It depends on exactly what you are trying to do. Ghost could be used to
clone one hard drive to another but I doubt that is what you want to do
unless for a total backup solution for disaster recovery that includes
applications and operating system or to use the new hard drive in your
laptop instead of the existing one.
If you simply want to backup your data files such as Word, Excel, Power
Point documents or other files such as media then you can copy them from
your computer hard drive to the new hard drive [USB external perhaps?] .
That way you will have a backup in case your laptop is stolen or damaged and
you can easily access them on another computer assuming it is a USB type
external hard drive.
You could also still using Ghost or Acronis True Image to create an image
backup in addition to backing up data files for shared access as most likely
the new hard drive has plenty of room.
To backup data files find the folders you want to copy via Explorer and copy
from the existing hard drive and paste to the new hard drive. Typically most
of your data files are in your My Documents folder though you should also
search your hard drive for any possible needed data in other folders.
Programs such as Quicken, QuickBooks, Peachtree, Money, etc also have the
ability to create a backup of the data file typically found under the file
menu for the program. One caveat is if you are using the built in EFS
encryption of XP Pro be sure to backup your EFS private keys also as you
could loose access to any encrypted files otherwise at a later point in
time.
Offhand I don't know what the problem is with your Norton install but to
start I would try and check your computer for malware problems by trying to
scan your computer , ideally in Safe Mode to start, with quality spyware
detection and removal programs and virus detection and removal programs and
also first downloading and installing CCleaner to clean temp files off of
your computer. Googlepack includes a free version of the highly rated
Spyware Doctor,and Norton AV but only for scan and removal. You need an AV
program that also monitors your computer in real time for virus threats and
there are some decent free ones such as AVG.
Steve
http://www.ccleaner.com/ --- CCleaner
http://pack.google.com/intl/en/pack_installer_new.html?hl=en&gl=us&ciNum=11
--- Google pack downloads
