Cloning Hard Drive

[JD]

I had a post earlier today (entitled "computer is having a problem
powering up) about the difficulties that I had booting up my
computer. I have a backup Western Digital Drive that is 120 gigabytes
that I can use, and my main hard drive is 160 gs. I have tried to
sort through cloning software, but I have never used it and I
spooked. My main issue is whether I can clone without rebooting. (I
am afraid that I won't be able to reboot, if I shut down my
computer.) Second, I am a little overwhelmed by some of the
instructions for ghosting (initializing etc.), so I want something
simple. Therefore, I would appreciate someone's best advice as to how
to clone what I have so that I can then reboot.

Also, I am debating whether to simply keep my computer on for the
whole week. If keeping the computer on for a week won't damage the
harddrive (there has been no unusual noise since I got it booted up),
I am thinking that maybe that is the best strategy. (Next week, I
will have much more time to devote to fixing the computer.

Any insight would be appreciated.

 

[peter]

I leave my system on 24/7.....haven't worn anything out ..yet
WD website will have cloning software...with easy to use instructions...or
do you have a particular one already and need some help with it??
http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp?cxml=n&pid=999&swid=1
peter

 

[Anna]

JD:
In your earlier post you had indicated that you had downloaded the Seagate
HDD diagnostic program to test out your "problem" HDD. So I assume that it's
a Seagate HDD.

If that is so you can download the Seagate DiscWizard disk cloning program
which is by & large a derivative of the Acronis True Image program - a very
popular disk cloning/disk imaging program.

I previously posted to this newsgroup step-by-step instructions for using
the Acronis program. The steps would be essentially the same for the Seagate
program. If you're interested you can find them in my post of 5/18/07 that
had the subject "Re: Replacing Notebook Hard Drive".
Anna

 

[JD]

JD:
In your earlier post you had indicated that you had downloaded the Seagate
HDD diagnostic program to test out your "problem" HDD. So I assume that it's
a Seagate HDD.

If that is so you can download the Seagate DiscWizard disk cloning program
which is by & large a derivative of the Acronis True Image program - a very
popular disk cloning/disk imaging program.

I previously posted to this newsgroup step-by-step instructions for using
the Acronis program. The steps would be essentially the same for the Seagate
program. If you're interested you can find them in my post of 5/18/07 that
had the subject "Re: Replacing Notebook Hard Drive".
Anna

Anna,

Thank you very much for the detailed instructions. They worked
very well, and now I have a clone of my hard drive. Have a follow up
question. When I had to reboot during the cloning process, I did so
with no problems while the computer was warm. Still am not hearing
anything once the computer is up and running. This morning, I
couldn't boot up on the first try after the computer was shutoff for
about 6 hours, but I paused for a couple of seconds, and it booted up
on the second try. Sure doesn't seem like a hard drive problem to me
on the surface. Do these additonal facts give you or someone else any
other clue as to what is causing the problem where my computer is not
booting up on the first try.

Thanks again,

JD

 

[Brian A.]

Anna,

Thank you very much for the detailed instructions. They worked
very well, and now I have a clone of my hard drive. Have a follow up
question. When I had to reboot during the cloning process, I did so
with no problems while the computer was warm. Still am not hearing
anything once the computer is up and running. This morning, I
couldn't boot up on the first try after the computer was shutoff for
about 6 hours, but I paused for a couple of seconds, and it booted up
on the second try. Sure doesn't seem like a hard drive problem to me
on the surface. Do these additonal facts give you or someone else any
other clue as to what is causing the problem where my computer is not
booting up on the first try.

Thanks again,

JD

If you're still using the suspect disk to run the OS, swap it out for the clone and
see if the issue is resolved.
In not, change the CMOS battery on the motherboard, it may be on it's way out.
If still no joy, the power supply may be failing.

There's also the possibility the switch is bad, loose/not fully seated wire
connection inside the box, faulting RAM module, a component on the motherboard going
out or excessive dust buildup in the box.

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Anna]

Anna,
Thank you very much for the detailed instructions. They worked
very well, and now I have a clone of my hard drive. Have a follow up
question. When I had to reboot during the cloning process, I did so
with no problems while the computer was warm. Still am not hearing
anything once the computer is up and running. This morning, I
couldn't boot up on the first try after the computer was shutoff for
about 6 hours, but I paused for a couple of seconds, and it booted up
on the second try. Sure doesn't seem like a hard drive problem to me
on the surface. Do these additonal facts give you or someone else any
other clue as to what is causing the problem where my computer is not
booting up on the first try.

Thanks again,
JD

It's very difficult, if not impossible, to tell at this distance. It could
be the PSU or virtually any major component in the machine. And the only
real way to tell is to substitute each component on a one-by-one basis with
a known non-defective component.

We're assuming at this point that it's not a defective HDD and that you've
checked all your connections in the machine to determine they're OK in terms
of being properly & securely fastened. You might still want to run a chkdsk
on the HDD if you haven't done that already. And remember to continue to
make routine backups of your system with the disk cloning program.
Anna