Re: External HDD vs Reinstall XP

Thanks Ted, for responding. I think I understand what you're saying, but let
me restate the question another way just to be sure. I don't want to screw
up on this one, as it's real important to me to get it straight.
Here's what I'm saying;
I've hooked up this new external drive on an existing USB port and I'm using
it ONLY for data files, downloaded program files, and copies of
drivers.....things like that. I'm simply copying and pasting these various
data onto this drive as backup in case the system goes down and I have to
reinstall XP for some reason.
So there's no "ghosting" or imaging connected with it; just simple backup.
If the system does crash for some reason, and I have to reinstall XP, I'll
be doing that from a reboot into the CDRW drive using the bootable windows
CD. I'm set up in the BIOS now for a boot seqence to the CDRW, then the HDD,
and last the floppy. So all should be well if I have to reinstall.
Naturally I would disconnect all my peripherals before booting up to the XP
CD to do a format, single partition the HDD and reinstall XP.
What I'm not sure about concerning the new external drive is exactly how or
when I should take that USB plug out of the back of the computer assuming
I'm doing a reinstall of XP.
I'm getting the impression that there's a big difference between how you
disconnect the external drive if the system is up and running and how you
can disconnect it if the system is shut complete down.
I guess what I need to know is whether or not I HAVE to use the "safely
remove hardware" icon to shut down the external drive BEFORE exiting XP to
reboot to the CD for the reinstall, or whether its ok to shut down the
system normally, then take out all the USB plugs, INCLUDING the external
drive and then reboot to the CD.
If I shut down without using the icon to close down the external drive, will
I lose the data on that drive?
Also, since some of the drivers and some misc programs needed after the
reinstall will be on that external drive, at what point after the reinstall
is it ok to plug the drive back into the computer and regain access to
what's needed?
Sorry if this is long winded, but I need to understand this one out of the
box or I'm toast if I get something backwards :-))
Thanks
Dudley

"Ted Zieglar" <teddy.z@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ejJ0lB0tGHA.5032@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I'm not exactly sure if I understand what you're asking, but I'll attempt
an answer...

You should always use the Remove Hardware Safely utility to close your USB
drive. Once the drive is closed, you may safely unplug it (USB cable and
power cord).

If you're reinstalling Windows over itself from your Windows CD (a repair
install) it doesn't matter whether or not your USB drive is plugged in or
turned on.

If you're doing a clean install of Windows (erasing your hard disk and
starting from scratch) you should leave the the USB drive unplugged, i.e.,
don't have the USB cable plugged into your computer. In fact, don't have
any external peripherals attached to your computer other than your
keyboard and mouse.

If you're restoring your system from backup files on the USB drive, boot
the computer from your backup program's CD and let the backup program
'find' your USB drive. In this case your USB drive has to be attached to
your computer before you boot from the CD (and your BIOS has to be set to
boot from the CD drive first.)

So...was I close?

---
Ted Zieglar
"Backup is a computer user's best friend."

Dudley Henriques wrote:
Just purchased a Maxtor external HDD (100gig Personal Storage USB 2.0) .
Have a question please.
I can't foresee any situation where I would be disconnecting this drive
from the computer while windows is operating, but if I even have to
reinstall XP, what is the safe way to handle this drive?
Is it safe to power down the computer and then unplug the drive from the
USB port, or do I have to use the utility shutdown icon on the taskbar
before shutting down windows for the reboot to the XP CD?
In other words, I'm using this drive along with CDR's for duplicate
backup for data and I sure don't want to lose the external drive's
contents by doing this the wrong way.
Thanks very much
Dudley


.

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