Justmyopinion Posted February 4, 2009 Share Posted February 4, 2009 (edited) I am soo tired of taking the performance and time hits my machine takes from Anti-Virus, anti-malware, firewalls and the like. I finally found a free product that has been used successfully to do just that (RETURN IL http://www.returnilvirtualsystem.com/). But it doesn't absolutely solve the issue that programs like Firefox, Thunderbird, Outlook Express to name a couple of the many that store variable data in Docs & Settings and I need to be able to leave that directory open for update while my systems partition containing only Windows and Programs remains static - unless infected in which case boot and Return IL boots the unchanged Systems partition. In summary, if you get any infection, just reboot and the infection is gone! Way ahead with a very satisfied and active user community and much more feature rich than 'Steady State'. OK, so I searched for a way to move the entire Documents and Settings directory in such a way that even programs that are hard coded to look for C:\Documents and Settings - would be able to find it, yet it will actually be on another HD or partition on your Primary and only HD. It actually was a very old post on this site: https://www.neowin.net/forum/lofiversion/index.php/t314372.html It works brilliantly! Read it carefully, and if you have any questions either the original author or I will try to answer. Do not attempt to do this using a partition that is on USB or can be easily dismounted, disabled. You will discover when trying to physically mount the new partition in (Step 6 of the instructions in the above referenced link), you will discover that Window won't let you do it and you will have to go back and change all the registry entries to a partition that Windows thinks is permanently mounted. I followed all the instructions precisely on a new install of XP updated with SP/3. The only difference between the original instructions and what happens with XP now (Steps 4 and 7 of the referenced instructions), is you do not have to create empty directories labeled "x:\LocalService" and "x:\NetworkService". When you perform Step 4 you will discover that XP created two folders in the new Docs & Settings partition "x:\LocalService.NT Authority" and "x:\NetworkService.NT Authority". When restoring the one registry entry (Step 7) that you pointed to "x:\LocalService" - you will discover that XP changed the entry to "X:\LocalService.NT Authority". When you restore that registry entry back to original - retain the ".NT Authority" in the entry and everything works perfectly. The logic behind this very easy process (can be done with relatively little knowledge of Registry), it is possible to mount a volume (or partition) on any empty directory. The original Documents & Settings is deleted and a new empty Documents & Settings directory is created again on the C:\ Drive. Then using Computer Management (Administration Tools)>Disk Management - you mount the new volume (or partition) on the empty folder or directory. The end result is any program that uses Windows Services to access data, the change is absolutely invisible to them, and since no permanent changes were made to Windows registry, no worries about having to make the hack again and again with new updates, repairs, et al. I think only a reinstall will require you to redo the process. Finally, what about backups? Most 3rd party backup programs do not use Windows to back up Data,. In my tests using IBM's Rescue & Recovery, it backs up everything BUT Documents and Settings which are now actually housed on a new partition. because natively C:\Documents and Settings is Empty! That means you can have a separately managed backup for your Data and another for all your programs/settings, etc., that don't change much unless you install or upgrade software. And if you insist on adding another level of abstraction / seperation, you can also move "My Documents" using standard XP facilities documented elsewhere. Have fun, and please don't blame me if you hose your machine. I can only say, it worked for me, first time and with no problem. ================================== PS: I believe folks smarter than me can think of hundreds of reasons to 'Mount" a different Partition to move any directory "transparently" to another partition. That is supported under Windows and requires no registry changes, even temporary. Note: I have not tested moving other "Windows" directories like "Program Files" - I suspect there is a registry key somewhere that sets the default directory that may need to be modified, temporarily, but do not know for sure. Warning: The entire partition is mounted in replacement for the SINGLE directory, so don't confuse with just creating a new directory on a new partition. - As an example from the Doc's and Settings example - I named the new partition "Documents and Settings" (it can be named anything) so that even if I went right at the partition (instead of double clicking on c:\ Docs & Settings even though both go to the same place) just to keep things straight in my mind. And for heavens sake, back up your directory before attempting this, do I really have to say it? Here's the steps: 1: First create your new partition on a Hard Drive, using whatever tool suits you. e.g., Norton Partition Magic, 2: Move/copy the directory you want to move to the new partition. Note: If you move the single "Directory", after we are done, you will click on C:\moved-directory-name and end up looking at a folder with the same name you will have to click again. To make things really transparent, move the CONTENTS of the directory (like a bunch of directories and some files) to the root of the new partition. 3: Delete c:\moved-directory-name. 4: Create C:\moved-directory-name. Remember in order to mount a partition in place of a directory, the directory MUST BE EMPTY! 6: Go to "Administrative Tools" and select "Computer Management" - you can open Control Panel to find Administrative Tools or most folks have it as a quick link under the START menu. 7: Under "Storage" select "Disk Management". You will get a screen that illustrates every volume and Partition currently on your system. Note: This will include any HD mounted via USB, etc. 8: On the list of partitions at the top of the dialog window, right click on the partition now containing the contents of your directory, and select "Change Drive Letter and Path". 9: Push the "Change" button and select "Mount in the Empty NTFS Folder", and either enter "C:\moved-directory-name" (the empty directory you created in step 4) or use the "Browse" button to point to C:\moved-directory-name. 10: Push OK, and you are done. At this point, while you still have this dialog up, go ahead and use Windows Explorer to double click on C:\moved-directory-name, it should open the new partition while the address in the address bar still points to C:\moved-directory-name, if not, you may have done something wrong. Read the instructions again and debug! Good luck and have fun. And, if anyone has corrections, etc., go for it - I am just the messenger. Edited February 9, 2009 by Joel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabotril Posted February 8, 2009 Share Posted February 8, 2009 This is the best tip EVER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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