I'n fairly new at this but I want to learn myself how to fix problems like this. I have a Dell Dimension 4400 that came new with a 40gb hard drive. Computer crashed about a year ago and took it to get repaired and was told that they tried many fixes but it would still not work so they replaced the hard drive with a used 8gb hard drive to see if that was the problem. The hard drive was indeed the problem. I never took it back to install a new hard drive. This repair shop has since closed. I was doing some reading about this and I installed an external 80gb hard drive thinking this would help. When I go to "my computer" it says the "local disk (C)" has 2.71gb free space and total size of 7.96gb. For the external hard drive it says "local disk (f) has 74.5gb free space and 74.5 total size. I'm thinking if I could free up the space on the "C" disk and transfer it to the "F" that my computer would operate faster. Have also read where this won't work because your still working with only a 8gb hard drive. Also it says the only "fix" is to replace the internal hard drive. To do this I know that I would have to take it to a shop. In the meantime I would like to see if I could fix this with my set-up. Many thanks for your help. It's appreciated.

If you are trying to install xp on your external drive and your computer came with an xp instilation disk, insert the xp disk and re-boot (you may need to change the boot settings so that CD ROM is at the top)

Press any Key when you see the prompt to 'Press Any Key"
*

Files will start to load from the CD to begin the installation. Eventually you’ll be asked if you want to install Windows XP. No need to type an essay here on why you’ve made the decision to do the installation. Just hit Enter.
*

Next is the End User License Agreement or EULA which must be accepted to continue installation. Press F8 to accept, F3 to bail out now. You can read the EULA if you want, but it adds two days to the installation time.
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The next screen displays the available partitions where XP can be installed. Select the one you want and tap that Enter key again to move on to the screen where you select a file system.
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It’s time for that important decision. FAT32 versus NTFS. The preferred choice is NTFS. It allows security features and stability that aren’t possible with FAT32. Apply the knowledge you gained during the preparation phase at this point. Make your choice of formatting options and press the F key to start the process. Once the format process completes the installation will continue.
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If you are installing from a full version Windows XP CD the installation continues without intervention. If you’re using an upgrade version CD this is where Microsoft confirms your eligibility by requesting the media that allows you to use the upgrade version. Insert your media in the drive, let the verification complete and reinsert the XP CD when prompted.
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Setup continues and eventually the computer will reboot. Watch the onscreen prompts but do not press a key when the “Press any key to boot CD” message appears.
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Installation will continue, prompting you from time to time to supply some additional setup information. Feed the prompts with appropriate responses and eventually another reboot will occur, this time bringing you back into Windows XP, depositing you at the Windows Activation screen.
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You can either activate your copy of XP now or delay the activation for up to 30 days and suffer the periodic activation reminders. I suggest you activate now and register at the same time. It’s really painless. In any case, activation is required at some point or after 30 days you’ll be denied access to the desktop. Registration is entirely optional.
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The last step is to enter a username and watch the XP desktop appear, ready for use.

when you get the option of which drive to install xp on chose your external drive (probably E: or F:, depending on how many internal drives you have, it will not be C: because that is the one with windows already on.


also, you could install a new hard drive yourself, it is not hard, all you do is plug it in, screw it to the drive bay, make sure the jumper is set to "Master" and that it is at the top of the ribbon cable (if you have a cable with 2 plugs on it) and also if you are keeping your other one, make sure that that jumper is set to "Slave" and is attached to the other part of the ribbon cable.

(a jumper is just a piece of metal with a plastic covering and is used to short out 2 pins so the drive "knows" what it is being used for)

Hope this helps,
Mike

Mike thanks for the post and info. My intent was to transfer stuff from "C" drive to the external(F) drive to free up as much space as possible. Is this what you are talking about?This is where I wished that I had another computer just to "practice" on. If I do what you say will I mess up what I have now as far on what's on hard disk "C"? My computer works fairly(?) well now but I thought if I could transfer stuff to the other drive(F)then I wouldn't have these periods where the computer is very,very,slow. You also mention that it's easy to change hard drives. I can do it but I was told I would lose everything and I would have to reinstall everything. I have already doubled my memory from 256 to 512. This was just a simple plug in. Have also found the page where I can compress everything that's on C disk. Would this be the best route to go or would it be best to transfer to the external drive? Sorry for all these questions but like I said I will not learn anything if I take it to a repair shop. Again,Thanks for your help.

You can certainly move data to the external drive. XP and program files can not be put on external drives. But any data; pictures; videos; documents; etc. you can easily (drag & drop) to the external drive.

New hard drives will come with software that will enable you to clone your existing drive so you can move everything from the 8Gig to the new drive although it would be best to install XP clean and reinstall your programs.

Originally Posted by jephree

XP and program files can not be put on external drives.

sorry, thaught it could

Originally Posted by madmikejt12

sorry, thaught it could

No problem.



I have never tried it but this is the jist I get from my reading.

The registry and XP are very tied to the motherboard as I take it.

Some posts here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...xp=&sloc=en-us

In particular:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...=en-us&m=1&p=1





...

i foung this quote

However, all is not lost. Apparently, people have successfully "cloned" a
working internal hard drive onto an external hard drive which booted.

it probably wouldnt be as straight forwward as i first thaught..... quite a few people are saying its not possible so i gues this probably means that it works for some people but not others.

this may be usefull aswell

On 03/01/2006 "Carey Frisch [MVP]" <cnfrisch@nospamgmail.com> wrote:
>Windows can only be installed on an internal drive.
>External drives are designed for file storage only.
>

Not completely true! You can only install Windows XP successfully onto an
External SCSI or SATA hard drive since these are still considered/behave as
internal drives. USB and Firewire drives need the enhanced hot-swap drivers,
which seem to cause the problem of not allowing Windows XP to be
installed/booted from these types of external drivers.

Originally Posted by jephree

You can certainly move data to the external drive. XP and program files can not be put on external drives. But any data; pictures; videos; documents; etc. you can easily (drag & drop) to the external drive.

New hard drives will come with software that will enable you to clone your existing drive so you can move everything from the 8Gig to the new drive although it would be best to install XP clean and reinstall your programs.

Drag & Drop to the external drive. I have several mp3 files and pictures(Kodak Easy Share). Just exactly how do you drag &drop to the external drive? Thanks!

Open Windows Explorer to the source and the destination folders.

Just click on C: under My Computer then also E:

Then for example open:

C:\Documents and Settings\User\My Documents\My Music

As well as say: E:\Music* *(create whatever folder you want here).

Then place the 2 windows where you can see both; click and hold on a file or folder in C: and move the mouse to E: then release click & choose Move Here.