What Windows files are safe to move?

[chicagofan]

I would like to move my Music files out of Documents and Settings, so I
can backup ALL of the other files on one CD and the Music files on
another? Can I do that without creating problems in Windows and if so,
where would be the best place to move them... to the main C directory?
TIA...
bj

 

[JS]

Create new folders (as many as you need) at the top level of the C drive,
give each folder a unique and clearly identifiable name (not My Music, maybe
BjMusic). Then copy (do not use a Move or Cut and Paste - in case anything
goes wrong ) the files to the new folders. You will now have two set of
these files (the original plus the copies, just in case of a problem), make
your CD(s), verify they work and then and only then delete the original
located under the Documents and Settings folder.

JS

 

[chicagofan]

Create new folders (as many as you need) at the top level of the C drive,
give each folder a unique and clearly identifiable name (not My Music, maybe
BjMusic). Then copy (do not use a Move or Cut and Paste - in case anything
goes wrong ) the files to the new folders. You will now have two set of
these files (the original plus the copies, just in case of a problem), make
your CD(s), verify they work and then and only then delete the original
located under the Documents and Settings folder.

JS

You mean make the backup CD of the music files and then test it? I
don't have a DVD R/W drive on this pc, so I can't back up My Docs until
My Music is removed. How would I test it... just try to copy it back to
the new location?

My biggest worry is that MusicMatch [which I use] is so *tightly*
integrated with Windows, that it won't work. What music player function
would test that best?

Thank you for your help, and sorry I'm not more savvy about backups.
bj

 

[JS]

Do you have a CD-RW drive you can use to burn the files?

JS

Create new folders (as many as you need) at the top level of the C drive,
give each folder a unique and clearly identifiable name (not My Music,
maybe BjMusic). Then copy (do not use a Move or Cut and Paste - in case
anything goes wrong ) the files to the new folders. You will now have two
set of these files (the original plus the copies, just in case of a
problem), make your CD(s), verify they work and then and only then delete
the original located under the Documents and Settings folder.

JS

You mean make the backup CD of the music files and then test it? I don't
have a DVD R/W drive on this pc, so I can't back up My Docs until My Music
is removed. How would I test it... just try to copy it back to the new
location?

My biggest worry is that MusicMatch [which I use] is so *tightly*
integrated with Windows, that it won't work. What music player function
would test that best?

Thank you for your help, and sorry I'm not more savvy about backups.
bj

 

[chicagofan]

Do you have a CD-RW drive you can use to burn the files?

JS

Yes... that's what I'm going to use, if I can get the files down below
the 700MB.
bj

Create new folders (as many as you need) at the top level of the C drive,
give each folder a unique and clearly identifiable name (not My Music,
maybe BjMusic). Then copy (do not use a Move or Cut and Paste - in case
anything goes wrong ) the files to the new folders. You will now have two
set of these files (the original plus the copies, just in case of a
problem), make your CD(s), verify they work and then and only then delete
the original located under the Documents and Settings folder.

JS

You mean make the backup CD of the music files and then test it? I don't
have a DVD R/W drive on this pc, so I can't back up My Docs until My Music
is removed. How would I test it... just try to copy it back to the new
location?

My biggest worry is that MusicMatch [which I use] is so *tightly*
integrated with Windows, that it won't work. What music player function
would test that best?

Thank you for your help, and sorry I'm not more savvy about backups.
bj

I would like to move my Music files out of Documents and Settings, so I
can backup ALL of the other files on one CD and the Music files on
another? Can I do that without creating problems in Windows and if so,
where would be the best place to move them... to the main C directory?
TIA...
bj

 

[chicagofan]

Do you have a CD-RW drive you can use to burn the files?

JS

I should have said I also have an external HD that I make a full backup
copy twice a month [sometimes weekly], but I would like a method to
backupMy Doc's more frequently... and separately on disk. That's what I
am trying to do.

And what I should have said below is "should I try to copy back *the
disk* to test it?

TIA...
bj

You mean make the backup CD of the music files and then test it? I don't
have a DVD R/W drive on this pc, so I can't back up My Docs until My Music
is removed. How would I test it... just try to copy it back to the new
location?

My biggest worry is that MusicMatch [which I use] is so *tightly*
integrated with Windows, that it won't work. What music player function
would test that best?

Thank you for your help, and sorry I'm not more savvy about backups.
bj

 

[JS]

One of things I do for critical files after I burn them to a CD or DVD is to
copy them back and then use a file comparison utility that performs either a
CRC check or a Binary comparison.

Question: how large are these files (largest single file and total of all
files)?

JS

Do you have a CD-RW drive you can use to burn the files?

JS

I should have said I also have an external HD that I make a full backup
copy twice a month [sometimes weekly], but I would like a method to
backupMy Doc's more frequently... and separately on disk. That's what I
am trying to do.

And what I should have said below is "should I try to copy back *the disk*
to test it?

TIA...
bj

You mean make the backup CD of the music files and then test it? I
don't have a DVD R/W drive on this pc, so I can't back up My Docs until
My Music is removed. How would I test it... just try to copy it back to
the new location?

My biggest worry is that MusicMatch [which I use] is so *tightly*
integrated with Windows, that it won't work. What music player function
would test that best?

Thank you for your help, and sorry I'm not more savvy about backups.
bj

 

[chicagofan]

One of things I do for critical files after I burn them to a CD or DVD is to
copy them back and then use a file comparison utility that performs either a
CRC check or a Binary comparison.

Question: how large are these files (largest single file and total of all
files)?

JS

Total My Doc's files/folders now are 882MB, of which 55OMB is the "My
Music" folder. Biggest folder after that is Progam Downloads of 262MB,
which contains the biggest file which is 148MB [Maxtor HD app].
bj

Do you have a CD-RW drive you can use to burn the files?

JS

I should have said I also have an external HD that I make a full backup
copy twice a month [sometimes weekly], but I would like a method to
backupMy Doc's more frequently... and separately on disk. That's what I
am trying to do.

And what I should have said below is "should I try to copy back *the disk*
to test it?

TIA...
bj

You mean make the backup CD of the music files and then test it? I
don't have a DVD R/W drive on this pc, so I can't back up My Docs until
My Music is removed. How would I test it... just try to copy it back to
the new location?

My biggest worry is that MusicMatch [which I use] is so *tightly*
integrated with Windows, that it won't work. What music player function
would test that best?

Thank you for your help, and sorry I'm not more savvy about backups.
bj

 

[JS]

If you can organize the music/files into logical groups then you can burn
one group of files to a CD, then the next group to another CD.

JS

One of things I do for critical files after I burn them to a CD or DVD is
to copy them back and then use a file comparison utility that performs
either a CRC check or a Binary comparison.

Question: how large are these files (largest single file and total of all
files)?

JS

Total My Doc's files/folders now are 882MB, of which 55OMB is the "My
Music" folder. Biggest folder after that is Progam Downloads of 262MB,
which contains the biggest file which is 148MB [Maxtor HD app].
bj

JS wrote:

Do you have a CD-RW drive you can use to burn the files?

JS

I should have said I also have an external HD that I make a full backup
copy twice a month [sometimes weekly], but I would like a method to
backupMy Doc's more frequently... and separately on disk. That's what I
am trying to do.

And what I should have said below is "should I try to copy back *the
disk* to test it?

TIA...
bj





You mean make the backup CD of the music files and then test it? I
don't have a DVD R/W drive on this pc, so I can't back up My Docs
until My Music is removed. How would I test it... just try to copy it
back to the new location?

My biggest worry is that MusicMatch [which I use] is so *tightly*
integrated with Windows, that it won't work. What music player
function would test that best?

Thank you for your help, and sorry I'm not more savvy about backups.

bj

 

[chicagofan]

If you can organize the music/files into logical groups then you can burn
one group of files to a CD, then the next group to another CD.

JS

Thanks, that is what I planned to do.
bj

One of things I do for critical files after I burn them to a CD or DVD is
to copy them back and then use a file comparison utility that performs
either a CRC check or a Binary comparison.

Question: how large are these files (largest single file and total of all
files)?

JS

Total My Doc's files/folders now are 882MB, of which 55OMB is the "My
Music" folder. Biggest folder after that is Progam Downloads of 262MB,
which contains the biggest file which is 148MB [Maxtor HD app].
bj

JS wrote:


Do you have a CD-RW drive you can use to burn the files?

JS


I should have said I also have an external HD that I make a full backup
copy twice a month [sometimes weekly], but I would like a method to
backupMy Doc's more frequently... and separately on disk. That's what I
am trying to do.

And what I should have said below is "should I try to copy back *the
disk* to test it?

TIA...
bj






You mean make the backup CD of the music files and then test it? I
don't have a DVD R/W drive on this pc, so I can't back up My Docs
until My Music is removed. How would I test it... just try to copy it
back to the new location?

My biggest worry is that MusicMatch [which I use] is so *tightly*
integrated with Windows, that it won't work. What music player
function would test that best?

Thank you for your help, and sorry I'm not more savvy about backups.

bj