How do I relocate C:\Program Files to another location

[MysteryMan]

Someone has suggested that I use PartitionMagic to split my physical hard disk into a number of logical disks and move the contents of my c: drive into these to make it move manageable. The sort of things are....
to make backing up user files easier, make a Ghost image of the 'system' to enable me to restore to a known, working state if things go wrong.

Anyway, one of the things I plan to do is move the c:\Program Files directory onto its own partition. Clearly, there are a lot of things on my PC that refer to this and I am wondering how I would actually go about doing this. Do I have to track down all the places where c:\Program Files is and replace it with, say, d::\Program Files?

Thanks!

[Restek]

Basically I wouldn't even bother - even if you have a lot of programs installed it's going to be easier to uninstall them & then re-install them into a new directory on the new partition....

[icecube]

I can't image anyone recomending what this someone has suggested. Partitions were a way of getting around limitations of you OS. They are ok for dual booting systems, if your really want to bother.

Ghost and Partition Magic are really system builder tools. Its not that they are difficult to use, but rather, they are very unforgiving if you make a mistake. "oops" means the same thing in open heart surgery as it does with Ghost and Partition Magic.

Spend $40 on an 80 gig drive and ghost C to D on a weekly basis if you really want a working copy.

Remember ghost will give you an exact copy--so don't get your drives mixed up

[MysteryMan]

[teststrips]

[icecube]

Let me explain some of the pit falls with ghost. I build systems with several types of software installed. Then we make an image of it with ghost and burn it to one or two cds and any tech can do an on-site brand new install. Sometimes the image fails--we find out real quick when the on-site tech calls back to complain. In your case, your not even going to test the image until you need it and that can be too late. You've also got the option to ghost "partition to partition" or "partition to disk." pick the second option and you've wiped the other partitions off the drive.

With multi-partition drives you have other problems, a virus can really mess up the partition table. Usually you will be able to save the Primary C and the rest disapears. If the system doesn't boot, somebody will get out Partition Magic and back step it into the dark ages. Power failures with NTFS file systems is another place where partions disapear.

Another thing, windows supports fat 32 up to 40 gigs. You can format a 100 gig drive with fat32, I've done it. Peculiar things happen with third party software. you might have to reboot to see all of your partitioned drives.

A really wierd thing with a multi-partitioned drive, is to add a second hard drive. C remains C, but D is now the primary partition of the second drive and then your logical drives for the first drive follow and then the logical drives for the second drive follow that. When you don't know which drive is which, the format or the ghost command can do an awful lot of damage. Plus all the software on the logical D drive cannot run because it is not on D now, its on E. Sounds more like the beginnig of an Abbot and Costello movie!