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Well, Dick, I think some of your responders have gotten off the beaten track a bit and moved in directions your questions never asked. So here goes my own input, direct from my own experience.

Yes, it’s perfectly workable to set up a partition just for Data, separate from the C drive, since Windows folders do get replaced whenever Windows is reinstalled. Keeping your data on separate partitions will save it all in such an event. Programs, however, are a different story. Some programs will only install on the C partition, and while it is possible to install others in a different partition, the registry remains on the C, or system, partition, and is replaced upon reinstallation of Windows. Consequently, you would lose your connection between the registry and any programs on a separate partition. After years of struggling to overcome this, with relatively little success, I finally moved to using a third party clone program to preserve a clone image of the C drive on a different partition. I have found this to be very useful and efficient in the event of a system crash.

Having said all that, it’s important to keep in mind that some procedures just have no shortcuts. In upgrading from XP to Win 7, it’s necessary to do a clean install of the C drive, hence wiping out everything on it. In such a case, I simply accept the fact that I have to reinstall all my applications from scratch. However, my data, which I actually have spread over three other partitions in my computer, remains comfortably safe, and can be transferred to my new computer with Win 7 on it whenever I want.

Bottom line….everything needs maintenance, repair, and correction…and computer organization is no different. I hope this helps.

I;m not sure why you would want to even get around the password. Considering it’s a Win 95 machine, I would at least want to upgrade it to Win ME if anyone were going to use it. And I’m not even sure it’s worth the time for a machine that is so far behind the times.

However, if you want to reset the password, try using the Bart PE boot disk, or the Ultimate Bootdisk for XP, which you would have to build. A google search will help you find the instructions for doing so. If you use the latter, the CD would boot to Win XP and would allow you to make changes to the settings in your computer.

But, again, I really believe it’s just not worth it…

I understand your problem well. To answer you first question, simply transferring boot.ini from one drive to another will probably not work. However, you can install XP on a second drive in the same computer with no problem. At one point during the installation process, XP tells you where it’s going to install, usually indicating the C; Drive. Simply change the C: to D: or whatever letter drive you want it installed on. After the installation, however, if you find that your computer does not give you a choice of which drive you want to boot, you can download a bootloader, which will give you that choice when you boot the computer. As far as I know, that is the simplest way to work on this problem, which is no different than installing two different Operating Systems on one computer, which many users have done. In this way, they have dual boot options, which you will have even though both options are xp. Just make sure you install on a second physical drive, not a partition on the same C drive as the original XP.

Good luck.

I’m involved in the same research project…but I know folks who have successfully and usefully worked with RA from XP Pro to XP. In addition, according to what I’ve read, Vista and Win7 will work with all versions of Windows starting with XP.

I’m looking forward to further postings

Follow all the directions carefully re: installation of Win 7. When it’s done, simply restore your files and you normally would in any windows version. The only concern is that you will have to reinstall all your programs, some of which might not be functional in Win 7. But if they ran in Vista, you should be ok with Win 7;

Good luck

There’s no way to know how those files reached your Documents folder…but if the computer is working normally, do not…and I repeat…do not add or remove anything to or from the registry unless you are sure about what the result will be. Changing the registry can result in windows just not working anymore…If all else is well, I would just delete those document files that you listed. Good luck..

You might also think about trying to move the gadget with the regular mouse cursor rather than right clicking and dragging the crossed arrows. In addition, see if there is a handle to the right of the gadget that will enable you to move it.

Let us know if any of this works for you….

Have you tried unlocking the Taskbar?

Which version of Windows are you using?