How do I 'use' my new second hard-drive?

[Jorolat]

No worries.

Hopefully it all goes smoothly for you. There's no reason why you can't save this web page, and the MS one, so them you can do all this stuff offline. In IE click on File > Save As. In Firefox File > Save Page As...

Goodluck with it all.

I've done the Pagefile, JedMeister, but decided to go no further until I've checked with you: when I set the C drive to 'no pagefile' I got a warning message that went something like this:

If the pagefile on Volume C: is less than 767 MB [768=my memory size] then the system may not be able to create a debug info file if a STOP error occurs.

I was given the option to "Continue anyway?", which is what I've done. Hopefully that was the right thing to do... ('gulp')

John Latter / Jorolat

Images of Dover

[Jorolat]

In the top frame (User variables for ....), click on TEMP, then click the Edit button (or just double click on TEMP). In the box that pops up it should say something like

%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Temp

Change it to something like

F:\Temp

(or any other name that takes your fancy), then follow these same steps for TMP, and again for TEMP and TMP in the bottom frame (System variables).

Now you can restart!

Just to make it nice and tidy, after restart navigate to your new temp folder and hide it (Right click the folder > Properties > Tick the "Hidden" box > Click OK. I would strongly suggest a defrag of your primary hard drive after these operations.

Good luck

Do I create different F drive folders for the System Variables Temp and Tmp?

Eg: F:Temp and Tmp for User Variables and F:System\Temp and Tmp for ther System Variables.

John Latter / Jorolat

Images of Dover

[JedMeister]

I've done the Pagefile, JedMeister, but decided to go no further until I've checked with you: when I set the C drive to 'no pagefile' I got a warning message that went something like this:

If the pagefile on Volume C: is less than 767 MB [768=my memory size] then the system may not be able to create a debug info file if a STOP error occurs.

I was given the option to "Continue anyway?", which is what I've done. Hopefully that was the right thing to do... ('gulp')

John Latter / Jorolat

Images of Dover

If you wish to retain the ability to do dump files (when your system crashes) then you will need to retain some pagefile on your system drive (C: in your case). I personally have dump files disabled in my system anyway and figure I will turn it on if I need it (using safe mode - and can thus turn on pagefile on C: at the same time). If it is so serious that I can't boot into safe mode then I figure my system is probably so fried that I will recover important data and try reinstall of windows. Most systems only have mini-dump turned on by default anyway, and from what I've gathered on here mini-dumps aren't very helpful for diagnosis (reading and understanding dump files is way beyond me! - But if you ever need it done, there are some very clever people on this forum who can!)

Do I create different F drive folders for the System Variables Temp and Tmp?

Eg: F:Temp and Tmp for User Variables and F:System\Temp and Tmp for the System Variables.

John Latter / Jorolat

Images of Dover

Setting different temp folders for user and system temp files is probably not a bad idea. I reckon you would be ok not to (I don't and haven't had any worries), but I suspect there is a slim chance of problems, so if in doubt probably better to be on the safe side! It won't take up any more room, just an extra folder.

As a final note download a program called Ccleaner and run that. This will clean out all your old temp files. Note: Watch out for the default setting to install Yahoo toolbar when installing (just untick the box on the relevant screen if you don't want it - or uninstall via add/remove progs if you missed it.

Then give it a good defrag and you're good to go!

[Jorolat]

Thanks again for your help, JedMeister

I wouldn't know how to put 'some' of my pagefile onto C:, but I don't think that will be much of a problem for me: the recent backup onto my 2nd hard-drive is the first real archiving I've done in the 6 years I've had this system ('hangs his head in shame') and I'm just relieved I've finally done it.

For the last 3 years or so, a program called SpeedFan has reported my primary drive to be working at 46% fitness and with 92% performance (it hasn't got any worse, though). I did look at archiving when I first realized there might be a problem but seem to remember being deterred by Windows XP being pre-installed somewhere on the hard-drive, rather than my actually having a seperate Windows XP CD (won't make that mistake again). Anyway, I've got back-ups now, even if it is a crude way of doing it.

Although I've been waiting for my hard-drive to get worse before getting a new system, I've also delayed in doing so because of a program called VCool which has enabled my CPU to run at 10 degrees cooler than would otherwise have been the case. For some irrational reason, I'm still delighted that VCool does this - it's just a shame the program is not available for newer systems. One of the things I like about it is, that when the CPU temperature starts creeping up, I just take a side panel off and then use a paint-brush to clean out the CPU heat-sink. This has happened about 4 times in 6 years and is the only hardware problem I've had.

So, if I ever start getting system crashes that result in memory dumps, I'll probably just get a new system and move my second hard-drive across to it. Perhaps I'll take better care next time!

I've made separate folders for the user & system variables on the 2nd HDD and everything seems to be working OK. I'm going to do a lot of deleting on the primary hard-drive and then I'll do a defrag.

Thanks again!

John Latter / Jorolat

Images of Dover

[JedMeister]

Thanks again for your help, JedMeister

Glad to be of assistance!

I wouldn't know how to put 'some' of my pagefile onto C:, but I don't think that will be much of a problem for me: the recent backup onto my 2nd hard-drive is the first real archiving I've done in the 6 years I've had this system ('hangs his head in shame') and I'm just relieved I've finally done it.

If you ever do wish to put some pagefile back on C: (to do a RAM dump) all you need to do is go back to where we were before (allocating virtual memory) and add at least as much pagefile on C: as you have RAM (I think you said 768MB didn't you?) Although you're probably right, saying that it won't be a problem.

For the last 3 years or so, a program called SpeedFan has reported my primary drive to be working at 46% fitness and with 92% performance (it hasn't got any worse, though). I did look at archiving when I first realized there might be a problem but seem to remember being deterred by Windows XP being pre-installed somewhere on the hard-drive, rather than my actually having a seperate Windows XP CD (won't make that mistake again). Anyway, I've got back-ups now, even if it is a crude way of doing it.

If you want to do a little more research on the health of your drive a great freeware tool is HDD Health (its the 3rd program down, near the bottom of the page). It works by reading and logging the SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) data that most modern hard drives have onboard. (Its probably what SmartFan uses too but HDD Health should give you more detailed info). As for your backups being crude, if you are using NTBackup (ntbackup.exe) then it is not crude. Especially with the frontend I suggested, it is a powerful and very useful backup tool. If you have enough room on your second drive, you could take a backup of your whole system drive (wait until after you've cleaned it and defragged it) while its still running (NTBackup is able to copy files even while they are in use).

Although I've been waiting for my hard-drive to get worse before getting a new system, I've also delayed in doing so because of a program called VCool which has enabled my CPU to run at 10 degrees cooler than would otherwise have been the case. For some irrational reason, I'm still delighted that VCool does this - it's just a shame the program is not available for newer systems. One of the things I like about it is, that when the CPU temperature starts creeping up, I just take a side panel off and then use a paint-brush to clean out the CPU heat-sink. This has happened about 4 times in 6 years and is the only hardware problem I've had.

I haven't heard of vCool but modern AMD CPUs have a function called Cool'n'Quiet which allows them to throttle the CPU voltage and fan speed as required. Intel chips have something similar (although I'm not familiar with it). If you haven't bought a system in 6 years, I'm sure you will be impressed with the level of technology now available not to mention the ridiculously low prices (bang for buck compared with 6 years ago - for example: here in Australia you can get 2GB RAM for around AU$60!!)

So, if I ever start getting system crashes that result in memory dumps, I'll probably just get a new system and move my second hard-drive across to it. Perhaps I'll take better care next time!

I've made separate folders for the user & system variables on the 2nd HDD and everything seems to be working OK. I'm going to do a lot of deleting on the primary hard-drive and then I'll do a defrag.

Good work!!

[pc@net]

Send to Menu

it's eacy

1. goto Folder option and -> view -> select show all files and folders

2. goto documents and settings -> your user profile -> send to

3. goto my computer right click on your new partition -> select crate shortcut

4. goto desktop and cut that shortcut -> goto step 2 and past it inside send to folder

[Jorolat]

If you want to do a little more research on the health of your drive a great freeware tool is HDD Health (its the 3rd program down, near the bottom of the page). It works by reading and logging the SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) data that most modern hard drives have onboard. (Its probably what SmartFan uses too but HDD Health should give you more detailed info). As for your backups being crude, if you are using NTBackup (ntbackup.exe) then it is not crude. Especially with the frontend I suggested, it is a powerful and very useful backup tool. If you have enough room on your second drive, you could take a backup of your whole system drive (wait until after you've cleaned it and defragged it) while its still running (NTBackup is able to copy files even while they are in use).

I've had to use Macrium Reflect to do a back-up because my XP was installed on the end of my primary hard-drive without a back-up option - Reflect has done the job, though (and thanks for the HDD Health info - I'll check it out later!)

I haven't heard of vCool but modern AMD CPUs have a function called Cool'n'Quiet which allows them to throttle the CPU voltage and fan speed as required. Intel chips have something similar (although I'm not familiar with it). If you haven't bought a system in 6 years, I'm sure you will be impressed with the level of technology now available not to mention the ridiculously low prices (bang for buck compared with 6 years ago - for example: here in Australia you can get 2GB RAM for around AU$60!!)

Well, that sounds interesting

Send to Menu

it's eacy

1. goto Folder option and -> view -> select show all files and folders

2. goto documents and settings -> your user profile -> send to

3. goto my computer right click on your new partition -> select crate shortcut

4. goto desktop and cut that shortcut -> goto step 2 and past it inside send to folder

I've already forgotten how I added my 2nd HDD to the 'Send To' folder, pc@net, so thanks for the reminder!

John Latter / Jorolat

Images of Dover