Save and Protect Your Hard Drive
For those of you who saw my article in the February 22, 2005, issue of PC Magazine (Save and Protect Your Hard Drive), the following are some clarifications that should help answer most of your questions.
Thanks for reading!
- David A. Karp
Frequently Asked Questions
You mention that Microsoft Backup doesn't support CD writers, but mine does. Why?
Microsoft Backup does not inherently support CD and DVD writers.
But if you install aftermarket "packet writing" software (such as Roxio Drag to Disk), all your applications (including Microsoft Backup) will be able to write to your burner as though it were an ordinary hard disk.
Keep in mind, however, that packet writing software, however convenient, does have its drawbacks.
First, this is a bit of a kludge, and as such, should not be relied upon as the sole mechanism to safeguard your data.
Second, discs written in this way will not be readable in all drives.
Finally, packet writing tends to be slow, and backups performed in this way take longer than the solution described in the article.
Is Windows XP's built-in encryption foolproof?
Not a chance.
Windows XP's built-in data encryption feature is meant to be seamless, but this convenience comes at a price.
Although NTFS encryption does a fair job at protecting your data from the specific attack mentioned in the article, or from intruders attempting to access data in your shared folders over a network connection, its effectiveness pretty much ends there.
NTFS encryption is a feature built-into the Windows XP file system, which means it's only in effect when stored on an NTFS drive.
Encryption is disabled when you store your data on a drive that doesn't use NTFS, such as a floppy, CD, or flash memory drive.
If NTFS encryption doesn't go far enough for you, consider using a more robust data encryption tool, such as any of these or these.
Why are the Encrypt / Decrypt command grayed out on my system?
NTFS file encryption is evidently only available in Windows XP Professional edition.
If you have Windows XP Home, you'll have to use one of the third-party solutions listed in the previous topic.
What happens if my hard drive crashes and I have to reinstall Windows. Will I still be able to access my encrypted files?
Yes, but whether or not it will be easy to do so depends on several factors.
For instance, if you've backed up your data on a tape drive or other non-NTFS storage medium, you'll have a non-encrypted copy of all your data (as explained in the previous question). (In this case, you probably should protect your backup with a different form of encryption, or at the very least, a password.)
If, on the other hand, your data is only stored in its encrypted state on a NTFS volume (or perhaps a removable hard disk formatted with NTFS), and you can't boot into the copy of Windows that originally encrypted the files, you'll need the original cryptographic encryption key.
If you're concerned about this, you should take a moment now to create a back up your encryption key so that you have it when you need it.
Just open a Command Prompt window (cmd.exe) and type:
cipher /r:mykey
to generate the key. Then, back up your key on a CD, floppy, memory card, or whatever medium is convenient.
Where can I learn more about NTFS encryption?
Encryption is a complex topic, and the Save and Protect Your Hard Drive article is only an introduction.
If you're interested in learning more about the ins and outs of NTFS encryption, there's an in-depth discussion in Chapter 8 of Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, Second Edition.
When I open the Local Security Settings editor, I get an error.
This depends on the error. Here are some of the most common:
X Snap-in Creation Failed. The snap-in is not created, it may not be installed properly.
This means you're probably using Windows XP Home Edition, which doesn't come with the Local Security Settings editor.
In this case, you'll need to edit the Registry directly to implement this fix:
- Open Registry Editor.
- Expand the branches to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Setup\RecoveryConsole
- Double-click the SetCommand value and type 1 for its value.
- Close the Registry Editor when you're done.
You have a later version of Windows XP
You're trying to install the Recovery Console onto a computer running Windows XP Service Pack 2, yet you only have the original Windows XP CD (without SP2).
In this case, you'll need to "slipstream" SP2 onto your XP CD, as described in this article: Build an XP-SP2 Recovery Disc.
(Note: additional information about this article can be found here.)
You don't have permission.
You need to have administrator access to use the Local Security Settings editor.
I don't have a bootable Windows XP CD. How do I access the Recovery Console?
Unfortunately, some PC manufacturers don't ship Windows XP CDs with their computers, despite the fact that you paid for the software when you bought the computer.
This issue was raised in my last article, Build an XP-SP2 Recovery Disc.
In the "Unhobble the Recovery Console" section, you mention the administrator password. How do I find this?
If this is your computer (as opposed to your employer's computer), then you likely typed the administrator password when you first got your computer or when you first installed Windows XP.
If you don't think you typed a password, and Windows XP came preinstalled on your PC, try contacting your PC manufacturer to see if they can help.
If you don't remember your password, here are a few (admittedly hardcore) tools you can use to find it:
When I open Registry Editor, the NtfsMftZoneReservation value is missing. Now what?
If the value isn't there, create it by going to Edit -> New -> DWORD value, and typing NtfsMftZoneReservation for the name of the new value.
When I check Disk Defragmenter, the statistics don't match what appears in the article. What's wrong?
Nothing is wrong. The NtfsMftZoneReservation value does not determine the size of your MFT, but rather how much space is reserved for it.
It's possible for your MFT to outgrow the space Windows has set aside for it, and, as a result, require more space than the NtfsMftZoneReservation setting would lead you to believe.
The portion reserved for your MFT can never be reclaimed, at least until the corresponding files are deleted or moved to another drive.
That's why it's important to reserve enough space as early as possible so that it's less likely to become fragmented as it grows.
Hint: the MFT stores information for each file on your hard disk.
Your MFT will consume more space if your drive contains many small files than if your drive contained a few large ones.
If I reserve more space for the MFT, is that space lost forever?
No!
When you specify a large value for the NtfsMftZoneReservation value (e.g. 3 or 4), Windows will reserve that much more space for the MFT.
But if you run out of disk space before you fill your MFT, then Windows will use any unused MFT space to store your remaining data.
In other words, any unused space reserved for your MFT will still be available in which to store files if you need it.
I changed the NtfsMftZoneReservation, but I see no immediate change in the size of the MFT. What gives?
The NtfsMftZoneReservation setting influences the growth of the MFT, but it doesn't necessarily resize it right away.
You'll have to reboot your computer and continue to add files to the drive to notice any change; the next time the MFT grows (or the next time you format an NTFS drive), its size new should reflect the new setting in the Registry.
Where do I find out more about some of the other Registry values found in the same key as NtfsMftZoneReservation, such as NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation?
A full description and recommendation for each of these values can be found in Chapter 5 of Windows XP Annoyances for Geeks, Second Edition.
If you're new to the Registry, you'll also find an entire chapter devoted to this powerful tool.
When I try to change the size of my swap file, Windows ignores it. How do I make it stick?
In the Virtual Memory window, after typing your custom size, click Set before you click OK.
Remember, both the Initial Size and the Maximum Size should be set to the same number, as described in the article.
I can't find the Temp folder. Where is it?
The Local Settings folder is hidden.
To show hidden files and folders in Windows Explorer, select Folder Options from the Tools menu, choose the View tab, and click Show hidden files and folders.
There are a lot of different types of files in my Temp folder. Which ones should be deleted?
From the article:
...highlight all files with a Last Modified date older than when you last started Windows, and delete them.
You should delete all the files in this folder, not just .TMP files.
If you don't feel comfortable making this decision, try Creative Element Power Tools, which will keep this folder clean automatically and safely.
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