making the swap,
> I should backup the folder C:\Dell. I no longer have my original
> drivers/utilities disk from Dell, and Backup is not an option under
> System Tools. I'm wondering if I should backup anything besides
> this C:\Dell folder.

Actually, if you are going to physically replace the drive, backing up
stuff from the old disk is not that highly critical, though a good idea
in the long run.

> As a follow up to that question, does it matter whether I swap the hard
> drives out, or whether I keep the Windows hard drive where it is (in my
> laptop) and attach the new drive by USB?

For purposes of backing up, no.

> Any reason I wouldn't want to do
> that? and if I did connect the new drive by USB, would I have the option
> at startup to choose which hard drive to use?

If I recall, you laptop will boot from USB devices, so you *could*
install Linux to a drive attached to the USB, but that might reduce the
convenience of using the Linux. Swapping the hard drives isn't that
hard, but you do want to pull the drive adapter straight off, with only
the slightest side-to-side wiggle, to avoid bending the pins on the
drive. I saying this under the assumption that your Dell is like all the
others I've worked on.

> Thanks for your help,
> Christy

I hope this helps.

Raymond McLaughlin


From c_malmsten at yahoo.com  Sun Mar 15 22:48:58 2009
From: c_malmsten at yahoo.com (CLMalmsten)
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:48:58 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [mdlug-newbie] Swap Windows hard drive for openSUSE hard drive
Message-ID: <535846.88372.qm@web56401.mail.re3.yahoo.com>


Hello,

I'll soon be swapping out my Dell Inspiron 1000's hard drive, which is installed with Windows XP, and installing openSUSE on a new clean hard drive.

I learned yesterday at the mdlug meeting that before making the swap, I should backup the folder C:\Dell. I no longer have my original drivers/utilities disk from Dell, and Backup is not an option under System Tools. I'm wondering if I should backup anything besides this C:\Dell folder.

As a follow up to that question, does it matter whether I swap the hard drives out, or whether I keep the Windows hard drive where it is (in my laptop) and attach the new drive by USB? Any reason I wouldn't want to do that? and if I did connect the new drive by USB, would I have the option at startup to choose which hard drive to use?

Thanks for your help,
Christy



      


From Raymond.Ingles at compuware.com  Mon Mar 16 08:12:15 2009
From: Raymond.Ingles at compuware.com (Ingles, Raymond)
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:12:15 -0400
Subject: [mdlug-newbie] Swap Windows hard drive for openSUSE hard drive
In-Reply-To: <535846.88372.qm@web56401.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
References: <535846.88372.qm@web56401.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <319C03F7A120754B9128CF308BF5E0370120B309@nasa-dtw-ex004.nasa.cpwr.corp>

> CLMalmsten

> I learned yesterday at the mdlug meeting that before making the swap,
I
> should backup the folder C:\Dell. I no longer have my original
> drivers/utilities disk from Dell, and Backup is not an option under
System
> Tools. I'm wondering if I should backup anything besides this C:\Dell
> folder.

 Well, it never hurts to have good backups. Just copying the folder to a
flash drive or DVD should be enough, though, for backing up that folder.

> As a follow up to that question, does it matter whether I swap the
hard
> drives out, or whether I keep the Windows hard drive where it is (in
my
> laptop) and attach the new drive by USB? Any reason I wouldn't want to
do
> that?

 It'll be slower, that's all, if it's attached via USB.

 Another option, depending on how full the drive is, is to shrink the
Windows partition and put Linux on a new partition on the existing
drive.

> and if I did connect the new drive by USB, would I have the option
> at startup to choose which hard drive to use?

 Yeah, that can be done, but it can be a little trickier to set up.

 Sincerely,

 Ray Ingles                                              (313) 227-2317

  In economics, conservatives say that complex organization can arise
 without central planning. And then many of the same people turn around
 and say that can't happen in biology (so-called "intelligent design").
The contents of this e-mail are intended for the named addressee only. It contains information that may be confidential. Unless you are the named addressee or an authorized designee, you may not copy or use it, or disclose it to anyone else. If you received it in error please notify us immediately and then destroy it.


From newmaniese at gmail.com  Mon Mar 16 08:59:51 2009
From: newmaniese at gmail.com (Michael)
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:59:51 -0400
Subject: [mdlug-newbie] Swap Windows hard drive for openSUSE hard drive
In-Reply-To: <319C03F7A120754B9128CF308BF5E0370120B309@nasa-dtw-ex004.nasa.cpwr.corp>
References: <535846.88372.qm@web56401.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
	<319C03F7A120754B9128CF308BF5E0370120B309@nasa-dtw-ex004.nasa.cpwr.corp>
Message-ID: <225acb190903160559q2fa36ecch9c8558f4227e17e7@mail.gmail.com>

On Mon, Mar 16, 2009 at 8:12 AM, Ingles, Raymond <
Raymond.Ingles at compuware.com> wrote:

> > CLMalmsten
>
> > I learned yesterday at the mdlug meeting that before making the swap,
> I
> > should backup the folder C:\Dell. I no longer have my original
> > drivers/utilities disk from Dell, and Backup is not an option under
> System
> > Tools. I'm wondering if I should backup anything besides this C:\Dell
> > folder.
>
>  Well, it never hurts to have good backups. Just copying the folder to a
> flash drive or DVD should be enough, though, for backing up that folder.
>
> > As a follow up to that question, does it matter whether I swap the
> hard
> > drives out, or whether I keep the Windows hard drive where it is (in
> my
> > laptop) and attach the new drive by USB? Any reason I wouldn't want to
> do
> > that?
>
>  It'll be slower, that's all, if it's attached via USB.
>
>  Another option, depending on how full the drive is, is to shrink the
> Windows partition and put Linux on a new partition on the existing
> drive.
>
> > and if I did connect the new drive by USB, would I have the option
> > at startup to choose which hard drive to use?
>
>  Yeah, that can be done, but it can be a little trickier to set up.
>

Take a look at trying to get a good image of your current computer. That way
you can always go back to it if you need to. You can also mount that image
in the future and access files on it of you happened to forget one. Another
nice thing about this is that when you buy a larger harddrive in the future
you can always just put that image on a partition and be all set up that
way. It is also possible to use that image (even on the USB drive) to run as
a virtual machine on your new linux machine, meaning that if you happened to
need a program that might not be available all you have to do is fire up you
'old' windows machine and be good to go.

Ghost 4 Linux http://sourceforge.net/projects/g4l is nice to do a full on
copy of everything on your computer and it can send that image to a local
mount (you might need to mount the USB drive before it works) or to a ftp
storage device or another computer on the network. It will take a little
while, but, for me at least, it is nice to know that you won't actually lose
anything, period, because you know you got it all.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mdlug.org/pipermail/mdlug-newbie/attachments/20090316/8796196f/attachment-0001.html>

From driveray at ameritech.net  Tue Mar 17 11:39:26 2009
From: driveray at ameritech.net (Raymond McLaughlin)
Date: Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:39:26 -0400
Subject: [mdlug-newbie] Swap Windows hard drive for openSUSE hard drive
In-Reply-To: <535846.88372.qm@web56401.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
References: <535846.88372.qm@web56401.mail.re3.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <49BFC42E.1090700@ameritech.net>

CLMalmsten wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I'll soon be swapping out my Dell Inspiron 1000's hard drive,
> which is installed with Windows XP, and installing openSUSE on
> a new clean hard drive.
> 
> I learned yesterday at the mdlug meeting that before making the swap,
> I should backup the folder C:\Dell. I no longer have my original
> drivers/utilities disk from Dell, and Backup is not an option under
> System Tools. I'm wondering if I should backup anything besides
> this C:\Dell folder.

Actually, if you are going to physically replace the drive, backing up
stuff from the old disk is not that highly critical, though a good idea
in the long run.

> As a follow up to that question, does it matter whether I swap the hard
> drives out, or whether I keep the Windows hard drive where it is (in my
> laptop) and attach the new drive by USB?

For purposes of backing up, no.

> Any reason I wouldn't want to do
> that? and if I did connect the new drive by USB, would I have the option
> at startup to choose which hard drive to use?

If I recall, you laptop will boot from USB devices, so you *could*
install Linux to a drive attached to the USB, but that might reduce the
convenience of using the Linux. Swapping the hard drives isn't that
hard, but you do want to pull the drive adapter straight off, with only
the slightest side-to-side wiggle, to avoid bending the pins on the
drive. I saying this under the assumption that your Dell is like all the
others I've worked on.

> Thanks for your help,
> Christy

I hope this helps.

Raymond McLaughlin


