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Problem with an old backup



 
 
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  #1  
Old September 4th 06, 05:06 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.disks.general
Kumachan
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 4
Default Problem with an old backup

Hi! I don't know if this is in the right thread, but I need some help. I'm
running Windows 98(SE) on an old PC which only has 7 gigs of HD space. Awhile
back, I had to use my recovery disk to repair a huge problem. The problem
that cropped up afterwards was that I was cut down to 3GB of disk space. Is
there any way I can get rid of the old backup without damaging my system? I
finally got rid of the AOL virus, but something tells me there's quite a bit
of old AOL files in the backup along with everything else. The option I used
with the disk (LGIA Recovery Disk) was the one in which you don't completely
format. The backup is killing my system's ability to get the most out of my
DSL connection, which, quite frankly, stinks. If anyone knows of anything I
can do to repair this problem, please let me know. Thanks!

  #2  
Old September 4th 06, 05:18 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.disks.general
Gary S. Terhune
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 1,846
Default Problem with an old backup

You're speaking of "Total Size" when viewing the C:\ drive in My Computer?

--

Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User

"Kumachan" u26130@uwe wrote in message news:65c51a780afb6@uwe...
Hi! I don't know if this is in the right thread, but I need some help. I'm
running Windows 98(SE) on an old PC which only has 7 gigs of HD space.
Awhile
back, I had to use my recovery disk to repair a huge problem. The problem
that cropped up afterwards was that I was cut down to 3GB of disk space.
Is
there any way I can get rid of the old backup without damaging my system?
I
finally got rid of the AOL virus, but something tells me there's quite a
bit
of old AOL files in the backup along with everything else. The option I
used
with the disk (LGIA Recovery Disk) was the one in which you don't
completely
format. The backup is killing my system's ability to get the most out of
my
DSL connection, which, quite frankly, stinks. If anyone knows of anything
I
can do to repair this problem, please let me know. Thanks!



  #3  
Old September 4th 06, 05:29 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.disks.general
Kumachan
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 4
Default Problem with an old backup

Gary S. Terhune wrote:
You're speaking of "Total Size" when viewing the C:\ drive in My Computer?

Yes, sir. I have the utility that came with Norton Systemworks called
Cleansweep, which cleans out temporary internet files and such, but even when
I use the imbedded disk cleanup utility on the System Tools sub-menu, it
tells me I'm running on 3.02GB hard drive space.

  #4  
Old September 4th 06, 05:31 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.disks.general
Kumachan
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 4
Default Problem with an old backup

Kumachan wrote:
You're speaking of "Total Size" when viewing the C:\ drive in My Computer?


Yes, sir. I have the utility that came with Norton Systemworks called
Cleansweep, which cleans out temporary internet files and such, but even when
I use the imbedded disk cleanup utility on the System Tools sub-menu, it
tells me I'm running on 3.02GB hard drive space.


My apologies, sir. I forgot to mention that I have 192MB of RAM.

  #5  
Old September 4th 06, 05:49 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.disks.general
Gary S. Terhune
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 1,846
Default Problem with an old backup

That's irrelevant to this issue, but it's always good to mention. I'll
answer your previous, but it will take a few more minutes.

--

Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User

"Kumachan" u26130@uwe wrote in message news:65c554135e963@uwe...
Kumachan wrote:
You're speaking of "Total Size" when viewing the C:\ drive in My
Computer?


Yes, sir. I have the utility that came with Norton Systemworks called
Cleansweep, which cleans out temporary internet files and such, but even
when
I use the imbedded disk cleanup utility on the System Tools sub-menu, it
tells me I'm running on 3.02GB hard drive space.


My apologies, sir. I forgot to mention that I have 192MB of RAM.



  #6  
Old September 4th 06, 06:06 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.disks.general
Gary S. Terhune
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 1,846
Default Problem with an old backup

It would appear that the Restore disk you use creates a backup of the
existing system, storing it on a hidden partition before creating a new
partition where it reinstalls. In fact, I'd suspect that your real disk size
is even more than the 7GB that you mentioned previously, that there was
already at least one hidden partition there already, possibly one that
actually stores the data that your Restore CD uses to recreate Windows.
Please do the following, then report back with the results. (Print this
email, since you'll want to refer to it while Windows is not available.)

1. Go to http://www.bootitng.com/bootitng.html and download BootIt NG
(download link is at bottom of page.)

2. Unzip the download to a new folder and then run BOOTITNG.EXE from that
folder. You'll need a spare floppy disk in order to do this.

3. Once the floppy installation disk has been created, leave it in the
floppy drive and restart your system. This is a boot disk and should start
automatically. (If your boot order has been changed to not try booting to a
floppy first, you'll need to make changes to the BIOS, but I doubt you will
have that problem.)

4. Once BootIt NG (BING) floppy has booted, the first thing you'll see is a
prompt to install BING. DO NOT click OK, instead click Cancel! This will
drop you into Maintenance Mode without installing anything to your hard
drive. We just want to look around, not actually install BING.

5. Click on Partition Work. The window that comes up will show how your
drive is partitioned. Make a list of what appears in the center section,
starting at the top and working down. Once you've made the list, exit that
panel, remove the floppy disk, and finally click on Reboot.

BING can also be safely used, without installing, to remove unwanted
partitions and to move and resize your current Windows partition so that it
occupies the full disk (or most of it, anyway.) But such operations are
irreversible, so don't do anything until we've had a chance to fully
understand what's going on, OK?

In addition to the procedures I've already requested, please look at your
LGIA Recovery Disk and see what it contains. Look for a folder full of CAB
files, for one thing. Also use Find to search the CD without putting in any
filename. This will list all of the files. Look for the largest file. What
is it called? How big is it?

--

Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User



"Kumachan" u26130@uwe wrote in message news:65c54e4a7b8bd@uwe...
Gary S. Terhune wrote:
You're speaking of "Total Size" when viewing the C:\ drive in My Computer?

Yes, sir. I have the utility that came with Norton Systemworks called
Cleansweep, which cleans out temporary internet files and such, but even
when
I use the imbedded disk cleanup utility on the System Tools sub-menu, it
tells me I'm running on 3.02GB hard drive space.



  #7  
Old September 4th 06, 06:27 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.disks.general
Gary S. Terhune
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 1,846
Default Problem with an old backup

Wait a minute! You mention two programs below. But *both* of those programs
are more interested in *Free* space than anything else. Please... Are you
*certain* that the total size of your C:\ drive, both Used and Free space is
only 3.02GB? Or is that only the Free space?

--

Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User

"Kumachan" u26130@uwe wrote in message news:65c54e4a7b8bd@uwe...
Gary S. Terhune wrote:
You're speaking of "Total Size" when viewing the C:\ drive in My Computer?

Yes, sir. I have the utility that came with Norton Systemworks called
Cleansweep, which cleans out temporary internet files and such, but even
when
I use the imbedded disk cleanup utility on the System Tools sub-menu, it
tells me I'm running on 3.02GB hard drive space.



  #8  
Old September 4th 06, 07:35 AM posted to microsoft.public.win98.disks.general
Kumachan
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 4
Default Problem with an old backup

Gary S. Terhune wrote:
Wait a minute! You mention two programs below. But *both* of those programs
are more interested in *Free* space than anything else. Please... Are you
*certain* that the total size of your C:\ drive, both Used and Free space is
only 3.02GB? Or is that only the Free space?


I'm sorry! It only gauges free space, so that's what I have with everything
installed. If possible, I'd like to keep the settings I have, and get rid of
the old junk that's backed up and no longer needed. Thanks for the help thus
far, and for putting up with what seems to be my rampant ignorance tonight!

  #9  
Old September 4th 06, 12:46 PM posted to microsoft.public.win98.disks.general
Ron Badour
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 957
Default Problem with an old backup

Once you get the space problem solved, you will still need to address your
DSL connection's speed issue since the hard drive free space is more than
adequate for computer operations. You might want to have a look he
http://cable-dsl.home.att.net/#IncreasingWindow

--
Regards


Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo



"Kumachan" u26130@uwe wrote in message news:65c6696926c40@uwe...
Gary S. Terhune wrote:
Wait a minute! You mention two programs below. But *both* of those
programs
are more interested in *Free* space than anything else. Please... Are you
*certain* that the total size of your C:\ drive, both Used and Free space
is
only 3.02GB? Or is that only the Free space?


I'm sorry! It only gauges free space, so that's what I have with
everything
installed. If possible, I'd like to keep the settings I have, and get rid
of
the old junk that's backed up and no longer needed. Thanks for the help
thus
far, and for putting up with what seems to be my rampant ignorance
tonight!



  #10  
Old September 4th 06, 01:42 PM posted to microsoft.public.win98.disks.general
Gary S. Terhune
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 1,846
Default Problem with an old backup

Again, if you will look in My Computer, you will see the total size of your
drive listed. The visible partiton(s), anyway. Make sure you change the View
setting to Detailed if it isn't already that way.

Let's go back to square one. How did the "backup" get created? Was it some
part of the "repair" process? Because the way you describe it that seems to
be the case. Or did you deliberately back up the system before proceeding to
"repair".

I don't really know what an LGIA installation CD does to "repair" a system.
With a normal Windows 98 installation CD, the procedure is called an
"overinstall", where you run Setup and it reinstalls Windows without first
reformatting. Problem is, the system you have before repairing, with all its
Updates and Service Packs, has numerous system files that are actually newer
than the ones Setup wants to install. Setup isn't smart enough to decide
what to leave well enough alone, so MS includes a procedure where system
files that are to be overwritten with older versions get backed up, and
replaces all or most of them entirely. Unfortunately, this well-intended
backup feature is in practice spotty at best, with most of the system files
simply getting overwritten with no backup. Those files that are backed up
before being overwritten can be viewed by running Version Conflict Manager
(run VCM from the StartRun box.)

After such a "repair" installation, your system tends to become unstable,
sometimes even moreso than it was before the "repair". Updates that you had
previously installed are often broken by partial file replacement, but
Windows Updates sees them as installed and doesn't prompt you to reinstall
them. You end up with several Updates being broken and/or a situation known
as DLL Hell -- mismatched DLL files -- and no way to accurately fix the
situation. This is why I recommend this procedure only if needed in order to
get back into Windows long enough to retrieve your personal files before
reformatting and starting over entirely. Again, I don't know what the LGIA
procedure does, but if it's anything like an overinstall, I beg you to
consider backing up your personal files to CD or online storage or anywhere
else but the HD itself, and then reformatting and starting over from
scratch.

Sorry for the long exposition, but I thought you'd like to know. Still,
there's no way that automatic system file backups during Setup caused you to
lose 4GB of space. VCM backups typically only involve a few dozen megabytes,
perhaps a hundred or two at the most. I also don't know if the LGIA "repair"
procedure even does anything the same as a normal Win98 overinstall. And
even if it backed up the entire Windows system, excluding 3rd-party
applications and personal files, that still wouldn't come close to 4GB. Then
again, if it's some kind of total backup, or one that backs up 3rd-party
applications along with Windows files, then we might be in the right
ballpark. Knowing the total size of your C:\ drive would help a lot in
understanding what numbers might be involved and assist us in guessing what
might actually have been backed up. So I have to wonder what really happened
to the missing free space. Did you manually perform a backup before running
the repair? If not, have you been able to locate what you think are backups?

In the end, until you (and we) know just what has been backed up, there's no
way to reasonably comment on what might or might not be necessary to keep.
My own opinion is that the only files that really need to be backed up are
those few that are automatically backed up on a regular basis by Windows
(Registry backups, primarily) and perhaps by other applications. However,
any decent application (and Windows itself, if properly configured)
shouldn't be accumulating backups ad infinitum. Old, and thus obsolete,
backups should be cycled out and deleted just as automatically as they are
created.

So, after reading this long, long reply, perhaps you have a better insight
as to where to begin to look for lost space. Or do you perhaps already know
where at least some backups are stored, what they back up, etc., and can
provide more detail as to what is included? Why, for instance, you think AOL
backups are involved? If it's a set of backups created by the LGIA repair
procedure, can you actually see what they are in Windows Explorer, or are
they packed into some kind of megafile(s)?

(Sorry if I got too repetetive. It's almost dawn here, but I haven't been
able to sleep. Not the greatest condition in which to write technical
advice, but I thought I might as well try.)

--

Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User

"Kumachan" u26130@uwe wrote in message news:65c6696926c40@uwe...
Gary S. Terhune wrote:
Wait a minute! You mention two programs below. But *both* of those
programs
are more interested in *Free* space than anything else. Please... Are you
*certain* that the total size of your C:\ drive, both Used and Free space
is
only 3.02GB? Or is that only the Free space?


I'm sorry! It only gauges free space, so that's what I have with
everything
installed. If possible, I'd like to keep the settings I have, and get rid
of
the old junk that's backed up and no longer needed. Thanks for the help
thus
far, and for putting up with what seems to be my rampant ignorance
tonight!



 




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