hard drive cloning

[just a number]

I have to make a copy of a replacement hard drive. don't have the OS disks to just reinstall.

now the question is, is there any good free programs to do this or issues of doing this?

the whole reason is to redo this is windows got corrupted. I have a spare copy on a different hard drive that I'm using to copy.

NOTE: yes it is a legal copy, COA and all

 

[Franko914]

Okay, let's get all the information/facts clarified before we move forward. Please bear with us as we asks questions...

0. What Windows OS are you using?
1. Your current Windows OS got corrupted, right?
2. You have a spare copy on a different hard drive of what: (a) the installed Windows OS, or (b) the OS installation disks?

-- if (a), you want to copy the installed OS over the corrupted OS? If yes, what did you use to create the copy of the OS?

-- if (b), you want to install a new OS over the corrupted OS using the installation disks? If yes, what did you use to create the copies of the install disks?

 

[just a number]

were dealing with windows XP, not sure of which version. I need to wipe the original HD, and the copy everything from separate HD onto it OS and all.

not exactly sure what's gone wrong with the original OS, it'll crash randomly on it's own, and now is having issues with things disappearing(icon, parts of the start menu, words for programs that are running) along with a few minor quirks. when things disapear, you still get the outiline of the box they were in or the symbol for an icon.

I'd switch the hard drives but the good copy is a small one in comparason.

 

[3500GMC]

Xp keeps a running 'image' that is used in the backup and restore utility in system tools. 'Start-accessories-system tools'..

There is a 'sync' utility also that can mirror two drives, folders, directories etc..

 

[Franko914]

were dealing with windows XP, not sure of which version. I need to wipe the original HD, and the copy everything from separate HD onto it OS and all.

not exactly sure what's gone wrong with the original OS, it'll crash randomly on it's own, and now is having issues with things disappearing(icon, parts of the start menu, words for programs that are running) along with a few minor quirks. when things disapear, you still get the outiline of the box they were in or the symbol for an icon.

I'd switch the hard drives but the good copy is a small one in comparason.

A. If you do not have an updated anti-virus program installed, download and install MS Security Essentials, allow it to update and run a scan.

B. If you want to wipe the original HD and reinstall Win XP, your best bet is to use the Win XP distribution disk/DVD. Do you have the product key? (5 sets of 5xAlphaNumeric characters, e.g., V5TB3 YW2Q8...).

C. It sounds like both your original HD and the other HD are installed on the same PC, right? If you want to clone/make exact copy of the other HD operating system and overwrite the original HD, there are a few freeware utilities/programs available BUT you will need:

-- to boot from a CD/DVD with a kernel OS (usually Linux) that has the clone utilities installed
-- identify the source disk (other HD) and destination disk (original HD)
-- reformat the destination disk (original HD)
-- perform the disk-to-disk copy

You should perform "A" above.

Which would you prefer to do, "B" or "C" above?

 

[just a number]

it's 2 separate HD's the bad one is installed in the computer, the second one is being used as a external HD(HD in a box).

sorry, no disks to be had. manufacturers need to include those things.

can I use a separate computer to copy from one HD to the other?

I can deal with most computer issues but this is getting over my head.

what's worse the is a antivirus program installed and up to date. here's the real kicker, today it's running fine.:mad2::???:

THE MACHINE IS POSSESSED.

I don't mind the questions, you gotta ask if ya need to know.

 

[Franko914]

it's 2 separate HD's the bad one is installed in the computer, the second one is being used as a external HD(HD in a box).

sorry, no disks to be had. manufacturers need to include those things.

can I use a separate computer to copy from one HD to the other?

I can deal with most computer issues but this is getting over my head.

what's worse the is a antivirus program installed and up to date. here's the real kicker, today it's running fine.:mad2::???:

THE MACHINE IS POSSESSED.

I don't mind the questions, you gotta ask if ya need to know.

"THE MACHINE IS POSSESSED" by Microsoft, a.k.a. Megapita...

Okay, if the smaller external hard disk contains a bootable installation of Win XP, you could:

-- use a cloning program to copy the boot partition from the external hard drive to the possessed internal hard drive. I can send you a link to download the image of a bootable disk with a whole bunch of programs and utilities that can royally @#$%up any system if used incorrectly... we need only one of them... and it's all freeware... you will need to burn that image onto a CD. Alternatively, I can burn the CD and just mail it to you...

-- switch the hard drives around: make the external smaller drive your boot drive, and the larger internal drive just a plain data hard drive after repartitioning/reformatting it (using tools included in Win XP). Again, this is assuming the smaller external drive has a bootable installation of Win XP which raises the next question: if you have two (2) bootable hard disks, it means you have two (2) primary partitions... curious, did you get the external drive off another PC, and if so, was it the boot drive or a second hard drive, too?...

 

[just a number]

the second drive has a bootable copy. it's out of a backup computer.

for the CD option, can you just copy a HD from a running computer? I just got thinking I could just copy the laptops HD. it's got everything that it's going to need.

a copy from the laptop might be a good thing. I've been thinking about upgrading the HD in it too. that's another days job

 

[3500GMC]

As they say, 'more than one way to skin a cat!'

Maybe I'm naive but I let windows fix itself with the restore utility, patches and other windows updates like 'service packs' etc.etc.

Windows defender is also updated regularly to snag the malware before it becomes a problem. I used to beat my head against the wall way back with windows v. 3.11 and MSDOS! .. I've fallen out of the loop with later windows versions, knock on wood, I've had good luck with..

 

[just a number]

that's one of it's little quirks, the restore section was gone when I was last working on it. gonna find out more later today.

 

[Franko914]

As they say, 'more than one way to skin a cat!'

Maybe I'm naive but I let windows fix itself with the restore utility, patches and other windows updates like 'service packs' etc.etc.

Windows defender is also updated regularly to snag the malware before it becomes a problem. I used to beat my head against the wall way back with windows v. 3.11 and MSDOS! .. I've fallen out of the loop with later windows versions, knock on wood, I've had good luck with..

I have not used much the Windows Restore to revert to a previous state although I use, constantly, the Create a Restore Point function... had one experience about three (3) years ago when a trojan horse infected one PC and no amount of restore point attempts resolved the issue, even corrupted the restore point files much older than the actual infection. So, although, I continue to use the feature, I almost always just reload Win XP and the applications... That way, I am 110% confident the boot drive is virus-free.

We, pretty much, date ourselves by remembering the "good old days" of Win3.x but, you know, I still use the Run/cmd feature in Win XP and bang away with DOS commands to troubleshoot Internet, network, and file transfer functions (e.g., I use XCOPY and its switches). Interesting how the DOS command prompt is still available with the latest version of Windows...

 

[Franko914]

the second drive has a bootable copy. it's out of a backup computer.

for the CD option, can you just copy a HD from a running computer? I just got thinking I could just copy the laptops HD. it's got everything that it's going to need.

a copy from the laptop might be a good thing. I've been thinking about upgrading the HD in it too. that's another days job

I kind of suspected that it was out of another PC (in your case, a laptop... so it's a 2.5" drive... you can get 2.5"-to-3.5" drive adapters and install it internally... your PC should boot up nicely... then set up the larger drive as a data disk... but that's another cat skinner...).

Okay, it still not clear... can you boot up your PC with BOTH the possessed internal hard drive AND the external laptop drive? This is important to answer your question.

If the answer to my question is "yes," then, the answer to your question is, "yes" also, i.e., you can boot off a boot CD with the disk/partition cloning programs and copy/clone the laptop hard drive contents onto the internal possessed hard drive.

If the answer to my question is "no," then, you are talking about booting a PC/laptop using the external drive and copying that drive's contents... in this situation, you can create a copy/clone of the running hard drive but where will you save the image to? Then, you have to copy/clone that image to overwrite the internal possessed drive. This disk-to-image-to-disk copy can work, too.

A disk-to-disk copy/clone ("yes" to my question above) is the easiest way to do it.

 

[just a number]

I have 2 donor driver to play with. one's from a desktop or the one for the laptop.

as it stands right now, the possessed drive will start are run the computer, most days. I'm haven't tried the external one for a boot drive.

here's the big question. can I just copy the hard drive straight onto an external setup? OS and ALL. it's not hard to switch the hard drive in the external setup, under 5 minutes.

and don't worry I don't explain things very well in life either.

 

[Franko914]

I have 2 donor driver to play with. one's from a desktop or the one for the laptop.

as it stands right now, the possessed drive will start are run the computer, most days. I'm haven't tried the external one for a boot drive.

here's the big question. can I just copy the hard drive straight onto an external setup? OS and ALL. it's not hard to switch the hard drive in the external setup, under 5 minutes.

and don't worry I don't explain things very well in life either.

No problem...that's pretty funny... It's like the tee-shirt my daughter brought back from a trip, "I may be old, but I'm immature..." I don't worry too much unless it's worth worrying about...

To do a disk-to-disk clone/copy, you need two (2) hard drives connected to one PC and both up and running at the same time. That's what you need so you can "just copy the hard drive straight onto an external setup."

If you can only have one (1) drive connected to the PC, there is another way (I hope you are patient):
-- Your CD/DVD should be able to write to/burn disks (yes, some CDs/DVDs can only read)
-- Install the hard drive you want to copy/clone (internal or external)
-- Boot the PC with a bootable CD that copies the kernel/applications into the PC's memory and allows you to remove the boot CD after it boots up
-- Run programs from the PC's memory to create an image of the hard drive AND write it to many (up to 10) CDs or (up to 2 single-layer) DVDs
-- Power down the PC
-- Remove the hard drive you just copied
-- Install the hard drive you want to overwrite
-- Boot the PC with a bootable CD that copies the kernel/applications into the PC's memory and allows you to remove the boot CD after it boots up
-- Run programs from the PC's memory to write the image of the hard drive from the CDs or DVDs you created earlier
-- If you do not have the WinXP install disk, you can use freeware programs to fix the Master Boot Record of the hard drive you just overwrote so that it will boot up

 

[just a number]

let me make sure I have he first method straight.

you have 3 hard drives in total. the one that the computer your using, the one your coping from and the one your copying to. or am I completely lost????

I think I can get that setup to work.

 

[Franko914]

let me make sure I have he first method straight.

you have 3 hard drives in total. the one that the computer your using, the one your coping from and the one your copying to. or am I completely lost????

I think I can get that setup to work.

Actually, two (2) hard drives and only one (1) computer. The hard drives can both be internal, both external, or one internal-one external.

This is how it could work:
-- possessed hard drive is internal (your target drive, it will be overwritten)
-- other hard drive is external (your source drive, it will be copied/cloned)
-- boot up using bootable CD with copying/cloning programs
-- clone source drive and overwrite target drive
-- use program/utility to rebuild/fix the Master Boot Record on the target drive

 

[orrum]

I really want to understand this stuff, however my brain is bruising! LOL Good luck Just a Number, I will provide positive waves for yall as soon as my brain numbness fades...

 

[just a number]

LOL. Don't feel bad. I"m still struggling with most of this. now I know why I didn't go into computers for a living.

 

[dmaxx3500]

if the clone ext drive is his back-up it is probabuly corupted too,,best bet is try to run/load ''spybot or windows defender'' first

 

[just a number]

the clone is going to be out of a different computer.