Hard Drive Restore Question

[Scott]

I have two Win98 machines and two WinXP machines. I put Acronis images for
their hard drives on a 500GB external WD drive. I divided the external drive into
two partitions. I thought I had formatted the Win98 backup partition to FAT32,
but I just checked and both partitions are NTFS. Apparently, in WinXP, you
cannot format a partition larger than 32GB in FAT32 file format.

What puzzles me is that I've restored the hard drive on both of my Win98 machines
several times from the Acronis image stored in NTSF format, and the computers
work fine. Does Acronis compensate for the different file formats when it restores?

I've ordered a larger external WD drive for backup. I'm thinking I should back
up the Win98 drive images in FAT32 file format. I've found a program called
Swiss Knife that will format a partition for FAT32 in larger than the 32GB size,
which sounds like what I need.

Is this the best way to do it...keep the Win98 backup in FAT32 format?

Thanks!
Scott

[BillW50]

Post by Scott
I have two Win98 machines and two WinXP machines. I put Acronis images
for their hard drives on a 500GB external WD drive. I divided the
external drive into two partitions. I thought I had formatted the
Win98 backup partition to FAT32, but I just checked and both
partitions are NTFS. Apparently, in WinXP, you cannot format a
partition larger than 32GB in FAT32 file format.

Sure XP can format larger than 32GB in FAT32, as I do it all of the
time.

Post by Scott
What puzzles me is that I've restored the hard drive on both of my
Win98 machines several times from the Acronis image stored in NTSF
format, and the computers work fine. Does Acronis compensate for the
different file formats when it restores?

Yes, although you are doing the restoring from XP and not 98, right?

Post by Scott
I've ordered a larger external WD drive for backup. I'm thinking I
should back up the Win98 drive images in FAT32 file format. I've found
a program called Swiss Knife that will format a partition for FAT32 in
larger than the 32GB size, which sounds like what I need.
Is this the best way to do it...keep the Win98 backup in FAT32 format?

You are running Acronis True Image only under Windows XP, right? If so,
it shouldn't really matter if it is in NTFS or FAT32. It is really a
personal preference.

[Scott]

Post by Scott
I have two Win98 machines and two WinXP machines. I put Acronis images
for their hard drives on a 500GB external WD drive. I divided the
external drive into two partitions. I thought I had formatted the
Win98 backup partition to FAT32, but I just checked and both
partitions are NTFS. Apparently, in WinXP, you cannot format a
partition larger than 32GB in FAT32 file format.

Sure XP can format larger than 32GB in FAT32, as I do it all of the time.

Post by Scott
What puzzles me is that I've restored the hard drive on both of my
Win98 machines several times from the Acronis image stored in NTSF
format, and the computers work fine. Does Acronis compensate for the
different file formats when it restores?

Yes, although you are doing the restoring from XP and not 98, right?

Post by Scott
I've ordered a larger external WD drive for backup. I'm thinking I
should back up the Win98 drive images in FAT32 file format. I've found
a program called Swiss Knife that will format a partition for FAT32 in
larger than the 32GB size, which sounds like what I need.
Is this the best way to do it...keep the Win98 backup in FAT32 format?

You are running Acronis True Image only under Windows XP, right? If so, it shouldn't really
matter if it is in NTFS or FAT32. It is really a personal preference.
--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2

Bill,

Sorry, I should have been more clear. I'm running Acronis True Image on
both my Win98 and WinXP machines...so I restore accordingly. I'm trying
to figure out why the partition with the Win98 Acronis image for the Win98
machine is in NTFS format. I read online that XP cannot format larger than
32GB in FAT32, but if you do it all the time, I should then be able to.

Anyway, I have the SwissKnife program that will format the Win98 backup
image file in FAT32. I assume that's the format to use when restoring to a
Win98 machine.

Thanks!
Scott

[BillW50]

Bill,
Sorry, I should have been more clear. I'm running Acronis True Image
on both my Win98 and WinXP machines...so I restore accordingly. I'm
trying to figure out why the partition with the Win98 Acronis image
for the Win98 machine is in NTFS format.

Oh okay, Scott. I believe the Acronis True Image restore CD can read
NTFS. So even in NTFS you should be ok. But I don't understand how you
can be backing up with Acronis True Image under Windows 98 and Acronis
True Image is saving it to NTFS. If that is true, Acronis True Image
must be writing NTFS even under Windows 98. If true, I wouldn't worry
about changing it over to FAT32.

I read online that XP cannot format larger than 32GB in FAT32, but if
you do it all the time, I should then be able to.

Well I believe I was anyway. I just Googled it and Google even says you
can't. Maybe I was mistaken. I'll install an old 60GB hard drive I have
in the drawer and see if Windows XP will format it in FAT32. As I have
many large drives in FAT32 format and I don't recall having a problem
formatting them. I could have used a partition manager I suppose.

Anyway, I have the SwissKnife program that will format the Win98
backup image file in FAT32. I assume that's the format to use when
restoring to a Win98 machine.

Before you do, did you read stuff like this about the program?

http://www.satellites.co.uk/satellite/fortecstar-hd/140489-fat32-127-gb-limit-formatting-utitlty.html

[Scott]

Bill,
Sorry, I should have been more clear. I'm running Acronis True Image on both my Win98 and
WinXP machines...so I restore accordingly. I'm trying to figure out why the partition with
the Win98 Acronis image for the Win98 machine is in NTFS format.

Oh okay, Scott. I believe the Acronis True Image restore CD can read NTFS. So even in NTFS
you should be ok. But I don't understand how you can be backing up with Acronis True Image
under Windows 98 and Acronis True Image is saving it to NTFS. If that is true, Acronis True
Image must be writing NTFS even under Windows 98. If true, I wouldn't worry about changing
it over to FAT32.

I'm thinking that when I formatted the external drive originally, it wouldn't
accept a larger than 32GB partition in FAT32, which is why I put it in NTFS
format. I've restored to Win98 in this format several times with no problem.

I'm still thinking it makes more sense to put the Win98 images on a FAT32
partition.

I read online that XP cannot format larger than 32GB in FAT32, but if you do it all the
time, I should then be able to.

Well I believe I was anyway. I just Googled it and Google even says you can't. Maybe I was
mistaken. I'll install an old 60GB hard drive I have in the drawer and see if Windows XP
will format it in FAT32. As I have many large drives in FAT32 format and I don't recall
having a problem formatting them. I could have used a partition manager I suppose.

When I get the new external drive in two days, I'll try formatting a larger
partition in FAT32, and I'll let you know. Keep me posted on your test.

Anyway, I have the SwissKnife program that will format the Win98 backup image file in
FAT32. I assume that's the format to use when restoring to a Win98 machine.

Before you do, did you read stuff like this about the program?
http://www.satellites.co.uk/satellite/fortecstar-hd/140489-fat32-127-gb-limit-formatting-utitlty.html

I checked this site, and I'm wondering what they mean about: "allow the FAT32
partition to work with the P+". What is P+ ?

Thanks!
Scott

--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2

[BillW50]

Post by Scott
I'm thinking that when I formatted the external drive originally, it
wouldn't accept a larger than 32GB partition in FAT32, which is why I
put it in NTFS format. I've restored to Win98 in this format several
times with no problem.
I'm still thinking it makes more sense to put the Win98 images on a
FAT32 partition.

Hi Scott. Yes I can see the point of that. <vbg>

Post by Scott
When I get the new external drive in two days, I'll try formatting a
larger partition in FAT32, and I'll let you know. Keep me posted on
your test.

I just tried it with this netbook under Windows XP SP2. The only choice
was NTFS and that is all for this 60GB drive. So I must have used a
partition manager (some are free too). But I checked under Acronis True
Image and on the top Tools -> Add Drive, will partition it and format it
in FAT32 too.

Post by Scott
I checked this site, and I'm wondering what they mean about: "allow
the FAT32 partition to work with the P+". What is P+ ?

Fortecstar Passion+ is my guess. And I guess it is an UK satellite DVR I
think.

[Scott]

Post by BillW50

I'm thinking that when I formatted the external drive originally, it wouldn't accept a
larger than 32GB partition in FAT32, which is why I put it in NTFS format. I've restored to
Win98 in this format several times with no problem.
I'm still thinking it makes more sense to put the Win98 images on a FAT32 partition.

Hi Scott. Yes I can see the point of that. <vbg>

When I get the new external drive in two days, I'll try formatting a larger partition in
FAT32, and I'll let you know. Keep me posted on your test.

I just tried it with this netbook under Windows XP SP2. The only choice was NTFS and that is
all for this 60GB drive. So I must have used a partition manager (some are free too). But I
checked under Acronis True Image and on the top Tools -> Add Drive, will partition it and
format it in FAT32 too.

Yes, I now see the Add Drive feature on Acronis. That will make it easy
to set up FAT32 and NTFS partitions on the new external drive, which is
exactly what I was trying to do.

When I get the drive on Thursday, I'll let you know it worked.

Thanks again, Bill!
Scott

Post by BillW50

I checked this site, and I'm wondering what they mean about: "allow the FAT32 partition to
work with the P+". What is P+ ?

Fortecstar Passion+ is my guess. And I guess it is an UK satellite DVR I think.
--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2

[Scott]

Post by BillW50

I'm thinking that when I formatted the external drive originally, it wouldn't accept a
larger than 32GB partition in FAT32, which is why I put it in NTFS format. I've restored to
Win98 in this format several times with no problem.
I'm still thinking it makes more sense to put the Win98 images on a FAT32 partition.

Hi Scott. Yes I can see the point of that. <vbg>

When I get the new external drive in two days, I'll try formatting a larger partition in
FAT32, and I'll let you know. Keep me posted on your test.

I just tried it with this netbook under Windows XP SP2. The only choice was NTFS and that is
all for this 60GB drive. So I must have used a partition manager (some are free too). But I
checked under Acronis True Image and on the top Tools -> Add Drive, will partition it and
format it in FAT32 too.

I checked this site, and I'm wondering what they mean about: "allow the FAT32 partition to
work with the P+". What is P+ ?

Fortecstar Passion+ is my guess. And I guess it is an UK satellite DVR I think.
--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2

Bill,

I see you have a netbook. My wife and I are thinking of getting an ASUS
netbook (for traveling). What's your opinion of the glossy screen vs. matte
screen? We have a GW notebook with the glossy screen, and we like it.
I've seen comments by people who say a glossy screen on a netbook is annoying.
What do you think?

Scott

[SC Tom]

Post by Scott

Post by BillW50

Post by Scott
I'm thinking that when I formatted the external drive originally, it
wouldn't accept a larger than 32GB partition in FAT32, which is why I
put it in NTFS format. I've restored to Win98 in this format several
times with no problem.
I'm still thinking it makes more sense to put the Win98 images on a FAT32 partition.

Hi Scott. Yes I can see the point of that. <vbg>

Post by Scott
When I get the new external drive in two days, I'll try formatting a
larger partition in FAT32, and I'll let you know. Keep me posted on your
test.

I just tried it with this netbook under Windows XP SP2. The only choice
was NTFS and that is all for this 60GB drive. So I must have used a
partition manager (some are free too). But I checked under Acronis True
Image and on the top Tools -> Add Drive, will partition it and format it
in FAT32 too.

Post by Scott
I checked this site, and I'm wondering what they mean about: "allow the
FAT32 partition to work with the P+". What is P+ ?

Fortecstar Passion+ is my guess. And I guess it is an UK satellite DVR I think.
--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2

Bill,
I see you have a netbook. My wife and I are thinking of getting an ASUS
netbook (for traveling). What's your opinion of the glossy screen vs. matte
screen? We have a GW notebook with the glossy screen, and we like it.
I've seen comments by people who say a glossy screen on a netbook is annoying.
What do you think?
Scott

My M6850-FX has the glossy screen, and I find it annoying as hell if there's
any side or "behind me" lighting in the room. If I set my wallpaper or
background to a light-colored image, it's not so bad. But if I'm in a public
place like Starbuck's, I have to find a seat next to the wall and tilt the
screen down to where the lights don't reflect on it, but that makes it
harder to read.
My last HP also had the glossy screen- same problem. But the HP/Compaq
before that had the matte screen and I loved it. Too bad it didn't have the
horsepower to upgrade or I'd still be using it.
I would imagine that a netbook with the glossy screen would be even more
annoying since it's so much smaller than a full-size, therefore less light
would give more of an overall reflection, if you know what I mean.

SC Tom

[BillW50]

Post by Scott
Bill,
I see you have a netbook. My wife and I are thinking of getting an
ASUS netbook (for traveling). What's your opinion of the glossy
screen vs. matte screen? We have a GW notebook with the glossy
screen, and we like it. I've seen comments by people who say a glossy
screen on a netbook is annoying.
What do you think?
Scott

Well some people dislike them and some people love them. I generally
find glossy screens usually has better contrast (blacker blacks). But
the refection from the glossy I don't like so much. So I have mixed
feelings about them.

[Scott]

Post by BillW50

I'm thinking that when I formatted the external drive originally, it wouldn't accept a
larger than 32GB partition in FAT32, which is why I put it in NTFS format. I've restored to
Win98 in this format several times with no problem.
I'm still thinking it makes more sense to put the Win98 images on a FAT32 partition.

Hi Scott. Yes I can see the point of that. <vbg>

When I get the new external drive in two days, I'll try formatting a larger partition in
FAT32, and I'll let you know. Keep me posted on your test.

I just tried it with this netbook under Windows XP SP2. The only choice was NTFS and that is
all for this 60GB drive. So I must have used a partition manager (some are free too). But I
checked under Acronis True Image and on the top Tools -> Add Drive, will partition it and
format it in FAT32 too.

I checked this site, and I'm wondering what they mean about: "allow the FAT32 partition to
work with the P+". What is P+ ?

Fortecstar Passion+ is my guess. And I guess it is an UK satellite DVR I think.
--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2

Bill,

I received the 750GB WD external drive. I used that free program, Swiss
Knife", to format a 173GB partition in FAT32. Then I used WinXP - Control
Panel/Computer Management to format the second partition in NTFS.
Everything is working well.

It looks like the 750GB drive has only 698GB of usable drive space, but I
guess that's the way it is. I deleted the software that came pre-installed on
the WD drive.

Thanks again!
Scott

[Ben Myers]

Post by Scott

Post by BillW50

I'm thinking that when I formatted the external drive originally, it wouldn't accept a
larger than 32GB partition in FAT32, which is why I put it in NTFS format. I've restored to
Win98 in this format several times with no problem.
I'm still thinking it makes more sense to put the Win98 images on a FAT32 partition.

Hi Scott. Yes I can see the point of that. <vbg>

When I get the new external drive in two days, I'll try formatting a larger partition in
FAT32, and I'll let you know. Keep me posted on your test.

I just tried it with this netbook under Windows XP SP2. The only choice was NTFS and that is
all for this 60GB drive. So I must have used a partition manager (some are free too). But I
checked under Acronis True Image and on the top Tools -> Add Drive, will partition it and
format it in FAT32 too.

I checked this site, and I'm wondering what they mean about: "allow the FAT32 partition to
work with the P+". What is P+ ?

Fortecstar Passion+ is my guess. And I guess it is an UK satellite DVR I think.
--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2

Bill,
I received the 750GB WD external drive. I used that free program, Swiss
Knife", to format a 173GB partition in FAT32. Then I used WinXP - Control
Panel/Computer Management to format the second partition in NTFS.
Everything is working well.
It looks like the 750GB drive has only 698GB of usable drive space, but I
guess that's the way it is. I deleted the software that came pre-installed on
the WD drive.
Thanks again!
Scott

The difference between 750GB and 698GB depends on who does the math,
Microsoft or the drive manufacturer (and us in the real world).

Windows computes drive capacity the lazy programmer's way, using 1024
instead of 1000. 1024 saves CPU cycles, very important when one is
programming an 8088 from 25 years ago, because to divide by 1024 is
simply a shift of the value in the computer's register(s) right 10 bits.
Typically, a shift instruction takes fewer clock cycles than a divide
instruction. With today's computing power, who cares that a divide is
slower than a shift? Microsoft should do right and simply use divides
by 1000 all the way throughout Windows, but if they do, something in
their fragile Windows mess would break... Ben Myers

[BillW50]

Post by Scott

Post by BillW50

Post by Scott
I'm thinking that when I formatted the external drive originally,
it wouldn't accept a larger than 32GB partition in FAT32, which is
why I put it in NTFS format. I've restored to Win98 in this format
several times with no problem. I'm still thinking it makes more
sense to put the Win98 images on a
FAT32 partition.

Hi Scott. Yes I can see the point of that. <vbg>

Post by Scott
When I get the new external drive in two days, I'll try formatting
a larger partition in FAT32, and I'll let you know. Keep me posted
on your test.

I just tried it with this netbook under Windows XP SP2. The only
choice was NTFS and that is all for this 60GB drive. So I must have
used a partition manager (some are free too). But I checked under
Acronis True Image and on the top Tools -> Add Drive, will partition
it and format it in FAT32 too.

Post by Scott
I checked this site, and I'm wondering what they mean about: "allow
the FAT32 partition to work with the P+". What is P+ ?

Fortecstar Passion+ is my guess. And I guess it is an UK satellite
DVR I think. --
Bill
Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2

Bill,
I received the 750GB WD external drive. I used that free program,
Swiss Knife", to format a 173GB partition in FAT32. Then I used
WinXP - Control Panel/Computer Management to format the second
partition in NTFS. Everything is working well.
It looks like the 750GB drive has only 698GB of usable drive space,
but I guess that's the way it is. I deleted the software that came
pre-installed on the WD drive.
Thanks again!
Scott

Thanks for the update Scott. And yes that is normal. <grin>

[Scott]

Post by BillW50

Post by BillW50

Post by Scott
I'm thinking that when I formatted the external drive originally,
it wouldn't accept a larger than 32GB partition in FAT32, which is
why I put it in NTFS format. I've restored to Win98 in this format
several times with no problem. I'm still thinking it makes more sense to put the Win98
images on a
FAT32 partition.

Hi Scott. Yes I can see the point of that. <vbg>

Post by Scott
When I get the new external drive in two days, I'll try formatting
a larger partition in FAT32, and I'll let you know. Keep me posted
on your test.

I just tried it with this netbook under Windows XP SP2. The only
choice was NTFS and that is all for this 60GB drive. So I must have
used a partition manager (some are free too). But I checked under
Acronis True Image and on the top Tools -> Add Drive, will partition
it and format it in FAT32 too.

Post by Scott
I checked this site, and I'm wondering what they mean about: "allow
the FAT32 partition to work with the P+". What is P+ ?

Fortecstar Passion+ is my guess. And I guess it is an UK satellite
DVR I think. --
Bill
Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2

Bill,
I received the 750GB WD external drive. I used that free program, Swiss Knife", to format a
173GB partition in FAT32. Then I used WinXP - Control Panel/Computer Management to format
the second partition in NTFS. Everything is working well.
It looks like the 750GB drive has only 698GB of usable drive space, but I guess that's the
way it is. I deleted the software that came pre-installed on the WD drive.
Thanks again!
Scott

Thanks for the update Scott. And yes that is normal. <grin>
--
Bill
Windows XP SP2 (5.1.2600)
Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC

Bill,

I've been backing up Acronis images from Win98 and WinXP, and the
newly formatted external WD drive works perfectly.

Thanks again for the excellent advice!

Scott