Moving Data between harddrives

I have two harddrives, and one is almost full, while the other is virtually untouched. Is there a way to move the data between the drives. I have XP home, so can windows do it for me. My only concern is the one that's almost full is FAT32, while the empty one is NTFS.

Also, another question that is completely unrelated: which antivirus program is the best to buy, and does anyone know how long the companies allow free upgrades?

 

if you're just moving files then just do a copy or move and paste to the empty drive. Don't worry about it being NTFS or FAT32, the file system is transparent to the OS.

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I've tried copy and paste before, but usually some data is either left behind, or other programs "can't locate" where the file went.

 

sounds like you're moving installed programs and not just files?

 

Yes, since my first harddrive doesn't have enough free space to defragment.

 

Norton System Works has a link checker that will scan your drives for files that match up with dead links and then fixes them for you. But I would just stop putting stuf on the one thats almost full and start installing yur programs on the free drive.

When you install a rogram the registry keeps track of where the files related to that program are located. If you move stuff the links are broken and the program will not operate properly.

 

Aye, what Pat Brown said...

It's very seldom that any program is "standalone" and can be moved. There are some tiny programs (Regedit is one that comes to mind) that can be moved by just dropping the file. If you want to clean up space, de-install the programs that you want to move and re-install them on the other drive.

spaz

::edit:: and still I persist in posting and then proofreading... /sigh

 

If you want to "clone" a harddrive the go an purchase Norton Ghost. It is one of the simplest and most effective ways to clone a drive. You'll boot from a Floppy Disk and clone one drive to the other. This will make the second drive a fat32 Partition and you will have to convert it to ntfs at the command prompt.