Replacement Hard Drive

joroma · 14 Apr 2006 at 21:49

Got to fit a new hardrive and still a bit unsure so would appreciate some advice:

1) How can I save the contents of my Outlook Express Mail Boxes so that I can keep my old emails?

2) I've got another two hard drives in my PC that I have backed up all my data and photos onto. When I reinstall XP how can I make sure it doesn't install it to one of these drives and not the newly installed one? Is it simply a case of making sure in my BIOS settings that the new hard drive is read first?

3) My version of XP never recognises the whole of my 160GB hard drive and I have to fomat it into partitions. Can I install XP then get the updates from Microsoft before formatting the drive which it should then hopefully see as a 160GB drive?

Any help much appreciated.

Slam62 · 14 Apr 2006 at 22:08

1) this is possible, i cant remember much more though, there all stored in one file somewhere, maybe in documents and settings or application data, do a search on google, i've done this myself

2)When you boot from the cd blah blah, it gives you the option of which drive to install it on.

3) I dont understand why it doesnt see 160gb, could be the bios settings, i have a very old version of xp that sees large drives.

Are you sure you have to reinstall? could you not keep the old drive and fit a new one.

starscream · 14 Apr 2006 at 23:25

1) Your OE email will be in the following folder

C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{BIG LONG NUMBER HERE}\Microsoft\Outlook Express

2) See above

3) Either

a) Ensure the HDD doesn't have the jumper that limits to 36GB on
b) ensure you have SP2 installed

joroma · 14 Apr 2006 at 23:34

Thanks guys. As far as I can remember I have formatted the hard drive as part of the Windows XP installation process ie before installing SP2 when I last had to reinstall Windows. Are you saying I can go through the installation process then format the hard drive as a single partition?

I have backed up my documents and settings using the XP built in Back Up tool onto a seperate hard drive but I normally do a completely fresh install. Is this a good idea or should I simply Restore my Back Up??

starscream · 14 Apr 2006 at 23:48

Thinking about it, how much space are you actually seeing on the 160GB drive? If it is around 148GB, that is normal due to the difference in the way HDD companies rate their drives and the way Windows recognises them.

I would always go with a fresh install, to answer your other question.

joroma · 14 Apr 2006 at 23:53

It was around 125Gb and I think this is down to not having SP2 installed.

I have looked in the Outlook Express folder as advised above and can see some DBX files but Windows will not open them. Are these the files that I need to save??

starscream · 15 Apr 2006 at 02:00

Yes, you should have one for each folder you have in outlook express. If you back them up someone, you can reimport them using the file > import > from store folder option within OE.

To confirm you have the right folder, go to (offhand) tools > options > maintainance > store folder with OE and it will tell you the location of your emails.

Also, remember to back up your address book, normally in C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book

125GB is definatly a service pack issue. I believe a vanilla XP install only recognises about 137GB which is 125GB if usuable space.