I have an 80GB external HD. I want to copy over the complete contents of my internal HD, and then reinstall and repartition Win XP Pro. I have the Win XP CD.
Can someone explain the steps I would take? I understand that I can't just copy or cut and paste my original HD contents over to the external HD - something to do with pointers being lost. I'm pretty cautious about doing this - I've 10 years of stuff I don't want to lose, and I'm no expert.

All your DATA can be moved by a simple Cut and Paste on to your external drive.
DATA includes music, pictures, Documents, Videos etc but NOT installed programs.
WHen it comes to programs that you want to keep, make sure you have the install CD for them or have the correct Setup files on your external drive.

Once all this is done you are ready to reinstall XP.
This is very simple:
Here's some instructions that should help:
*Look for message "booting from CD" usually located at the bottom of the screen. If you have a factory splash screen, press ESC to unload it.
*Press any Key when you see the prompt to 'Press Any Key"
*Setup will start copying files, if you need to install any third-party or RAID drivers press F6 at this time. The copying of files can take awhile.(leave this one)
*Next you will get the option to repair or enter setup, choose to enter setup. Press ENTER.
*Press F8 if you agree to the license.
*Setup will scan for previous Windows installations
*You want to delete all existing partitions, recreate the ones you want and then install a fresh copy of XP.

Leave to cook for 30-40 minutes

The reinstall route I always use is:
Install XP
FULLY patch it with Windows Update
Install Anti Virus, update and scan (AVG is good and free)
Install Anti spyware, update and scan (A couple of good removal tools are Spybot and Adaware)
Defrag.

Then install any other Apps you need, like Office, etc.

Hope this helps

Thanks, CurlyBen, I'll give it a try. If I don't post back in a couple of days, I'm lost in cyber neverneverland.

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Originally Posted by Jonathon

I have an 80GB external HD. I want to copy over the complete contents of my internal HD, and then reinstall and repartition Win XP Pro. I have the Win XP CD.
Can someone explain the steps I would take? I understand that I can't just copy or cut and paste my original HD contents over to the external HD - something to do with pointers being lost. I'm pretty cautious about doing this - I've 10 years of stuff I don't want to lose, and I'm no expert.

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In your case, I would consider using Norton Ghost or Acronis TruImage. Make an exact clone of your drive onto the external drive. Partition your drive and then restore the image. However, if your plan is to reinstall Windows on one partition and your data and programs on another, then the best bet is to copy just the data you want. Some extenral drives come with backup utilities to do this.

You might also consider getting Partition Magic to repartition your drive without harming the data that's on it.