Hard Drive Help

BodleyBodley Registered Users Posts: 766 Major grins
edited November 13, 2006 in Accessories
My main drive (have 2 external) is getting noisy so I'm thinking about replacing it before the crash. It's a PC running XP pro. My question is:

Can or how do I replace my boot hard drive with out having to reload all my OS, software and data?
Greg
"Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
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Comments

  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 26, 2006
    Ghost it
    Bodley wrote:
    My main drive (have 2 external) is getting noisy so I'm thinking about replacing it before the crash. It's a PC running XP pro. My question is:

    Can or how do I replace my boot hard drive with out having to reload all my OS, software and data?

    If you're sure it's still OK, "ghost" it to a similar drive and use a new one. It can be expensive move though, reinstall maybe easier.

    And, of course you'll hear a lot of "get a mac" replies :):
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • ChrisJChrisJ Registered Users Posts: 2,164 Major grins
    edited July 26, 2006
    Bodley wrote:
    My main drive (have 2 external) is getting noisy so I'm thinking about replacing it before the crash. It's a PC running XP pro. My question is:

    Can or how do I replace my boot hard drive with out having to reload all my OS, software and data?

    Something like Norton Ghost is the easiest way. I'm sure there are other (possibly free) alternatives, but Ghost has always worked for me....
    Chris
  • BodleyBodley Registered Users Posts: 766 Major grins
    edited July 26, 2006
    Nikolai wrote:
    If you're sure it's still OK, "ghost" it to a similar drive and use a new one. It can be expensive move though, reinstall maybe easier.

    And, of course you'll hear a lot of "get a mac" replies :):

    I'm not sure of how to do this. I've seen the software "True Image from Acronis" which claims to mirror your drive and settings to a larger drive making it bootable. But does this really work? Is the the best software/method?

    I've got 4 PC's at home and an office full of PC's. Don't see myself joining the mac elitist yet :D
    Greg
    "Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
  • BodleyBodley Registered Users Posts: 766 Major grins
    edited July 26, 2006
    ChrisJ wrote:
    Something like Norton Ghost is the easiest way. I'm sure there are other (possibly free) alternatives, but Ghost has always worked for me....

    Guess that's what Nik was typing about - Thanks I'll check it out.

    Is it as easy as it should be? I'm thinking it should go something like this:
    1. Install 2nd larger drive as slave
    2. Mirror/ghost 1st drive to second drive
    3. switch jumpers
    4. turn computer back on booting on new drive
    5. Everything seems the same except larger drive
    Greg
    "Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
  • ChrisJChrisJ Registered Users Posts: 2,164 Major grins
    edited July 27, 2006
    Bodley wrote:
    Guess that's what Nik was typing about - Thanks I'll check it out.

    Is it as easy as it should be? I'm thinking it should go something like this:
    1. Install 2nd larger drive as slave
    2. Mirror/ghost 1st drive to second drive
    3. switch jumpers
    4. turn computer back on booting on new drive
    5. Everything seems the same except larger drive
    It's basically like that, but with the version of Ghost I have there's at least one more reboot in there. It reboots the system so that it can get uninterrupted access to the disks.

    I do this kind of stuff for a living, so my version of "easy" can be different than some people's. But if you're comfortable with changing the drives out, it's not that hard. I would suggest reading at least some of the docs! :D
    Chris
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,938 moderator
    edited July 27, 2006
    One thing you should also consider is the software that comes with
    Western Digital drives. Basically stick the new disk into the system
    and tell it to copy the old one to the new one. I just did this with one
    of my drives and it worked great.

    And the software was free too.
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • NikolaiNikolai Registered Users Posts: 19,035 Major grins
    edited July 27, 2006
    Ian,
    ian408 wrote:
    One thing you should also consider is the software that comes with
    Western Digital drives. Basically stick the new disk into the system
    and tell it to copy the old one to the new one. I just did this with one
    of my drives and it worked great.

    And the software was free too.

    That's interesting, never heard of it, care to provide more info/pointers?

    Thanks! thumb.gif
    "May the f/stop be with you!"
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,938 moderator
    edited July 27, 2006
    Nikolai wrote:
    That's interesting, never heard of it, care to provide more info/pointers?

    Thanks! thumb.gif

    I want to say it's called Data Lifeguard. Like I said, it comes in the box and
    does almost everything for you. Really easy to use. Much more so than
    Ghost.

    Ian
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • Manfr3dManfr3d Registered Users Posts: 2,008 Major grins
    edited July 27, 2006
    If you're looking for ghosting software that mirrors a disk,
    try www.download.com sometimes they have very nice
    freeware or shareware tools (with user ratings), it's worth
    to give it a try there.
    “To consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravitation before going for a walk.”
    ― Edward Weston
  • hgernhardtjrhgernhardtjr Registered Users Posts: 417 Major grins
    edited July 27, 2006
    As Ian said, free Data Lifeguard works and works well ... I received my copy with a WD drive a while back and find it makes moving up to a new, larger primary HD very easy and almost transparent. However, your primary HD (with OS) must be properly functioning when you do the "ghosting". I have not downloaded directly from their site, not do I know if it is hard-coded to work only with a new WD drive. My secondaries just by happenstance and not by any preference on my part (other than price) are Segates while my primaries have been and are WD. http://support.wdc.com/download/index.asp?swid=1

    You can read some FAQs here: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1095&p_created=1066333807&p_sid=kRITEzdi&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9NzcmcF9wcm9kcz04NSwxMCZwX2NhdHM9MCZwX3B2PTIuMTAmcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9mbmwmcF9wYWdlPTE*&p_li=&p_topview=1
    — Henry —
    Nam et ipsa scientia potestas est.
  • BodleyBodley Registered Users Posts: 766 Major grins
    edited July 27, 2006
    Segates apparently have software with them which mirror/ghost your hard drive.

    Is it any good?
    Greg
    "Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,129 moderator
    edited July 27, 2006
    Bodley wrote:
    Segates apparently have software with them which mirror/ghost your hard drive.

    Is it any good?

    I used to use Partition Magic to do the same thing. If the software really does its job, it won't change the "master" or "source" drive, so you can just try again and reinstall the old drive again temporarily.

    As far as how good the Seagate software is:

    "ANYBODY could install this drive April 23, 2006
    JDavidX (Plant City, FL)

    With the included DiskWizard software, installation of this drive is as easy as it gets. Partitioning and formatting is all done within the tool, and when you're done, you have a ready-to-go drive. One minor irritation -- the included BounceBack backup software wants to inventory your drive(s) for backing up as soon as it runs, and the only way to cancel it is to kill it from the task manager."

    "Great value at $29 :-) April 8, 2006
    Dealieo (NJ)

    I bought this drive to replace my old aging drive. The installation took a loooong time to transfer the data from the old drive to new drive (24 GB). Once it was done( i left it to run over nite), i started the procedure to make the new drive as the primary drive. It did not work, since i had a Dell PC which comes with pre-installed OS and has the famous or infamous dell partition. The support guy adviced me to use Ghost. I did that and the whole cloning of the drive took less 30 mins and it was done cleanly. Now i am using the drive and very much pleased with its perfromance. So Just make sure that you have other disk backup software. The software that came with drive did not work for me. Hey the value of the drive after rebate was $29 can not beat that huh. Otherwise the drive itself is fantastic."
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
  • BodleyBodley Registered Users Posts: 766 Major grins
    edited July 28, 2006
    ziggy53 wrote:
    I used to use Partition Magic to do the same thing. If the software really does its job, it won't change the "master" or "source" drive, so you can just try again and reinstall the old drive again temporarily.

    As far as how good the Seagate software is:
    ..........................

    Thanks Ziggy

    Circuit City has the Seagate 300gb for $99.00 - Guess I'll get that one (maybe two).
    Greg
    "Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
  • ChrisJChrisJ Registered Users Posts: 2,164 Major grins
    edited July 28, 2006
    Bodley wrote:
    Thanks Ziggy

    Circuit City has the Seagate 300gb for $99.00 - Guess I'll get that one (maybe two).
    Ahh, no Fry's there, I bet... I bought a 400gb drive at Fry's a couple weeks ago for $120!

    I always forget about the apps that come with new HDs! Definitely a good deal...
    Chris
  • BodleyBodley Registered Users Posts: 766 Major grins
    edited July 30, 2006
    So Far So Good thumb.gif

    Should have done this a year ago.
    Greg
    "Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
  • BodleyBodley Registered Users Posts: 766 Major grins
    edited July 30, 2006
    Bodley wrote:
    So Far So Good thumb.gif

    Should have done this a year ago.

    Oops - spoke too soon. This is a PITA!!!!!
    Greg
    "Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,938 moderator
    edited July 30, 2006
    Bodley wrote:
    Oops - spoke too soon. This is a PITA!!!!!

    What would you like help with?
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • BodleyBodley Registered Users Posts: 766 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2006
    ian408 wrote:
    What would you like help with?

    I've been down for a while trying to fix this thing headscratch.gif

    Problem I'm working on now - MS Office programs give me an error msg when I open them (sometimes). Comes up in a box labled "Windows Installer" and says " The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable. ............ enter path to installation package 511735.main.sp1op.msp in box below". That file doe not appear to reside on this computer and I'm not using software through a network.

    I tried to re-load Office but it looked for this same #^&%ing file. Also tried to remove Office - looked for the same file.

    I've cloned the drive 4 times (acronis twice and would not open at all said no OS - twice Data lifeguard even though it's a seagate). What to do?
    Greg
    "Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,938 moderator
    edited July 31, 2006
    Ususally a "no OS" type message means the boot sector was not written.
    It almost sounds like the tool cannot copy all the blocks on the disk.

    You said you're using data lifeguard with a non-Western Digital drive? That
    might be a large part of your problem. Did the Seagate come with something?
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • BodleyBodley Registered Users Posts: 766 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2006
    ian408 wrote:
    Ususally a "no OS" type message means the boot sector was not written.
    It almost sounds like the tool cannot copy all the blocks on the disk.

    That was with the Acronis "True Image Home" software. I downloaded the trial version as a try before you buy. Don't guess I'll BUY. It's a shame, it sure did read good.

    ian408 wrote:
    You said you're using data lifeguard with a non-Western Digital drive? That
    might be a large part of your problem. Did the Seagate come with something?

    The software noted I was not using a WD drive but it seemed to work okay though. So far my programs have worked except for the error message with the office products. After the error is dismissed they seem to work but my confidence is low. PSCS2 loaded but said I did not have a valid lic. Transfered it from my old drive and it seemed to work (here's an oops - forgot to transfer it back before one of my many attempts to clone my drive. I'll need to call Adobe after I get this thing going to free up this seat). Tried several other programs and they worked.

    Can't figure out why I can't just reload or remove MS office? I could understand it if the software was stolen but Its not. I have the original paid for disk. headscratch.gif
    Greg
    "Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
  • MongrelMongrel Registered Users Posts: 622 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2006
    Bodley, I'm late to the party but...
    My personal recommendation is to format the new drive and do a completely fresh install of XP and all of your primary apps.

    Install the 'old' drive externally or even internally and move anything you really need or want onto the new drive.

    WinXP accumulates a lot of 'junk' overtime and when installing a new primary disk it's usually best to do a fresh install and update it to the latest security patches etc.

    Once you have your machine up and running then you can move the apps like I said.

    Point being, you have a fresh start and can selective load only what you want or need. I do this whenever I upgrade a primary hard drive after fighting with several 'highly recommended' disk copy programs. In the long run, I've found that doing it this way actually takes less time, is more straightforward, and easier than any program I've used (including Norton Ghost and others).

    In your case, you probably could have done the above and been finished with it in the amount of time you have spent trying to copy the drive.

    Just my two bones...

    Mongrel
    If every keystroke was a shutter press I'd be a pro by now...
  • BodleyBodley Registered Users Posts: 766 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2006
    Mongrel wrote:
    In your case, you probably could have done the above and been finished with it in the amount of time you have spent trying to copy the drive.

    Just my two bones...

    Mongrel

    If I could find the disk that came with the system this might be a good option. Not sure I could load XPpro even if I had these disk since XPpro came installed on the machine. Also several other programs were purchased and installed via download (i.e. PSCS2) and it would be a hassle to find/re-download them when I could be so close to getting this to work.

    If I could go back, maybe I would start fresh but I've saddled this horse and I want to ride.
    Greg
    "Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
  • MongrelMongrel Registered Users Posts: 622 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2006
    Bodley wrote:
    If I could go back, maybe I would start fresh but I've saddled this horse and I want to ride.

    good luck with that :D ....

    (sincerely...thumb.gif )
    If every keystroke was a shutter press I'd be a pro by now...
  • BodleyBodley Registered Users Posts: 766 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2006
    Thought "why not try updating the office product". Got this error msg from MS office update site (XPpro update didn't cause any errors):


    The Office Update site is unable to check for updates on this computer. This may be happening because of one of the following reasons:
    • You do not have administrative privileges for this computer.
    • There is a network problem and the detection catalog used by the Office Update site failed to download. Go back to the Downloads home page and try running detection again.
    • (font changed for emphasis) Windows Installer patch files (.MSP files) from previously applied Office updates are missing from the \Windows\Installer hidden directory on your computer. MSP files are stored on your computer after update installation completes because they need to be referenced for future update operations. If the files are missing you will not be able to apply Office updates. You may also be unable to uninstall Office products as a result of the same problem. Please contact Microsoft Product Support Services for assistance.
    • You installed Office updates in the past and then upgraded from Windows Installer version 1.0 to Windows Installer version 1.1. For more information see the KB article Windows Installer May Prompt for Install Source if Unavailable.

    Okay - now how do I find these files?
    Greg
    "Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
  • BodleyBodley Registered Users Posts: 766 Major grins
    edited July 31, 2006
    Bodley wrote:

    Okay - now how do I find these files?

    Searched hidden files and it's not there. Maybe I'll remove Office from the original harddrive and re-install after I clone again.
    Greg
    "Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
  • BodleyBodley Registered Users Posts: 766 Major grins
    edited August 1, 2006
    Bodley wrote:
    Searched hidden files and it's not there. Maybe I'll remove Office from the original harddrive and re-install after I clone again.

    FWIW I removed Office and re-installed after cloning and all's well (so far):D
    Greg
    "Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
  • BodleyBodley Registered Users Posts: 766 Major grins
    edited August 1, 2006
    Bodley wrote:
    FWIW I removed Office and re-installed after cloning and all's well (so far):D
    Opp's spoke too soon AGAIN. While Office works, when I attempt to do a save-as command it takes over a minute to populate box. :cry

    This horse has thrown me again.
    Greg
    "Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
  • MongrelMongrel Registered Users Posts: 622 Major grins
    edited August 1, 2006
    Greg,
    Sorry to see you are still "fighting the beast" :uhoh I've been there and done that...for hours and hours...:cry

    This is what I'm thinking in my head:

    "Order XP Home OEM from Newegg for $89, re-format the drive and do a complete reinstall."

    Toss that manufacturer's (Dell by any chance?) CD full 'o crap in the trash and take ownership of your machine!

    It's a great feeling to take control of your destiny thumb.gif

    All of your apps will than you for it clap.gif

    Add up the time spent already and compare it to a straight forward 2hr or less XP and apps install....

    I'd be willing to bet that horse would be combed down and back in the barn by now...
    If every keystroke was a shutter press I'd be a pro by now...
  • BodleyBodley Registered Users Posts: 766 Major grins
    edited August 2, 2006
    Mongrel wrote:
    Toss that manufacturer's (Dell by any chance?) CD full 'o crap in the trash and take ownership of your maclap.gifchine!
    It's a Sony - They didn't include the disk but I can purchase one - NOT!
    Mongrel wrote:
    Add up the time spent already and compare it to a straight forward 2hr or less XP and apps install....

    I'd be willing to bet that horse would be combed down and back in the barn by now...
    I could have paid someone else to comb her down, feed her, shoe her ...........

    Just kinda burns me to purchase an OS for a system that already has the same OS but I'm beginning to think that's what is needed. I may try Casper XP clone first since they have 30-day MBG (I'm hard headed). Last time I got this frustrated I chunked the whole machine and bought another one.
    Greg
    "Tis better keep your mouth shut and be thought of as an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
  • MongrelMongrel Registered Users Posts: 622 Major grins
    edited August 3, 2006
    Greg, I'm still thinking of you man....
    I came across this today:

    http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=34&threadid=1904697&enterthread=y

    May or may not help with your situation...

    If you noticed, the "wipe drive-clean install" method is still recommended as the *fastest and easiest* solution...

    Part of my previous point was that by the time you find a useable software migration solution and *pay for it* (you really don't think you find one that actually works for free?), you could have purchased a new non-Sony owned copy.

    All in all, I still hope you got it all to work, and it stays that way....

    BTW-you could use a beta copy of Windows Vista, which is iirc available for 'free'. I've heard it's getting better but still slowwwww...

    Take care,

    Mongrel
    If every keystroke was a shutter press I'd be a pro by now...
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