I haven't been able to find this scenario in other posts, but please direct me if this *has* been covered...

Q:  What's the best way for me to copy my laptop's 60GB hard drive (now in an ext. enclosure) to a new 300GB external drive, using Ghost 9.0?

Background:  My Compaq Presario 2100 series notebook died (won't power on), but the 60GB hard drive is still good.  I pulled the h/d and put it in an external enclosure, and I can read/run all OK using another PC.  The notebook is covered by retailer's extended warranty, but I have to ship it off with the orig. 60GB h/d intact.  They won't guarantee it will return with that same drive.  So, I want to do a full clone/copy/image of this drive before I send it away.  (I *really* don't want to reinstall all my apps, re-tweak all my settings, etc.)  Accordingly, I have procured a new 300GB ext. h/d for this purpose.

I do have a (way-too-old) image made with Ghost 9.0, saved on a separate external 80GB h/d.  I also have good current copies of my data elsewhere.  But, it seems that I should also be able to easily do a full clone/copy/image of my current drive state.  However, as I read the manual for Copy Drive feature, and some of the other posts here (esp. on "cloning"), I'm starting to worry...

I tried just running Ghost 9.0 from my orig 60GB h/d in the enclosure, and that didn't work (didn't think it would, but I had to try!).  Do I have to install the full Ghost 9.0 program on my friend's PC, to accomplish this?  And, if I do, will it even work then?

This seems like a simple operation, but it's late, I've over-analyzed this, and now I'm deferring to the experts...  What's the best way for me to copy my orig. 60GB h/d (in an ext. enclosure) to the new 300GB external drive?

Thanks for your help!
-MJ

mjskier.

Easy. You need an image, not a clone. And for redundancy I'd make two. One with Ghost 9 and another with a different imaging app. If you don't have another app, I like Drive SnapShot which has a 4 week trial and doesn't need to be installed.

http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/down.htm

Ghost 9 does have to be installed on the computer being imaged. Image the partitions on your 60 GB HD to the 300 GB HD. (Both enclosures connected to your friends computer) For safety I'd copy one of these images to another HD as well. Now everything is covered.

When your laptop returns with a new HD, connect your 300 GB external HD, boot to the Ghost 9 RE CD and restore the images.

When this is all over you should consider a BartPE CD.

http://radified.com/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.cgi?board=general;action=display;num=1119240262

Excellent! Thanks for the reassurance, Brian!  I was about to try that, but balked, 'cuz I didn't want to install on my friend's PC if I didn't have to, and didn't want to risk compromising his system in any way if it didn't work.

Yeah, I wondered about the BartPE CD, after reading the thread for tommy_tank's "restore notebook to enclosure" post at http://radified.com/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.cgi?board=ghost9_10;action=display;num=1164073215.  I'll give that a try, thanks.

I also just ordered an OEM ver. of Partition Magic 8.0 for future use too, after reading that thread (found a $weet deal at a PriceGrabber storefront, hope it actually shows up!).

Thanks again for your help.  I couldn't believe how much info I found here, and so narrowly-focused on what I needed.  You guys all do a great job here; this is a tremendous resource!

Thanks for the kind words. We enjoy the forum too. I've learnt so much since I joined.

Brian,

I completed the Ghost image successfully!  Now starting Drive Snapshot image to a different drive... but, I'm curious about the "Maximum image single file size" setting there.  Default was 650MB.  I'm tempted to expand it, to the full size of my data (50GB) so it only creates one file.  

Have you used different settings here? Any issues? Only thing stopping me is the "2040 MB to avoid some DOS limits" statement there.  Thoughts?

-MJ

mjskier wrote on Jan 7^th, 2007 at 1:53pm:

I'm curious about the "Maximum image single file size" setting there.  Default was 650MB.  I'm tempted to expand it, to the full size of my data (50GB) so it only creates one file.

650 MB must have been there for years. I always make a single file so in your case just put 100,000 MB.


Quote:

"2040 MB to avoid some DOS limits" statement there.

Doesn't apply to restoring from BartPE which is how I restore.


Otherwise, use all the defaults. Tick the "Check image after Backup" box.

Drive SnapShot has some nice features for a 190 KB program. You can do scheduled backups on your own and your kids' computers from your own desktop computer. Over the network.

http://radified.com/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.cgi?board=general;action=display;num=1128609708;start=

For your interest. Lucky you are not cloning.

Cool! Drive Snapshot worked too.  So, now I have two images on separate drives, and will send the laptop back for repair.  Of course, now that I've done all this, they'll probably return it with the original drive intact!  ;D

Yeah, good thing I didn't go the cloning route... yikes!

Also, an FYI for others using Drive Snapshot...
The "Check image after Backup" box does not appear until *after* you click the "Start copy" button.  So, make sure you check that box after you Start.

Thanks again, Brian!  And, hopefully things will go smoothly on the Restore end too. :)

I'm with you. I hope they do send your own HD back. Less work to do.

I forgot to ask. Was there a small Diagnostic partition to the left of your C: drive in the Disk Management graphic?

Nope.  At least not one that was *visible*, using My Computer > Manage > Disk Management.  It showed:
 Disk 1
 Basic
 55.88GB
 Online
And just one single "Primary partition" box, with:
 (D:)
 55.88 GB NTFS
 Healthy (Active)

Umm... I forgot to ask this earlier, just *assuming* that the image process would capture all data regardless of permissions.

I realized that I couldn't view the files in my Admin profile, under
Documents and Settings, since this is an external drive.  That won't prevent the image process from capturing the data in that folder, will it?

Also, I was thinking there were some files with confidential info I should delete before I shipped it off for repair...  If I were on my original machine, I'd log in as Admin, and no prob.  But, since I'm logged onto a completely different system, how do I view those files on the external drive without* changing the permissions and screwing up my drive so it doesn't boot when I reinstall it in the laptop??

BTW, in my last msg, that should've been (D:) not (D<smiley>.

Thanks again,
MJ

mjskier wrote on Jan 8^th, 2007 at 9:44pm:

Nope.

Good. Forget I asked. You won't have any boot.ini issues.



Quote:

That won't prevent the image process from capturing the data in that folder, will it?

I think it should be OK. You will be using your own WinXP after the restore and not your mate's.


Quote:

how do I view those files on the external drive without* changing

You should be able to to view and delete from a BartPE CD. Worth a try. Or you could delete the partition and wipe the HD if you aren't expecting to see that HD again.

Hey, Brian!  Sorry to bug you again, but I'm back to my over-analyzing ways...  

I've received my machine back in working order, with a new motherboard, AND the original hard drive! (good)

However, as I pondered the situation *before* I sent off my machine, I decided to delete files/folders, etc.  So, I significantly changed the configuration of my machine. (bad)

Now, I'm ready to do a restore, but have been reading more about hidden factory restore partitions, etc. and I'm a little gun-shy about doing a full restore.

I originally set up multiple profiles on my machine--Admin, Daily, Guest, Test--for different uses, and to minimize risk of damage from virus, spyware, hack, etc.

So, now after all the deletes/changes I did before I sent in my laptop, my Daily profile seems to be fine, but now my Admin profile is screwy.

The way I see it... I can try to keep the OS installed, and restore from Windows (XP)... or, I can wipe the drive and do a bare metal recovery from the recovery environment, as though I'd lost the entire drive.

Option 1 may be tough, 'cuz the Admin profile is giving me trouble, now saying my copy of Windows is not valid (prob from taking over admin control using other machine, to access the files I wanted to delete).  If I concede, and go for Option 2, should I reformat and/or wipe the drive, to ensure a clean slate?

Thoughts?

mjskier wrote on Jan 24^th, 2007 at 4:47am:

but I'm back to my over-analyzing ways...

I'm back too.

It sounds like you would be happier with your original setup. You don't need to delete the partition or format, just restore the image. But first I suggest creating an image of your current OS. Just in case. There are no diagnostic partitions so just restore your original image and it will work.

Boot to the Ghost CD
Set the Time Zone
Advanced Recovery Tasks
System Restore
dot in Restore drives          ,Next
dot in Single drive            ,Next
Browse to your image file      ,Next
Select a destination           ,Next
tick Verify backup
tick Check for file system errors after restore
tick Resize drive to fill unallocated space (Y or N) Will be greyed out if partition is correct size
tick Set drive active (for booting OS)
tick Restore original disk signatures
tick Restore MBR (for a new HD)
Next
tick Reboot after finish
Finish

Check computer clock after OS boots. May be out by an hour or two.

(mjskier, restore MBR doesn't apply to you)