I need to clone my hard drive, Help Please

  • Thread starter Thread starter FireBrick
  • Start date Start date
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FireBrick

My hard drive C:, is starting to make a steady whirring noise
Sounds like snoring.
Grrrr, Grrrr, etc etc.

I think it would be prudent to change it out before it stops making any
noise. :-)

But I've got lots of files, programs, utilities set up just the way I want.

How do I clone it so I can take the old C: out and slip in the new one.

It is a registered, paid for, version of win xp with sp2. And this computer
is normally on 24/7.
I'd like to make this as painless as possible.


Please and thank you.
 
Hi Firebrick,

I just did this recently myself. It was pretty simple. :-)
You'll need a 3rd party software program such as Norton Ghost.
Also, if your current hard drive had software that came with it, you
may be able to use that as well. At any rate, the new hard will have
a set up disk and instructions on how to clone the old to the new.

Good luck!
Newtechie
 
FireBrick said:
My hard drive C:, is starting to make a steady whirring noise
Sounds like snoring.
Grrrr, Grrrr, etc etc.

I think it would be prudent to change it out before it stops making any
noise. :-)

But I've got lots of files, programs, utilities set up just the way I
want.

How do I clone it so I can take the old C: out and slip in the new one.

It is a registered, paid for, version of win xp with sp2. And this
computer
is normally on 24/7.
I'd like to make this as painless as possible.


Please and thank you.
Click to expand...


Get DrvClonerXP from
http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Back-Up-and-Recovery/DrvClonerXP.shtml

I just cloned my Windows XP boot partition(3.5GB) to a bigger(and faster)
hard disk and it took just 15 minutes. After cloning, I can tell no
difference between the old and new hard disks(except a small increase in
speed). Also, very easy to use.
 
You may get a disk cloning utility with the new hard drive and you should be
able to download it from the manufacturer's web site.
 
Abhilash Tibrewal(MCSA) said:
Get DrvClonerXP from
http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Back-Up-and-Recovery/DrvClonerXP.shtml

I just cloned my Windows XP boot partition(3.5GB) to a bigger
(and faster) hard disk and it took just 15 minutes. After cloning,
I can tell no difference between the old and new hard disks
(except a small increase in speed). Also, very easy to use.
Click to expand...


It's also downloadable from:
http://www.sofotex.com/DrvClonerXP-download_L7530.html

Another free cloning utility is xxClone, a simplified version
of the well-reputed xxCopy. See: http://www.xxClone.com/

In all cloning ops for WinNT/2K/XP, remember to have the clone
OS start up for the 1st time in isolation from the "parent" OS.
If you don't, it will become dependent on the continued presence
of the "parent" OS. Once the 1st startup of the clone is done,
subsequent startups can include the presence of the "parent" OS.
The easiest way to accomplish this isolation is to merely
disconnect the power cable from the "parent's" HD during the
1st startup of the clone.

*TimDaniels*
 
It worked .... partly.
As long as it was the D drive, It showed and looked like an exact copy.

But when I put the jumper onto Cable Select, and removed the old C drive, it
would not boot fully.
And once when I did a reset and got the message saying it needed to check
the disk for errors, the top line still showed it to be D:

I expected the process to change the drive letter and wonder if that is why
it won't boot as the startup programs still have C: in their properties.
 
It worked .... partly.
As long as it was the D drive, It showed and looked like an exact copy.

But when I put the jumper onto Cable Select, and removed the old C drive, it
would not boot fully.
And once when I did a reset and got the message saying it needed to check
the disk for errors, the top line still showed it to be D:

I expected the process to change the drive letter and wonder if that is why
it won't boot as the startup programs still have C: in their properties.
 
It worked .... partly.
As long as it was the D drive, It showed and looked like an exact copy.

But when I put the jumper onto Cable Select, and removed the old C drive, it
would not boot fully.
Click to expand...

If you change it to CS, you've got to put it on the end of that cable.


Have a nice one...

Trent

Budweiser: Helping ugly people have sex since 1876!
 
CS stands for Cable Select. The location of the drive on the cable
determines whether it is the Master or Slave.

Using CS the drive on the end of the cable is the Master (boot drive), and
the drive in the middle is the Slave drive.

r.
 
namniar said:
CS stands for Cable Select. The location of the drive on the cable determines whether it is the Master or Slave.

Using CS the drive on the end of the cable is the Master (boot drive),
and the drive in the middle is the Slave drive.
Click to expand...


And why must the boot drive be Master?
(Hint: It doesn't have to be a Master to boot.)

And why must an only drive be at the end of the cable?
(Hint: With modern controllers and hard drives, it doesn't.)

*TimDaniels*
 
And why must the boot drive be Master?
(Hint: It doesn't have to be a Master to boot.)
Click to expand...

Am I missing something here? Isn't the normal configuration for the
boot sector the master on the primary?
And why must an only drive be at the end of the cable?
(Hint: With modern controllers and hard drives, it doesn't.)
Click to expand...

Define 'modern'? And how does the OP's computer relate to this?


Have a nice one...

Trent

Budweiser: Helping ugly people have sex since 1876!
 
"And why must an only drive be at the end of the cable?
(Hint: With modern controllers and hard drives, it doesn't.)"

now I maybe wrong, but I believe that even with "modern controllers and hard
drives" the cable position still matters......



--
EasyFeelings
A+
MCP
MCSA

"When your computer is working good, That's an EasyFeeling"
 
Trent© said:
Am I missing something here? Isn't the normal configuration
for the boot sector the master on the primary?
Click to expand...


Yes, you're missing something. All that is necessary for
a bootable hard drive to boot is that it be at the head of the
hard drive boot order and that the boot files (i.e. boot.ini,
ntldr, ntdetect.com) be in the "active" partition on that hard
drive, and that the boot.ini file in that "active" partition have
at least one option that selects a primary partition (that may
even be on another hard drive) that contains the OS. If these
conditions are met, a Slave hard drive can be selected as the
"boot drive", and that "boot drive's" boot.ini file can select a
partition on another hard drive from which to load the OS.

If this sounds strange, it's only because the default and
*usual* conditions include just one hard drive with one
partition on it, and that partition usually contains the OS,
and people like the sound of "Master" more than "Slave".

Using my own computer, I have tried booting an OS from
a hard drive jumpered "Master" and located at the middle
connector of a dual-device IDE cable. I have also booted
the same hard drive jumpered as "Slave" when it was
located at the end connector. The Master/Slave setting
does only two things:

1) It differentiates the two drives on a single cable for
the controller. (If there is only one drive on a cable,
"Master" and "Slave" are meaningless.)

2) It sets the initial (default) boot order, with the "Master"
hard drive ahead of the "Slave" hard drive, and those
hard drives on the Primary channel ahead of those on
the Secondary channel. If this boot order is not reset
by the user, it continues to determine which hard drive
will be the one that the boot manager consults to select
the partition to load the OS from. But the user can reset
the boot order to be whatever he/she desires, and the
"Master" and "Slave" settings thereafter are only useful
to distinguish 2 devices which may be on the same
cable (i.e. same channel), and Primary and Secondary
are only useful to the controller to distinguish channels.

Define 'modern'? And how does the OP's computer relate to this?
Click to expand...


The ATA specs include a cable with well-defined lengths, including
the lengths between all 3 connectors. This was to avoid problems of
signal reflections in the cables interfering with the data and confusing
the controller. But although data speeds have changed, those defined
lengths haven't. Why not? The probable reason is that the electronic
circuitry has gotten sophisticated enough to sort out data from the
reflections, and the result is that lone devices no longer have to be put
at the end connector to avoid the reflections coming back from the
open circuit there that results if there is no end device to absorb the
signal. But does a lone hard drive at the middle connector work?
Well, it worked for me when I tried it. How recent a vintage must a
hard drive be to be considered "modern" in this respect. Probably
if it has a data rate of 100MB/s or 133MB/s, its electronics (and that
of the controller) can handle the reflections. Remember that the specs
for the cable lengths were designed when hard drive data speeds were
33MB/s, and the reflection timing then was considerably different from
what they are now. Yet, the dimensions of the cable remain the same.

*TimDaniels*
 
EasyFeelings said:
now I maybe wrong, but I believe that even with "modern controllers
and hard drives" the cable position still matters......
Click to expand...


First read my reply to Trent. Then test it.

*TimDaniels*
 
Yes, you're missing something. All that is necessary for
a bootable hard drive to boot is that it be at the head of the
hard drive boot order and that the boot files (i.e. boot.ini,
ntldr, ntdetect.com) be in the "active" partition on that hard
drive, and that the boot.ini file in that "active" partition have
at least one option that selects a primary partition (that may
even be on another hard drive) that contains the OS. If these
conditions are met, a Slave hard drive can be selected as the
"boot drive", and that "boot drive's" boot.ini file can select a
partition on another hard drive from which to load the OS.
Click to expand...

What does any of that have to do with 'normal'...or 'usual'?
If this sounds strange, it's only because the default and
*usual* conditions include just one hard drive with one
partition on it, and that partition usually contains the OS,
and people like the sound of "Master" more than "Slave".
Click to expand...

I understand that its very easy to boot from a slave drive...simply by
changing the boot order in the BIOS.

Using my own computer, I have tried booting an OS from
a hard drive jumpered "Master" and located at the middle
connector of a dual-device IDE cable.
Click to expand...

That is not cable select. Many of my machines are set up the very
exact way. The jumper makes it the master...cable position has
nothing to do with it in that case.
I have also booted
the same hard drive jumpered as "Slave" when it was
located at the end connector.
Click to expand...

The connector you use is ONLY pertinent dependent on the jumper
setting on the drive. If you have the drive set to master or slave,
position on the cable has NO bearing on the matter. Remember, he had
the jumper set to CS.

The Master/Slave setting
does only two things:

1) It differentiates the two drives on a single cable for
the controller. (If there is only one drive on a cable,
"Master" and "Slave" are meaningless.)

2) It sets the initial (default) boot order, with the "Master"
hard drive ahead of the "Slave" hard drive, and those
hard drives on the Primary channel ahead of those on
the Secondary channel.
Click to expand...

And this explains your #1 above.

The ATA specs include a cable with well-defined lengths, including
the lengths between all 3 connectors. This was to avoid problems of
signal reflections in the cables interfering with the data and confusing
the controller. But although data speeds have changed, those defined
lengths haven't. Why not? The probable reason is that the electronic
circuitry has gotten sophisticated enough to sort out data from the
reflections, and the result is that lone devices no longer have to be put
at the end connector to avoid the reflections coming back from the
open circuit there that results if there is no end device to absorb the
signal. But does a lone hard drive at the middle connector work?
Well, it worked for me when I tried it.
Click to expand...

Of course it works. But you still need to tell the computer which
drive to access first.
How recent a vintage must a
hard drive be to be considered "modern" in this respect. Probably
if it has a data rate of 100MB/s or 133MB/s, its electronics (and that
of the controller) can handle the reflections. Remember that the specs
for the cable lengths were designed when hard drive data speeds were
33MB/s, and the reflection timing then was considerably different from
what they are now. Yet, the dimensions of the cable remain the same.
Click to expand...

My point was...look at the specs the OP gave us. Then you'll see I
was correct in his case. He had the jumper set to CS...and his
particular case, the master boot drive needs to be at the end of the
cable...or he needs to change the jumper on that drive to master (or
single drive).

*TimDaniels*
Click to expand...

Look at what the OP told us about his system.

I wasn't missing anything. For the info he gave us, the drive must be
at the end of the cable.


Have a nice one...

Trent

Budweiser: Helping ugly people have sex since 1876!
 
You are correct, the cloned hard disk is assigned D: and the registry
contains hundreds(may be thousands) of references to the C: drive. I have
two solutions for you, both of which require the old C: drive to be
connected to the computer.(these are also mentioned with the DrvClonerXP
documentation). Remember that your older hard disk(C:\) must be connected,
so that your new hard disk will successfully boot.

1. If you are happy with your new drive remaining as D:\ drive, you can
simply change all the references in the registry from C:\ to D:\. Download a
freeware(WhatICan) for easily doing this.

http://www.whatican.com/wic_en/product_regrep.html

In the Search for box, type C: and Replace with box, type D:
Ensure that all the Hive and Components check boxes are selected.
After replacing all the registry entries, you can safely turn Off the
computer and remove the old hard disk. Now, the new hard disk is ready to
run without its "parent", but your new hard disk will keep appearing as D:

2. With the older hard disk connected to the system and booting from the new
hard disk, follow the procedure on the Microsoft Website to change the drive
letter assignments.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q223188/

After changing the drive letter from D: to C:, shut down the system and
remove the old hard disk. The new hard disk will be ready to use without the
parent hard disk.

Regards,

Abhilash Tibrewal
MCSA
 
Trent© said:
What does any of that have to do with 'normal'...or 'usual'?
Click to expand...


It depends on whether you go through life always in the "default"
mode. I happen to multi-boot several versions of WinXP Pro,
some dedicated to certain software, some used for whole-system
archive purposes. These OSes reside on various partitions on
3 hard drives. In order for the hard drives to boot independently
in case of failure of the usual boot drive, I make them all bootable
and I select the boot drive via BIOS boot order. This procedure
is thoroughly documented in the User's Manual, and it is considered
"normal" for those purposes, and your posted comment used the
word "normal" (not "usual"). My comments were to point out
that the "default" mode of PC operation is not the necessary mode.


I understand that its very easy to boot from a slave drive...simply by
changing the boot order in the BIOS.
Click to expand...


Good. And you must also know that the BIOS may be left
indefinitely with whatever boot order is input. But whether
*you* know it or not has no bearing on whether Average Joe
knows it, and comments in this thread would tend to misled
Mr. Joe by making him think that all booting must be done
by the hard drive assigned the mode of "Master" - which is
untrue.

That is not cable select. Many of my machines are set up the very
exact way. The jumper makes it the master...cable position has
nothing to do with it in that case.
Click to expand...


Your comment on Feb 10th was: "If you change it to CS, you've
got to put it on the end of that cable." That means that if you use
Cable Select, the boot drive must be the "Master" drive, which is
untrue as the boot drive can remain at the middle connector and
be "Slave". If it is the only device on the cable, it will be at the
head of the boot order (assuming no hard drive on the other
IDE channel). If it is NOT the only device, it can still be chosen
as the boot drive by resetting the BIOS's boot order.
The connector you use is ONLY pertinent dependent on the jumper
setting on the drive. If you have the drive set to master or slave,
position on the cable has NO bearing on the matter. Remember,
he had the jumper set to CS.
Click to expand...


So? Your comment was still: "If you change it to CS, you've got
to put it on the end of that cable." And that is untrue for the two
reasons I gave.




And this explains your #1 above.



Of course it works. But you still need to tell the computer which
drive to access first.
Click to expand...


Yes, one has to do that once. On all subsequent bootups, it can be
left alone unless one wants to change the boot drive. Again, there's
more to life than "default" mode.


My point was...look at the specs the OP gave us. Then you'll see I
was correct in his case. He had the jumper set to CS...and his
particular case, the master boot drive needs to be at the end of the
cable...or he needs to change the jumper on that drive to master (or
single drive).

Look at what the OP told us about his system.

I wasn't missing anything. For the info he gave us, the drive must be
at the end of the cable.
Click to expand...


The OP wrote on Feb 9th: "But when I put the jumper onto Cable Select,
and removed the old C drive, it would not boot fully."
Your reply was: "If you change it to CS, you've got to put it on the end
of that cable."

When using Cable Select, the hard need NOT be put at the end of
the cable because all that does in Cable Select is to make it "Master".
If it is at the middle of the cable, it will be seen by the controller as a
"Slave", but that does not matter since "Slave" drives can boot as
well as "Master" drives.

Of course, the OP's problem has to do with the fact that drive D:
is not independently bootable, not whether it is "Master" or "Slave"
or at at some position on the cable.

*TimDaniels*
 
Trent© said:
But does a lone hard drive at the middle connector work?

Of course it works. But you still need to tell the computer which
drive to access first.
Click to expand...


Actually not true in the "normal" case of there being only
one remaining hard drive since that one hard drive will then
be at the head of the boot order. Whether the other "Master"
hard drive had been set at the head of the boot order by default
or by keyboard input to the BIOS, its removal automatically
makes the other hard drive the boot drive since there will be
no hard drive ahead of it in the boot order.

*TimDaniels*
 
Your comment on Feb 10th was: "If you change it to CS, you've
got to put it on the end of that cable."
Click to expand...

And, for his situation (we are trying to help HIM...remember! lol)
that statement was completely correct.
So? Your comment was still: "If you change it to CS, you've got
to put it on the end of that cable." And that is untrue for the two
reasons I gave.
Click to expand...

For your hypothetical scenario...sure. But I was trying to help
HIM...not trying to give him a dissertation on computer technology.

Final post by me on this.


Have a nice one...

Trent

Budweiser: Helping ugly people have sex since 1876!
 
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