Need to backup the ENTIRE hard drive

webhund · Member Joined: 12 May 2008 Posts: 4 Points: 0

Situation: I have to put my laptop into the repair shop and am told it will be shipped out for the repairs which will take 6 to 8 weeks. Reason for repair is the screen is going out.

My Equipment:
1) 2004 Fujitsu N series Lifebook running XP Home Edition version 2002 with Service Pack 2, Intel Pentium 4 2.8 GHz processor, 512 RAM, use Trend Micro Internet Security 2008. Have never had a problem with this laptop until the screen began to go out. (Appears to be a short.)

2) A 2007 Maxtor OneTouch III mini edition 120GB external harddrive.

3) 2002 Sony PCV-RX660 VIAO Digital Studio PC Pentium 4 1.8 GHz, 512 RAM. XP Home Edition. Dead for over a year now because I decided to switch from running Trend Micro Internet Security to Panda's internet security program which killed my pc (that was a huge mistake). Had the shop do a data recovery on the system and just haven't done the system restore on it yet (because I had the use of my laptop).

Questions:
1) Speaking with a shop tech about the repair needed on my laptop, he stated that it may be a possibility that the harddrive will need reformatting. Which makes me go YIKES! So I did a copy and paste of my C and D drives on my laptop to my external Maxtor mini. But I know that only really grabs the data files. So how do I make a COMPLETE copy of my harddrive? Do I use drive imaging or cloning or backup software?
1a) I want to be able to capture everything on the drive, even my browser's bookmarks and site definitions in Dreamweaver. I've done some research (Ghost, Acronis, ShadowProtect, etc.) and am getting more confused than sure of what to use.
1b) I also want to be able to store the backup copy on my external drive.

2) Once I make a backup copy, would it be possible to load that onto my Sony desktop PC? I know that when I do the system restore on my Sony that it will take it back to how the PC was when I first purchased it (no other software loaded). So I thought that it would be great to be able to just take the copy of my laptop's harddrive and load it on the Sony so that I still have all of the same programs and settings that I've been using on my laptop. I don't know if this is possible though because I don't know if Sony and Fujitsu configured the XP OS specifically to be used on their hardware or not.

Any help is GREATLY appreciated!

PS - I have to figure this out this week because I have to put the laptop in the shop next week. The laptop screen works (for now) as long as I shut off the computer before closing the screen.

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Mich · Posted: Tue 05/13/2008 5:01am [Post #2]

Hi webhund Smile

For the cheap route you can follow instructions here to use the windows backup utility. This can only be restore on the system you backed up though.

Imaging is the best idea. There are a lot of programs available to do this. The only one I have used though is Norton Ghost. Creating an image is a pretty easy process with that program.

I wouldn't suggest trying to restore it to your desktop because of the differences in hardware, it might not boot.

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arraknid · Tech Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 60 Points: 19

I used the Windows file transfer system only once and never will again. Ghost is now available as Norton Save and Restore 2 which makes it compatible with Vista. It's actually a better program under that guise and the bootable restoration CD is excellent. I use NSR2 every day backing up onto a 500gb external drive and it has saved my life on numerous occasions. Acronis works well too, but I prefer the GUI of NSR2.

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PartieHonteuse · Posted: Tue 05/13/2008 9:41am [Post #4]

There's also imagex which is part of the WinPE bootable disc which is part of the Windows AIK which is free...wow, lots of "which".

Partie

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arraknid · Tech Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 60 Points: 19

The NSR2 boot disk is also based on WinPE. Very pretty...looks like Vista.

Know what, with so many 'whiches', all we need is a cauldron!! HeeHee!

OK, I know it isn't spelt like that.

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arraknid · Tech Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 60 Points: 19

The NSR2 boot disk is also based on WinPE. Very pretty...looks like Vista.

Know what, with so many 'whiches', all we need is a cauldron!! HeeHee!

OK, I know it isn't spelt like that.

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Grim322 · Posted: Tue 05/13/2008 1:46pm [Post #7]

As long as we are making a list, I have used DriveImage XML, another free one available here:
http://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm

Charlie

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webhund · Member Joined: 12 May 2008 Posts: 4 Points: 0

Thanks everyone, I've done some more research based on your suggestions and now I have more questions.

1) I checked out the link you sent and discoverd that my laptop does have the NTBACKUP.MSI file loaded. (My laptop didn't come with the XP disks so I thought I was out of luck.) I did already perform a backup of my laptop using the backup software that came installed on my Maxtor mini external drive, but it's nice to know I have other options. Thanks for that tidbit Smile

2) I checked out the Symantec website and they list Norton Ghost 14.0 and Norton Save and Restore 2.0 as two different products. I'm not sure exactly what all of the differences between the two are, but it appears that the NS&R2 is a backup utility and Ghost is an imaging program. Did I get that right?

3) It also appears that Ghost 14.0 addresses some of the complaints made in reviews of earlier Ghost versions. I'm always leary about buying "just released" versions of anything, so would those of you familiar with Ghost recommend the latest or early version of the program?

4) Both my laptop and desktop are running on XP and it appears that the Windows AIK is for Vista or did I miss something?

5) I believe that I need a drive image program because I already have backup software and I want to make an exact duplicate of my harddrive. That beging said, the reviews I've read so far seem to favor Ghost vs Acronis. Are the free programs you have suggested just as good? I don't mind spending the money if the program is going to be fairly easy to use and do what I want it to do.

I really just wish I could keep my harddrive at home while the laptop is getting the screen fixed. But it wouldn't hurt to have the imaging software because of Murphy's Law.

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arraknid · Tech Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 60 Points: 19

No experience of the latest Ghost, but there were problems with the older version. I've done exactly as you want to do using NSR2 - reformat a hard drive and copy my entire system back to it with no problems. I was up and running from scratch in about 7 hours - it was a large, very full drive!

NSR2 also acts as a better version of Sytem Restore, much as GoBack used to. In the end, it just comes down to trust, there are lots of products that'll do the job, you just got to jump in.

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PartieHonteuse · Posted: Tue 05/13/2008 7:26pm [Post #10]

Windows AIK is not just for Vista. The AIK will run on XP and Vista.

Partie

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webhund · Member Joined: 12 May 2008 Posts: 4 Points: 0

Ok, I've found some more info. on NSR2 and it appears that it is really Ghost with added features, so it seems to be the best of both worlds (backup and imaging). And from your description, I should feel comfortable using it.

You said that you have reformatted a harddrive, then used NSR2 to reinstall your system. Is that correct? And NSR2 was able to bring your computer back to how it was before the reformatting? All your programs, settings, etc.? So that you didn't have to reinstall anything? Is that correct?

I have spoken to another tech at the repair shop and he advised that I first do a system recovery on my laptop before I bring it in for the screen repair. He said that if they send it off to Fujitsu for the repair and Fujitsu is able to fix the problem by reformatting the harddrive then I'll be charged ($$$) for the repair because the warrenty (extended) does not cover software problems. (Screen problem might be caused by faulty Hibernate/Sleep mode and not a short like I thought.)

So if I'm going to do a system recovery (reformat) my harddrive, I would like to know for sure that I can get everything back using NSR2.

Also, did you install NSR2 on your external drive so that after you reformatted your other drive you were able to just work from your external drive to recover your other harddrive? Or did you install NSR2 on your harddrive, do the image/backup, reformat the drive, then reinstall NSR2 on the harddrive before you could access the backup/image from the external drive?

Sorry for all of the questions. I just get real nervous when I have to do something that wipes out my entire system. I remember the old days when it was no big deal to reformat a harddrive because there was hardly anything on it. Nowadays though, it's like your entire life is on the thing.

Thanks for all of your patience Smile

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arraknid · Tech Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 60 Points: 19

I can understand your reluctance, but it really does work. You will have exactly the same as when you created the image, with all files, settings and preferences intact.

When you purchase NSR2, either in-store or on-line, you will get a bootable Recovery disk in the box, or as a downloadable ISO file which will need to be burned to a CD, making sure it's bootable. Nero, PowerIso or MagicIso will do that, but XP's cd burning option cannot.

Install the main program on the laptop's C drive and set your preferences. Most important is to choose what drives/partitions to back up and where to. I suggest you select all fixed drives, except your external drive which is where you'll be saving to. If possible, make sure the external drive has sufficient capacity without the need to over-compress the data. NSR2 will test the drive and let you know! I suggest you do a full antivirus and malware check before you backup. It'll take time, but it'll be worth it.

Once the backup is complete, you should test it. Configure the laptop to boot from CD-rom, insert the recovery disk and start the laptop. Also ensure the external drive is connected and switched on. The machine will boot up into recovery mode and you'll see the GUI of NSR2. Choose 'Recover my computer' and let it search for the backup files. If it finds them - which it will - you can remove the CD-rom and reboot the laptop. Now, you can safely send the laptop away.

If you have more than one partition, I suggest you back them all up, but when you do the recovery, just recover your C drive. Once that's done, you can create the partitions from within XP using Partition Magic or similar, and recover those from within XP using the main program. It saves you from having to create partitions on the reformatted drive using F-disk or silmilar. Just reformat the entire drive as one partition and go from there.

Another tip is to store a copy of the Recovery Disk ISO on the external drive, if you have space. That way, you have the whole caboodle in one secure place if you need repeat the exercise in the future.

Good luck and don't forget to report back. Any more questions, just ask or PM me.

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PartieHonteuse · Posted: Wed 05/14/2008 5:24pm [Post #13]

Just thought I'd say nice post arraknid ^^^

Cool

Partie

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arraknid · Tech Joined: 26 Dec 2006 Posts: 60 Points: 19

Thanks Partie. Much appreciated. Laughing

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webhund · Member Joined: 12 May 2008 Posts: 4 Points: 0

I wanted to thank all of you for your assistance, especially arraknid for the indepth answers to my questions.

I have been trying to further diagnos the problem with my laptop to see if I could avoid sending it away for 8 weeks to get repaired. As I will be away from home for the next 5 months and unable to pick up my laptop once repairs were completed, I would be without internet access for 5 months. Not something I was wanting to do.

I have discovered that the problem lies with the timeouts for the display and/or harddrive. I have been in contact with Fujitsu and they agree. Seeing as I always run my laptop on ac power, I just set the timeouts to Never and my screen problem had disappeared.

Now once I am not pressed for time, I will follow arraknid's last post of how to completely backup/copy my harddrive so that I will be better prepared in the future should another problem arise.

Again, thank you so much for all of your help! Laughing

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