Two partitions and a friend

[blinkdt]

Hi Felix. I will definitely give the link you supplied a close link when time allows. Please recall that I only move the "My Documents" directory, not the entire "Documents and Settings" directory, to the D: partition.

@jamesas Dude, the one thing I've learned in using this method is that you MUST delete and recreate the partition during the reinstall, as Felix described.

Recall that during the initial install the two partitions are given the assignments C: and D: All other drives are assigned designators by Windows afterward (chiefly optical drives, make sure to disconnect any card readers or--heaven forbid--Zip drives during the install). If while creating the C: and D: partitions you find them assigned as C: and E:, delete them and try again as Windows will then give you the C: and D: you desire. These days I just create a C:, then delete it, then create the C: and D: to avoid the E: assignment hassle.

When reinstalling, you will clearly see the C: and D: partitions, with letters assigned. Delete the C: The D: remains. Tell Windows you want to install on the raw partition space and it will, giving it the C: designator, of course. I don't understand how D: would magically become C:, but if you have a card reader, Zip drive, or errant USB key attached to the machine then all bets might be off.

The only time I have ever encountered the

Administrator

Administrator.000

etc.

problem is when I foolishly forgot to delete the C: partition during the reinstall. Lesson learned, the hard way.

FYI, I was reading the June 8, 2004 issue of PC Magazine and an editor there described the method he used to accomplish the task, just as I (and doubtless many others) have been doing it. He mentioned it only because he had tried it on a Tablet PC. But he had used partitioning software to create the D: Later, when he needed to scrub C:, he used the "restore" disc that came with the machine to reinstall. Surprise, surprise, he wiped out the entire drive. He must have been having a loopy day: why he thought he could use a single-partition-only restore disk on a machine partitioned with third party software is beyond me. Imagine the reaction he would have received had he posted at MSFN a hypothetical "what do you folks think of my trying it this way...?!?"

[jamesas]

hey im not sure about this but whateva migth help but what if you were to make a script that moves the folders from the old users folder to the new