Do I lose all my files when I install Windows 8?

portable hard drive best 2011 image

Blackblood

I am using Windows xp atm and I thought of changing my OS. So I am going for Windows 8. But my question is: will I lose all my files when I re-install the operating system? Or can I choose a specific partition for installing and the other partitions will remain untouched? My windows files are all in Local Disk :C and all my documents, photos, movies, games are in Local Disk :E . So if I install windows 8 on Local Disk C, then I will keep my files from E, right?

Answer
That all depends on how you are installing it.

The best way as always with all Windows is to install it from fresh, don't attempt to "upgrade" as Windows is a bit messy and tends to leave loads of redundant files lying around from the old system.

To install fresh

Firstly open up "My Computer" and take a look at the two partitions - they should have names as well as letters (e.g System (C:) Data (E:) ) if they haven't give them a name - and remember the names - especially the one with the data on!

reset computer with Windows 8 disc in drive and get the BIOS to boot first from the optical drive rather than the hard drive (some BIOS you can do this by pressing F12 for the boot menu, others you need to go in the BIOS and change the boot priority to make the optical drive higher priority than the hard drive, you may even be lucky and already have the optical drive set as highest priority - all depends on how the machine was set up).

Before you start booting ensure you've removed any extra drives, such as usb flash drives portable hard drives, etc...

When you start booting from the disc it will give a message "Press any key to boot from CD" (I know it's a DVD but I don't think MS ever really bothered updating the wording to DVD!)

Press a key to start booting off the DVD.

You get to a point where it will show your hard drive partitions and ask you where you want to install it. Now at this point BE VERY VERY CAREFUL!!! If your not sure get someone who is into IT to watch over you as getting this wrong could wipe out the E drive as well (or just backup your E drive before beginning which is always the recommended and safest way!).

Go into the Drive Options... (Advanced) section of the partition manager and you should see a number of partitions (if you've left any USB sticks/portable hard drives plugged in you will also see these as well as the hard drive).

For example the screen should look something like this

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/17/2011/09/windows8partition.jpg

if it looks like this image....
http://www.noteburner.com/images-new/guide/install-windows8/new-partition.jpg
then you need to click Drive Options... (Advanced) in the bottom right

NB the drives wont be shown as C:. or E: etc all you'll see is the drive name so you might have

Drive 0 Partition 1: RECOVERY
Drive 0 Partition 2 : System
Drive 0 Partition 3: Data

(System and Data may be different names depending on what you called your drives, and drive/partition numbers may be different depending on your computer set up - you did remember from the beginning what you called them didn't you?)

Delete the partition that contains Windows (in this example it would be System), but leave Data alone.

If you have a recovery partition you may also want to delete that too - as that contains recovery to re-install XP, and as you've upgraded to Windows 8 you won't be needing that anymore - unless you want to go back to XP at any time and you didn't create the recovery discs, if that is the case leave it where it is.

Now you should have a large section at the bottom that reads

Drive 0 Unallocated Space (again drive 0 may be different number depending on how your computer is set up).

Select that and click Next.

Proceed with installation of Windows 8.

Once in Windows 8 you should see that the data drive is still in tact, although really for full peace of mind I would highly recommend backing all data up rather than attempting this method.

Also any programs/games you have installed on Drive E will not work (unless they were standalone - some emulators are like that) - they will need to be re-installed - this is due to DLL and settings files, and registry entries which are created by the installers. (This is also why computers go slower over time - because all this junk gets left behind every time you uninstall something!)

I dont know which computer to get?

Gini

I have a macbook from 2006. It no longer gets updates, and I am starting to need something better. I want another mac, but do not want to buy something over $1400 including a mac protection plan. I am not sure whether or not I want a notebook or desktop. I only really want to do word processing and check my email and go on the internet. Please help! Oh, and if it helps i also have an iPad 1.

Answer
An iMac desktop is the best option for you and the usage you described. Since you have a portable (your iPad), you don't need to invest in a laptop. iCloud will allow you to keep both devices synced easily. With a desktop computer you'll be getting the most processing speed, memory, and storage space for your money (as opposed to buying a Macbook Air). I would also recommend that you wait to purchase your new computer. The last release of the iMac was on May 3, 2011. Seeing as the iMac usually upgrades around every nine months, the new iMac should be coming out very, very soon.

Here are the specifications of the iMac.

21.5-inch iMac for $1,199
2.5GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5
1920 x 1080 resolution
4GB (two 2GB) memory
500GB hard drive
AMD Radeon HD 6750M with 512MB

+

AppleCare Protection Plan for $169

The best thing to do is go into an Apple store and talk to a specialist to get a final opinion. Make sure to mention to them that you have a portable device already.

Hope this helps!

Powered by Yahoo! Answers

Title Post: Do I lose all my files when I install Windows 8?
Rating: 100% based on 9998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: Unknown

Thanks For Coming To My Blog