Using old installation after reinstalling windows

[Flumse]

Heya

I am about to do a complete reinstall of Windows, I was wondering if I could
move the both client installations to a safe place, do my thing and play from the
saved client folders.

Instead of going through the process of reinstalling both clients, and the pita of patching them all up again?

please say I can

 

[Pinco]

After format, I usually reinstall the game and replace the old file in the folder without repatch nothing

 

[Flumse]

Hey again


I was wondering about if can I get by without even doing the installation, so I
get less clutter in my registration database. I know its not much.

As an example I know from friends that they can do it that way with World of Warcraft.

I plan to move the folder to a different drive, so what I worry about is, if there
is some references to old installationpath somewhere, so when I have to patch
next time, I end up with a nonfunctional installation?

 

[Babble]

It worked with the old UO and i think it still works.
It saves some of your macro folders now somewhere extra but that is not so bad.

 

[Mapper]

If you copy the EA Games folder in Program Files and then the EA Games folder in your My Documents, Put them on a USB Stick (eg) then paste them in the correct places on the new PC it will work fine.

You will need to create a shortcut of the uo.exe (2d) and uopatch.exe (UOSA) files and put them somewhere, Like your desktop.

 

[Flumse]

Hola

That is where my trouble will start, currently I have only 1 partition, and that
is where the main uo folder is now.

I plan to partition the disk into 2 drives, and put the uo folder on drive d

The folder in my documents will stay where it is, but the main folder will be
moved to another partition.

Sorry if I ask a lot, but I want to make certain, that I do it the right way, I
really do not have room for errors, and being a lazy git, I really really do not
want to reinstall and repatch the game.

If possible, I would prefer not to install at all.

I am about to decide if I want to spend money on UOAssist, will the game
work with that, even if I do not install, but just move the folder?

Just to clarify, I have my friend write what I dictate, my english is not worth
talking about or even read, he have told me I go way too much into details,
but better safe than sorry

Thank you to all who take the time to try to help me.

 

[Konge]

Why not just put it on a USB? That solves everything... and it's much easier to do and you know it'll work? Having it on another partition can overly complicate things... plus you'll still be boned if the HDD dies anyway. Least the USB you still have a copy.

 

[DarkVoid]

Hola

That is where my trouble will start, currently I have only 1 partition, and that
is where the main uo folder is now.

I plan to partition the disk into 2 drives, and put the uo folder on drive d

The folder in my documents will stay where it is, but the main folder will be
moved to another partition.

Sorry if I ask a lot, but I want to make certain, that I do it the right way, I
really do not have room for errors, and being a lazy git, I really really do not
want to reinstall and repatch the game.

If possible, I would prefer not to install at all.

I am about to decide if I want to spend money on UOAssist, will the game
work with that, even if I do not install, but just move the folder?

Just to clarify, I have my friend write what I dictate, my english is not worth
talking about or even read, he have told me I go way too much into details,
but better safe than sorry

Thank you to all who take the time to try to help me.

You're going to run into problems if you're trying to partition and move data at the same time. Partitioning a drive with already existing data on it is fraught with dangers that data may get lost, partly or completely overwritten, or reformatted out of existence.

The best way to partition is to transfer the data onto a new drive that you have already had the partitions set up for. This gives you two big advantages: The drive is new which means it has a warranty in case of failure, and the chances your data will get erased due to partition mishaps are minimal.

You can also obtain a bigger drive at the same time. 400GB is not uncommon these days, if you're running on anything 80GB or under, it's quite likely to be an older drive. I would therefore recommend you go drive shopping and get yourself a big storage upgrade in the process.

Other than that I would strongly recommend you get a big USB stick and backup your valuable data before transferring.

You could even get a DVD drive and backup your data onto DVD-RW's that will hold roughly 4.7GB each. There may be a slight variance depending on what DVD drive you purchase and the capacity the manufacturer claims it supports, but the main thing is you can get a 10-pack of DVD-RW disks and have roughly 47GB of data you can backup onto them right there.

The slight disadavantage of DVD-RW's is the slower burn (writing of data) speed of DVD drives, however, any good backup program should be able to manage this for you automatically and keep a steady flow of data to the DVD-RW drive so that you can just pop in a new DVD-RW when you need it. You could also back up much more than just the UO folders in this manner.

 

[Connor_Graham]

400GB is not uncommon these days, if you're running on anything 80GB or under, it's quite likely to be an older drive.

I just did a bunch of comp comparison shopping and found that most of the new comps didn't have any less than 500 GB, with most of them having more. My new comp came with a full 1 TB hard drive, and I've been seeing the 1 TB on a large number of comps. I'd suggest the OP go ahead and get an external HD to use instead of partitioning. Fry's and CompUSA both have sales almost daily where you can get a 1-2 TB external HD for under $100.

 

[DarkVoid]

I just did a bunch of comp comparison shopping and found that most of the new comps didn't have any less than 500 GB, with most of them having more. My new comp came with a full 1 TB hard drive, and I've been seeing the 1 TB on a large number of comps. I'd suggest the OP go ahead and get an external HD to use instead of partitioning. Fry's and CompUSA both have sales almost daily where you can get a 1-2 TB external HD for under $100.

My point wasn't about what most new PC's come with. It's about the fact that 400GB-500GB drives are so cheap nowadays, the OP would be shooting themselves in the foot not to upgrade now with the bargain buys around!

I suppose one of these days I might get a 1TB drive, but what for? I don't do live-action quality video editing or rendering, which is the main use for a drive that big. I don't do video editing much at all!

My 400GB drive has about 85% free space on it now and doesn't look like getting a whole lot of data real soon.

If the OP doesn't necessarily need a 1TB drive, it's going to look real spiffy but sit there and not use a whole lot of space.

 

[Connor_Graham]

I suppose one of these days I might get a 1TB drive, but what for? I don't do live-action quality video editing or rendering, which is the main use for a drive that big. I don't do video editing much at all!

I just started back to college a few weeks ago, working toward an associates degree in IT and a bachelor of science degree in IT Security. I'll be touching on everything to do with computers at one point or another along the way, so the extra large HD will come in very handy, as will the 16 gigs of RAM, once I get the 8 gigs I have now upgraded. I'll also be upgrading to a 1 gig video card, probably at the same time.

 

[Mapper]

as will the 16 gigs of RAM, once I get the 8 gigs I have now upgraded.

Eh 16GB?! How many EC clients do you run at once then?

 

[Connor_Graham]

Eh 16GB?! How many EC clients do you run at once then?

Heh, if I used EC instead of 2D, then I guess it would be as many as I wanted?


I do have to say though, that the 2D play window looks so tiny on these large monitors......

 

[Flumse]

Hey again

I must have explained myself into a corner, sort of

What I do have is a new HD 300GB, it will be put in 2 partitions.

Also I have some old HD, probably a bit too old, with UO 2D and 3D clients on it.

What I want to do is, install new HD, pull the plug on the old HD, partition new HD, install Windows on first partition with applications, use second partion for data and games, put plug back in old HD, copy UO folders to new HD partition 2, remove old HD, trash old HD, be happy play UO with no problems.

What I am asking is, can it be done without installing UO, just play from the folders I copied, and rest assured that it will patch with no problems, work with UOAssist if I decide to install that?

I am aware that I will have to put shortcuts on desktop myself from the copied folders, unless I decide to go for UOAssist. Also I will save the folders from documents and move those after reinstall.

Are there any references be it in UO installation, folder in documents or registry, to ordinary installationpath of UO, that can mess anything up?

I am not sure I understand what DarkVoid wrote, can I play UO from an USB stick, or was that just meant as means backup?

Playing from an USB stick would be ideal for me, then I can take the game with me, and play from where I wish.

Thank you for taking time to explain things for me, please be gentle, I am an IT neanderthal, and all the above actions, will be done by a friend with superior IT skills compared to me.

 

[Schuyler Bain]

You might also want to post this over in the UO Tech forum: http://vboards.stratics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=455

 

[Connor_Graham]

Hey again

I must have explained myself into a corner, sort of

What I do have is a new HD 300GB, it will be put in 2 partitions.

Also I have some old HD, probably a bit too old, with UO 2D and 3D clients on it.

What I want to do is, install new HD, pull the plug on the old HD, partition new HD, install Windows on first partition with applications, use second partion for data and games, put plug back in old HD, copy UO folders to new HD partition 2, remove old HD, trash old HD, be happy play UO with no problems.

What I am asking is, can it be done without installing UO, just play from the folders I copied, and rest assured that it will patch with no problems, work with UOAssist if I decide to install that?

I am aware that I will have to put shortcuts on desktop myself from the copied folders, unless I decide to go for UOAssist. Also I will save the folders from documents and move those after reinstall.

Are there any references be it in UO installation, folder in documents or registry, to ordinary installationpath of UO, that can mess anything up?

I am not sure I understand what DarkVoid wrote, can I play UO from an USB stick, or was that just meant as means backup?

Playing from an USB stick would be ideal for me, then I can take the game with me, and play from where I wish.

Thank you for taking time to explain things for me, please be gentle, I am an IT neanderthal, and all the above actions, will be done by a friend with superior IT skills compared to me.

Why don't you just connect the 2 together and share the files through a network?