henriette

Is the experiment going well? Any news for us?

henriette

Sure. An Entire drive restore to a new HD that's a different size from the old HD.....

Restore
Normal
File (Direct)
Linux
select your USB HD. It will be last in the list
select the partition
select the folder containing the image
select the image
tick in Entire Drive
Linux
ATA.... (sda) (Be careful here that you are restoring the image to the correct HD)
Yes to the Warning (There won't be a warning if the target HD is empty)
leave the tick in Log Results to File
put a tick in Scale to Fit
put a tick in Align to Target
put a tick in Validate
put a tick in Validate Byte-for-Byte
First Track Sectors AUTO
Start

The attachment looks fine but it reminded me of something. The sector spread in your large partition can be determined by.....

When you are next in IFL,
click Backup
Full Backup
Linux
sda
select the Music partition and click Information (bottom of window)
What are the top 3 numbers?
MiB Used
MiB Free
MiB to Restore

Regarding safety. When you do the restore you will only have the 400 GB HD in your computer. You could make a mistake in EVERY step and it wouldn't matter. It can be fixed. It's only your test HD.

Hiya dear friends 

Sorry for the delay! Had big trouble with my email client & such. My damned ISP *supported* xxxxxx users with faked (!) access data and ports. Trying to have us use THEIR software (email client) !!! But after some hrs I did it - my way 

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Brian wrote on Jul 11^th, 2013 at 4:29pm:


MiB Used  = 132347
MiB Free = 287783
MiB to Restore = 210151   
The above is partition D:\[music].

Overview all partitions:

C:\[XP]
MiB Used  = 9889
MiB Free  = 5117
MiB to Restore  = 10627

E:\[emails]
MiB Used  = 1140
MiB Free  = 6854
MiB to Restore  = 4032

F:\[Exes++]
MiB Used  = 6509
MiB Free  = 9493
MiB to Restore  = 8075

G:\[videos]
MiB Used  = 9371
MiB Free  = 8436
MiB to Restore  = 9892

Brian wrote on Jul 11^th, 2013 at 4:29pm:

That doesn't mean that I don't have to be careful.
I had 4 RMAs with WD HDDs <  defective on receipt.

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Another big problem/question:

http://aumha.org/win5/a/wpa.htm

> "The WPA system checks ten categories of hardware:

    Display Adapter
    SCSI Adapter
    IDE Adapter (effectively the motherboard)
    Network Adapter (NIC) and its MAC Address
    RAM Amount Range (i.e., 0-64mb, 64-128mb, etc.)
    Processor Type
    Processor Serial Number
    Hard Drive Device
    Hard Drive Volume Serial Number (VSN)
    CD-ROM / CD-RW / DVD-ROM"

Would the different VSN of the new HDD be a problem relating to the YES votes ?
I have an OEM version of Windows XP professional, not sure if another activation would be possible ... 

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I also created a *Differential Entire Drive Image* > same folder, of course, as the *Entire Drive Image*.
Now: Could I use that one OR would I need an *Entire Drive Image* ONLY for restoring it to a new HDD ?

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External drives:
Would it matter if I shut down the computer while the drive is plugged to the USB port ?
> can any data get lost ?
I'm asking, because I do that each time I'm using (e.g.) IFL. I HAVE to power my PC down, to then start it new.

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NightOwl wrote on Jul 12^th, 2013 at 9:41am:

I know you didn't   
Replacing a HDD is a days' job! My computer case is "ancient" > I have to unscrew/disconnect/remove almost every other hardware - incl. the Power Supply - to even remove the old HDD. Then replace it by a new one.
I do, however, totally agree with you: learning by doing was and is the best one can do!

NightOwl wrote on Jul 12^th, 2013 at 9:41am:

--> I could handle Ghost2003 quite well. The fact that Ghost won't accept/show any external drives made me take IFL.

IFL, however, works differently. There's no *partition to partition* or *whole drive* "term" as such - in its Gui.
For me there are a lot more steps to do. Won't help me if I just sitttt in front of the GUI not knowing what to tick or do, understand ?

This post might give you an idea of what haunts me at nights ... and days

Thank you for being so kind & helpful, folks!
henriette 

H"eye" > lol, right eye is *out of order* ... hope drops will kick in soon 

Brian wrote on Jul 13^th, 2013 at 4:51pm:

Did you tell me already when exactly (and where!) to select the *resizing* of each partition ?
Plus what sizeS should I type in ?

The point is: those 360GB, estimated by Seagate phone support, isn't reliable - but probable.
However, the actual size might be somewhat bigger.
To be on the safe side I'd take 360GB as *actual size*.

Question: How will IFL handle the sizes ... when I type in the size for each partition, what sizes should I type ?
C:\ =, D:\ = , E:\ = , F:\ = , G:\ = (in Mib) - in order to having used up the full capacity of the HDD with NO remaining space!  ... given that C:\ = 15GB (maybe a few GB more), and G:\ same size as now  

Brian wrote on Jul 13^th, 2013 at 4:51pm:

I've changed some hardware + HDD already.
That's why I asked for the °remaining° YES votes 

Brian wrote on Jul 13^th, 2013 at 4:51pm:

You mean: A seperate NEW *Entire Drive Image* - I suppose ?
Wouldn't be a problem 

External drive(s):
Brian wrote on Jul 13^th, 2013 at 4:51pm:

Sometimes yes - sometimes reboot only.
> After an *Entire Drive Image* I choose Power Down.

Computer case:
Brian wrote on Jul 13^th, 2013 at 4:51pm:

Yes, that's what I was thinking about.
IF the IDE cable is long enough. Anyway, I have to unplug more than the HDD to get that done.

Do you think the HDD needs cooling ... I'd place it beside the PC. "hanging free IN the computer" isn't possible (lack of space, although a Big Tower).

I have a doc's appointment tomorrow. Also have to wait till my eye is ok. Plus I'd need painkillers to be able to bend down (old bones & such).

btw: I forgot to mention that I FINALLY found the 400GB HDD!
Was in the basement - behind other computer stuff.

henriette <presently one-eyed> 

Brian

Brian wrote on Jul 13^th, 2013 at 4:51pm:

I've done that frequently, too.  If there's room, I put a couple scrap pieces of demensional lumber (2 x 4", or 4 x 4" about 6-8 inches long)--stack one on another to get the HDD to *proper* height so it's flat next to the open case.  Just disconnect the power plug and the communication cable from the back of the installed HDD and plug those into the test HDD.

If it's *hanging* from the power and communication cables, make sure the underside is not touching anything conductive--a short to ground could possibly fry the electonics--that's the nice thing about putting it on a piece of wood--no conductive ground to worry about.


henriette


henriette wrote on Jul 14^th, 2013 at 3:58am:

There will be no overheating problem if the case cover is off--all the heat inside the computer will dissapate up and out--will not be *held inside*.  And, if the HDD is next to the case, hanging on the outside in some manner, there will be no heat build up at all--think external USB HDD--I have never had one overheat yet--some have a small ventilation fan--but most do not.

henriette wrote on Jul 14^th, 2013 at 3:58am:

I suspect you took Brian too literally.  When testing in this matter, I doubt he ever puts the cover back on until he's done, and the test HDD has been disconnected and put away.  I'll also bet that most of the time, he too has limited room to stuff the test HDD *inside* the case--I'd expect it to be to the outside of all the wires and add-on cards and mounting gages for the HDDs, optical drives, etc.--just close enough so the necessary cables can be connected to the hanging test HDD.

henriette wrote on Jul 14^th, 2013 at 3:58am:

Well, only you know what changes you have made!  You will have to add them up:

Windows Product Activation (WPA)


Quote:


Quote:


Quote:

If you have not activated within the last 120 days, then the automatic re-activation will occur without having to call the re-activation center.  Also note above, it says if you undo the *extra changes* within the three day leeway period, then re-activation will not be triggered--so as soon as you disconnect the test HDD and reconnect your current internal production HDD, you return the *Yes* vote to the calculation and the re-activation process is canceled--assuming that one change did trigger a re-activation event.



henriette wrote on Jul 13^th, 2013 at 12:06pm:

Do you have the WinXP product code from your original purchase?  If, YES, then there should be no problem activating WinXP as many times as need be--even if you do have to call the activation center.

henriette

Quote:

Buy a longer cable  --they're cheap--a repair shop might even give you one if you asked--they probably throw out many every year!

Quote:

Correct.  If you disconnect your network cable during your testing, then Windows will never be able to announce to the MS reactivation center that you have made any changes.  Once all the old stuff is reconnected, then there will be no changes noted and you can reconnect the network cable.

Quote:

Your NIC may not have been working correctly for access to the internet, but because the LED was still working, it may have still been functional enough for the system to *see* that it was present, and the 3 Yes votes were still being registered as present.  If you read that website link above carefully, the author suggests leaving an old NIC on the system even if you install a new one just to maintain the necessary number of Yes votes.  You just leave it there, but connect the new NIC to the internet--you can have additional NIC's without upsetting the Yes vote calculation.  But, I guess you said the bad NIC is what triggered the reactivation--so probably that would not work in your case.

If the old NIC was *fried* and it was no longer sending out to the system it's presence on the system, then of course, you would have lost the Yes votes.

henriette

henriette wrote on Jul 16^th, 2013 at 3:06pm:


Yes, you can use IFL on a UFD. When IFL has loaded you can remove the IFL UFD as IFL is running in RAM and no longer requires the flash drive. Then you can plug in your external HD to two USB ports.