hard drive backup

[bk3000]

I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test, got

error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new one,

which I'll have to self-install.



I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how

should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard

drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it all

there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should I go

to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do stuff

manually?

 

[Mark Adams]

"bk3000" wrote:



> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test, got

> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new one,

> which I'll have to self-install.

>

> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how

> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard

> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it all

> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should I go

> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do stuff

> manually?



If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and a 1 TB USB

hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an image of your

computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell, restore that

image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this way, but it

is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.

 

[Alias]

Mark Adams wrote:

>

>

> "bk3000" wrote:

>

>> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test, got

>> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new one,

>> which I'll have to self-install.

>>

>> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how

>> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard

>> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it all

>> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should I go

>> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do stuff

>> manually?

>

> If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and a 1 TB USB

> hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an image of your

> computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell, restore that

> image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this way, but it

> is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.



You can also do the same thing for free with the CD you can download

from Seagate, Western Digital, etc.



--

Alias

 

[Bob]

WD offers a free copy of Acronis if you own one of their drives.

http://support.wdc.com/product/downloaddetail.asp?swid=119&type=download&wdc_lang=en



"Mark Adams" wrote in message

news:FB3A0D66-8006-4018-B87E-CD66EFDDDAA0@microsoft.com...

>

>

> "bk3000" wrote:

>

>> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test,

>> got

>> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new

>> one,

>> which I'll have to self-install.

>>

>> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how

>> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard

>> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it

>> all

>> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should

>> I go

>> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do

>> stuff

>> manually?

>

> If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and a 1 TB

> USB

> hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an image of your

> computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell, restore

> that

> image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this way, but

> it

> is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.

 

[SC Tom]

And so does Seagate/Maxtor. Seagate/Maxtor Disc Wizard by ATI:

http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.j...toid=d9fd4a3cdde5c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD



You have to own one of the manufacturer's drives, but it doesn't have to be

an internal drive; it can be an external USB/Firewire/eSATA drive. I use an

external WD My Book for my images, and my internal drive is a Hitachi. By

booting from the CD that's created with the program, the WD version works

just fine.

--

SC Tom



"Bob" wrote in message

news:htgq4j$v9r$1@news.eternal-september.org...

> WD offers a free copy of Acronis if you own one of their drives.

> http://support.wdc.com/product/downloaddetail.asp?swid=119&type=download&wdc_lang=en

>

> "Mark Adams" wrote in message

> news:FB3A0D66-8006-4018-B87E-CD66EFDDDAA0@microsoft.com...

>>

>>

>> "bk3000" wrote:

>>

>>> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test,

>>> got

>>> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new

>>> one,

>>> which I'll have to self-install.

>>>

>>> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is,

>>> how

>>> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current

>>> hard

>>> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it

>>> all

>>> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should

>>> I go

>>> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do

>>> stuff

>>> manually?

>>

>> If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and a 1 TB

>> USB

>> hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an image of

>> your

>> computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell, restore

>> that

>> image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this way,

>> but it

>> is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.

>

 

[Big_Al]

Bob said this on 5/25/2010 11:25 AM:

> WD offers a free copy of Acronis if you own one of their drives.

> http://support.wdc.com/product/downloaddetail.asp?swid=119&type=download&wdc_lang=en

>

>

> "Mark Adams" wrote in message

> news:FB3A0D66-8006-4018-B87E-CD66EFDDDAA0@microsoft.com...

>>

>>

>> "bk3000" wrote:

>>

>>> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic

>>> test, got

>>> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a

>>> new one,

>>> which I'll have to self-install.

>>>

>>> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is,

>>> how

>>> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current

>>> hard

>>> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put

>>> it all

>>> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use?

>>> Should I go

>>> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do

>>> stuff

>>> manually?

>>

>> If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and a 1

>> TB USB

>> hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an image of

>> your

>> computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell,

>> restore that

>> image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this way,

>> but it

>> is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.

>



IIRC Acronis offers a free trial too for 15 days. You can use that

and if you like it buy it later.

I own Acronis now and use it regularly to make images on a 1TB usb and

feel good that I've got all my work backed up and can reset my machine

at any time in 20 minutes or so.

 

[Mark Adams]

"Alias" wrote:



> Mark Adams wrote:

> >

> >

> > "bk3000" wrote:

> >

> >> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test, got

> >> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new one,

> >> which I'll have to self-install.

> >>

> >> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how

> >> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard

> >> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it all

> >> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should I go

> >> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do stuff

> >> manually?

> >

> > If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and a 1 TB USB

> > hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an image of your

> > computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell, restore that

> > image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this way, but it

> > is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.

>

> You can also do the same thing for free with the CD you can download

> from Seagate, Western Digital, etc.

>

> --

> Alias

> .

>



Alias, Bob.



It's been awhile since I've used these utilities. Since I've gotten Acronis

I've not had to use them. I know they can clone drives, but can they make an

image? The OP has a laptop and since two hard drives cannot be installed at

the same time, a USB enclosure would be needed to clone to the new drive.

This would also eliminate the necessity of purchasing the external hard

drive. But, by buying Acronis and the USB drive, the OP could replace the

failing drive and also have a reliable backup system. Costs more, but now he

can backup everything all in one shot.

 

[Db]

if that dysfunctional hard

drive has bad sectors and

or other mechanical issues



then it highly likely that your

back up will be corrupted





--

--

db·´¯`·...¸>



DatabaseBen, Retired Professional



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This NNTP newsgroup is evolving to:



http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx





"bk3000" wrote in message

news:4F1681BB-8C1A-4F73-B71E-A20ED021EB1B@microsoft.com...

> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test,

> got

> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new

> one,

> which I'll have to self-install.

>

> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how

> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard

> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it

> all

> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should I

> go

> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do

> stuff

> manually?

 

[Alias]

Mark Adams wrote:

>

>

> "Alias" wrote:

>

>> Mark Adams wrote:

>>>

>>>

>>> "bk3000" wrote:

>>>

>>>> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test, got

>>>> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new one,

>>>> which I'll have to self-install.

>>>>

>>>> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how

>>>> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard

>>>> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it all

>>>> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should I go

>>>> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do stuff

>>>> manually?

>>>

>>> If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and a 1 TB USB

>>> hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an image of your

>>> computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell, restore that

>>> image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this way, but it

>>> is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.

>>

>> You can also do the same thing for free with the CD you can download

>> from Seagate, Western Digital, etc.

>>

>> --

>> Alias

>> .

>>

>

> Alias, Bob.

>

> It's been awhile since I've used these utilities. Since I've gotten Acronis

> I've not had to use them. I know they can clone drives, but can they make an

> image? The OP has a laptop and since two hard drives cannot be installed at

> the same time, a USB enclosure would be needed to clone to the new drive.

> This would also eliminate the necessity of purchasing the external hard

> drive. But, by buying Acronis and the USB drive, the OP could replace the

> failing drive and also have a reliable backup system. Costs more, but now he

> can backup everything all in one shot.



The one from Seagate will do an image. It's even powered by Acronis. I

don't have a Western Digital but I assume it's the same with them.



--

Alias

 

[bk3000]

Machine is still running, though theoretically it could irreparably crash at

any second, I've been told. It seemed close yesterday, in fact. Was

considering spending the $ for a USB or external hard drive; I have a few

flash drives but they won't be enough for the whole operation.



How about my internal backup HD? Would it be smart to backup anything

(documents, for instance) on there or even possible to use that as a

mirror/image location of some sort?



Also curious about commenter Db at the bottom of the thread making the point

about any bad sectors being recreated in any of these scenarios.



"Mark Adams" wrote:



>

>

> "Alias" wrote:

>

> > Mark Adams wrote:

> > >

> > >

> > > "bk3000" wrote:

> > >

> > >> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test, got

> > >> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new one,

> > >> which I'll have to self-install.

> > >>

> > >> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how

> > >> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard

> > >> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it all

> > >> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should I go

> > >> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do stuff

> > >> manually?

> > >

> > > If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and a 1 TB USB

> > > hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an image of your

> > > computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell, restore that

> > > image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this way, but it

> > > is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.

> >

> > You can also do the same thing for free with the CD you can download

> > from Seagate, Western Digital, etc.

> >

> > --

> > Alias

> > .

> >

>

> Alias, Bob.

>

> It's been awhile since I've used these utilities. Since I've gotten Acronis

> I've not had to use them. I know they can clone drives, but can they make an

> image? The OP has a laptop and since two hard drives cannot be installed at

> the same time, a USB enclosure would be needed to clone to the new drive.

> This would also eliminate the necessity of purchasing the external hard

> drive. But, by buying Acronis and the USB drive, the OP could replace the

> failing drive and also have a reliable backup system. Costs more, but now he

> can backup everything all in one shot.

 

[Bob]

"bk3000" wrote in message

news:B23A8AF6-D783-4752-88AA-2850EDE3F13E@microsoft.com...

> Machine is still running, though theoretically it could irreparably crash

> at

> any second, I've been told. It seemed close yesterday, in fact. Was

> considering spending the $ for a USB or external hard drive; I have a few

> flash drives but they won't be enough for the whole operation.

>

> How about my internal backup HD? Would it be smart to backup anything

> (documents, for instance) on there





***No.



or even possible to use that as a

> mirror/image location of some sort?

>

> Also curious about commenter Db at the bottom of the thread making the

> point

> about any bad sectors being recreated in any of these scenarios.

>

> "Mark Adams" wrote:

>

>>

>>

>> "Alias" wrote:

>>

>> > Mark Adams wrote:

>> > >

>> > >

>> > > "bk3000" wrote:

>> > >

>> > >> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic

>> > >> test, got

>> > >> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a

>> > >> new one,

>> > >> which I'll have to self-install.

>> > >>

>> > >> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question

>> > >> is, how

>> > >> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current

>> > >> hard

>> > >> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put

>> > >> it all

>> > >> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use?

>> > >> Should I go

>> > >> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or

>> > >> do stuff

>> > >> manually?

>> > >

>> > > If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and a 1

>> > > TB USB

>> > > hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an image of

>> > > your

>> > > computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell,

>> > > restore that

>> > > image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this

>> > > way, but it

>> > > is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.

>> >

>> > You can also do the same thing for free with the CD you can download

>> > from Seagate, Western Digital, etc.

>> >

>> > --

>> > Alias

>> > .

>> >

>>

>> Alias, Bob.

>>

>> It's been awhile since I've used these utilities. Since I've gotten

>> Acronis

>> I've not had to use them. I know they can clone drives, but can they make

>> an

>> image? The OP has a laptop and since two hard drives cannot be installed

>> at

>> the same time, a USB enclosure would be needed to clone to the new drive.

>> This would also eliminate the necessity of purchasing the external hard

>> drive. But, by buying Acronis and the USB drive, the OP could replace the

>> failing drive and also have a reliable backup system. Costs more, but now

>> he

>> can backup everything all in one shot.

 

[Mark Adams]

"bk3000" wrote:



> Machine is still running, though theoretically it could irreparably crash at

> any second, I've been told. It seemed close yesterday, in fact. Was

> considering spending the $ for a USB or external hard drive; I have a few

> flash drives but they won't be enough for the whole operation.

>

> How about my internal backup HD?





You said this was a laptop. Laptops only have one hard drive. You certainly

don't want to save anything to a separate partition of a hard drive that you

already know is failing.





>Would it be smart to backup anything

> (documents, for instance) on there or even possible to use that as a

> mirror/image location of some sort?

>



Backup images are saved as one large file. The flash drives would have to be

big enough to hold the whole file, or it won't work. You could manually copy

your documents, pictures, music, and export your email and browser bookmarks

to the flash drives if you have enough of them (I doubt it.) Cheaper to get a

USB hard drive. Alias says Seagate's utility will make an image; I assume it

can restore one to a new hard drive also. If so, you won't need the Acronis.



> Also curious about commenter Db at the bottom of the thread making the point

> about any bad sectors being recreated in any of these scenarios.

>



The bad sectors won't be recreated on the new drive, but any data on those

sectors is probably lost and won't copy to the new drive. This could include

critical operating system files and could crash or cause instability to the

OS.



> "Mark Adams" wrote:

>

> >

> >

> > "Alias" wrote:

> >

> > > Mark Adams wrote:

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > "bk3000" wrote:

> > > >

> > > >> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test, got

> > > >> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new one,

> > > >> which I'll have to self-install.

> > > >>

> > > >> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how

> > > >> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard

> > > >> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it all

> > > >> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should I go

> > > >> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do stuff

> > > >> manually?

> > > >

> > > > If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and a 1 TB USB

> > > > hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an image of your

> > > > computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell, restore that

> > > > image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this way, but it

> > > > is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.

> > >

> > > You can also do the same thing for free with the CD you can download

> > > from Seagate, Western Digital, etc.

> > >

> > > --

> > > Alias

> > > .

> > >

> >

> > Alias, Bob.

> >

> > It's been awhile since I've used these utilities. Since I've gotten Acronis

> > I've not had to use them. I know they can clone drives, but can they make an

> > image? The OP has a laptop and since two hard drives cannot be installed at

> > the same time, a USB enclosure would be needed to clone to the new drive.

> > This would also eliminate the necessity of purchasing the external hard

> > drive. But, by buying Acronis and the USB drive, the OP could replace the

> > failing drive and also have a reliable backup system. Costs more, but now he

> > can backup everything all in one shot.

 

[Percival P. Cassidy]

On 05/25/10 10:53 am, bk3000 wrote:



> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test, got

> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new one,

> which I'll have to self-install.

>

> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how

> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard

> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it all

> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should I go

> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do stuff

> manually?



Others have recommended Acronis True Image. I have used the free version

of Macrium Reflect, which seems to work well. The paid version does

more, but the free version is fine for most people.



Perce

 

[Alias]

Mark Adams wrote:

>

>

> "bk3000" wrote:

>

>> Machine is still running, though theoretically it could irreparably crash at

>> any second, I've been told. It seemed close yesterday, in fact. Was

>> considering spending the $ for a USB or external hard drive; I have a few

>> flash drives but they won't be enough for the whole operation.

>>

>> How about my internal backup HD?

>

>

> You said this was a laptop. Laptops only have one hard drive. You certainly

> don't want to save anything to a separate partition of a hard drive that you

> already know is failing.

>

>

>> Would it be smart to backup anything

>> (documents, for instance) on there or even possible to use that as a

>> mirror/image location of some sort?

>>

>

> Backup images are saved as one large file. The flash drives would have to be

> big enough to hold the whole file, or it won't work. You could manually copy

> your documents, pictures, music, and export your email and browser bookmarks

> to the flash drives if you have enough of them (I doubt it.) Cheaper to get a

> USB hard drive. Alias says Seagate's utility will make an image; I assume it

> can restore one to a new hard drive also. If so, you won't need the Acronis.

>

>> Also curious about commenter Db at the bottom of the thread making the point

>> about any bad sectors being recreated in any of these scenarios.

>>

>

> The bad sectors won't be recreated on the new drive, but any data on those

> sectors is probably lost and won't copy to the new drive. This could include

> critical operating system files and could crash or cause instability to the

> OS.



Sounds like his best bet would be to back up his data to external media

and reinstall XP when the new hard drive arrives. Course if all he has

is a recovery partition, he should ask the folks at Dell to provide him

with a CD/DVD.



--

Alias

 

[bk3000]

Mark, Alias, et al -



Really appreciate the feedback. I like the idea of having an at-the-ready

backup with an external hd, but it appears I could simply use the

Acronis-powered free download/trial version utility from WD or Seagate to

image the current hd and restore it to the new drive upon its' arrival. I'll

definitely take a peek at the current going rate for external hds, also

Acronis itself if I can't access the free version. I'm really not even going

to inquire further about cloning, which seems to be a more intensive

alternative/for different purposes than the imaging...?



My apologies about the mistaken identification of my separate PARTITION of

the hd as a second drive - confusing it with my older desktop, though I had

always thought they weren't part of the same hardware piece. Thanks for

catching it.



- Brian



"Mark Adams" wrote:



>

>

> "bk3000" wrote:

>

> > Machine is still running, though theoretically it could irreparably crash at

> > any second, I've been told. It seemed close yesterday, in fact. Was

> > considering spending the $ for a USB or external hard drive; I have a few

> > flash drives but they won't be enough for the whole operation.

> >

> > How about my internal backup HD?

>

>

> You said this was a laptop. Laptops only have one hard drive. You certainly

> don't want to save anything to a separate partition of a hard drive that you

> already know is failing.

>

>

> >Would it be smart to backup anything

> > (documents, for instance) on there or even possible to use that as a

> > mirror/image location of some sort?

> >

>

> Backup images are saved as one large file. The flash drives would have to be

> big enough to hold the whole file, or it won't work. You could manually copy

> your documents, pictures, music, and export your email and browser bookmarks

> to the flash drives if you have enough of them (I doubt it.) Cheaper to get a

> USB hard drive. Alias says Seagate's utility will make an image; I assume it

> can restore one to a new hard drive also. If so, you won't need the Acronis.

>

> > Also curious about commenter Db at the bottom of the thread making the point

> > about any bad sectors being recreated in any of these scenarios.

> >

>

> The bad sectors won't be recreated on the new drive, but any data on those

> sectors is probably lost and won't copy to the new drive. This could include

> critical operating system files and could crash or cause instability to the

> OS.

>

> > "Mark Adams" wrote:

> >

> > >

> > >

> > > "Alias" wrote:

> > >

> > > > Mark Adams wrote:

> > > > >

> > > > >

> > > > > "bk3000" wrote:

> > > > >

> > > > >> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test, got

> > > > >> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new one,

> > > > >> which I'll have to self-install.

> > > > >>

> > > > >> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how

> > > > >> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard

> > > > >> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it all

> > > > >> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should I go

> > > > >> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do stuff

> > > > >> manually?

> > > > >

> > > > > If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and a 1 TB USB

> > > > > hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an image of your

> > > > > computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell, restore that

> > > > > image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this way, but it

> > > > > is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.

> > > >

> > > > You can also do the same thing for free with the CD you can download

> > > > from Seagate, Western Digital, etc.

> > > >

> > > > --

> > > > Alias

> > > > .

> > > >

> > >

> > > Alias, Bob.

> > >

> > > It's been awhile since I've used these utilities. Since I've gotten Acronis

> > > I've not had to use them. I know they can clone drives, but can they make an

> > > image? The OP has a laptop and since two hard drives cannot be installed at

> > > the same time, a USB enclosure would be needed to clone to the new drive.

> > > This would also eliminate the necessity of purchasing the external hard

> > > drive. But, by buying Acronis and the USB drive, the OP could replace the

> > > failing drive and also have a reliable backup system. Costs more, but now he

> > > can backup everything all in one shot.

 

[Newman]

First things first...



Go here:



http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm



Buy SpinRite6. Download the ISO, and burn a bootable CD.



Boot your laptop, and run SPinRite6. Let it do its magic.



It *will* identify all bad sectors and, if at all possible, recover

information. This is all done underneath Windoze, so there will be no

interference from Micro$haft. SpinRite6 will also detect secors which

hare about to go bad, but which have not yet gone bad!



Since some files may be damaged beyond repair, I highly recommend that

you to a clean install on your new hard drive.



Since your drive is not in good shape, once the diagnostic is

completed, be aware that other sectors may go bad. Failure is measured

as MTBF - mean time between failure. So... the more power-up hours,

the greater the probability of failure. In non-vulcan English - don't

run this drive unless you absolutely have to! It's condition is likely

to deteriorate. Run it to correct existing errors, to copy data off

of, and to wipe clean.





Once your clean install is up and running, buy one of these:



http://www.a-power.com/product-9403-817-1



or something similar.



Plug it in, and copy your data directly onto your new hard drive from

your old hard drive.



Once you have everything, and you are sure all is well, I would use

the drive manufacturers utility and zero-fill the drive to erase all

your personal files. THEN return the drive to Dell. Remember, you have

to return the old drive or they will bill you for the new drive.



When all is again running properly, you can buy a regular 5 inch drive

for cheap, likely 1.5 TB for less than $150) and you can plug it in to

the usb adapter. You can then use all manner of freeware to create

back-up images galore so that the next time this happens, you wont be

between a rock and a hard data bit.



Good luck.











On Tue, 25 May 2010 07:53:00 -0700, bk3000

wrote:



>I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test, got

>error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new one,

>which I'll have to self-install.

>

>I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how

>should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard

>drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it all

>there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should I go

>to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do stuff

>manually?

 

[Newman]

You can download a program from the Dell web site which allows you to

re-create the diagnostic partition.



Talk to Dell, they will walk you through it.







On Tue, 25 May 2010 20:53:52 +0200, Alias

wrote:



>Mark Adams wrote:

>>

>>

>> "bk3000" wrote:

>>

>>> Machine is still running, though theoretically it could irreparably crash at

>>> any second, I've been told. It seemed close yesterday, in fact. Was

>>> considering spending the $ for a USB or external hard drive; I have a few

>>> flash drives but they won't be enough for the whole operation.

>>>

>>> How about my internal backup HD?

>>

>>

>> You said this was a laptop. Laptops only have one hard drive. You certainly

>> don't want to save anything to a separate partition of a hard drive that you

>> already know is failing.

>>

>>

>>> Would it be smart to backup anything

>>> (documents, for instance) on there or even possible to use that as a

>>> mirror/image location of some sort?

>>>

>>

>> Backup images are saved as one large file. The flash drives would have to be

>> big enough to hold the whole file, or it won't work. You could manually copy

>> your documents, pictures, music, and export your email and browser bookmarks

>> to the flash drives if you have enough of them (I doubt it.) Cheaper to get a

>> USB hard drive. Alias says Seagate's utility will make an image; I assume it

>> can restore one to a new hard drive also. If so, you won't need the Acronis.

>>

>>> Also curious about commenter Db at the bottom of the thread making the point

>>> about any bad sectors being recreated in any of these scenarios.

>>>

>>

>> The bad sectors won't be recreated on the new drive, but any data on those

>> sectors is probably lost and won't copy to the new drive. This could include

>> critical operating system files and could crash or cause instability to the

>> OS.

>

>Sounds like his best bet would be to back up his data to external media

>and reinstall XP when the new hard drive arrives. Course if all he has

>is a recovery partition, he should ask the folks at Dell to provide him

>with a CD/DVD.

 

[SC Tom]

The ATI versions from WD and Seagate are not trial versions; they are

working versions to create and restore images with no time or file size

restrictions. They do NOT have all the features of the retail version such

as incremental backups, and I don't believe they have scheduling either. I

have used the free WD version a few times now on my desktop and different

notebooks with no problems at all. I create an image, at the least, once a

month, and it has saved me personally twice- once on my desktop, and once on

my notebook after it took an uncontrolled flight off the end table. I've

tried two other imaging programs, and was not nearly as satisfied with them

as I am with Acronis. Of course, that's just me, but I love simple, easy,

and free

--

SC Tom



"bk3000" wrote in message

news:1B45603E-6356-4B99-BB8D-965F214C137F@microsoft.com...

>

> Mark, Alias, et al -

>

> Really appreciate the feedback. I like the idea of having an at-the-ready

> backup with an external hd, but it appears I could simply use the

> Acronis-powered free download/trial version utility from WD or Seagate to

> image the current hd and restore it to the new drive upon its' arrival.

> I'll

> definitely take a peek at the current going rate for external hds, also

> Acronis itself if I can't access the free version. I'm really not even

> going

> to inquire further about cloning, which seems to be a more intensive

> alternative/for different purposes than the imaging...?

>

> My apologies about the mistaken identification of my separate PARTITION of

> the hd as a second drive - confusing it with my older desktop, though I

> had

> always thought they weren't part of the same hardware piece. Thanks for

> catching it.

>

> - Brian

>

> "Mark Adams" wrote:

>

>>

>>

>> "bk3000" wrote:

>>

>> > Machine is still running, though theoretically it could irreparably

>> > crash at

>> > any second, I've been told. It seemed close yesterday, in fact. Was

>> > considering spending the $ for a USB or external hard drive; I have a

>> > few

>> > flash drives but they won't be enough for the whole operation.

>> >

>> > How about my internal backup HD?

>>

>>

>> You said this was a laptop. Laptops only have one hard drive. You

>> certainly

>> don't want to save anything to a separate partition of a hard drive that

>> you

>> already know is failing.

>>

>>

>> >Would it be smart to backup anything

>> > (documents, for instance) on there or even possible to use that as a

>> > mirror/image location of some sort?

>> >

>>

>> Backup images are saved as one large file. The flash drives would have to

>> be

>> big enough to hold the whole file, or it won't work. You could manually

>> copy

>> your documents, pictures, music, and export your email and browser

>> bookmarks

>> to the flash drives if you have enough of them (I doubt it.) Cheaper to

>> get a

>> USB hard drive. Alias says Seagate's utility will make an image; I assume

>> it

>> can restore one to a new hard drive also. If so, you won't need the

>> Acronis.

>>

>> > Also curious about commenter Db at the bottom of the thread making the

>> > point

>> > about any bad sectors being recreated in any of these scenarios.

>> >

>>

>> The bad sectors won't be recreated on the new drive, but any data on

>> those

>> sectors is probably lost and won't copy to the new drive. This could

>> include

>> critical operating system files and could crash or cause instability to

>> the

>> OS.

>>

>> > "Mark Adams" wrote:

>> >

>> > >

>> > >

>> > > "Alias" wrote:

>> > >

>> > > > Mark Adams wrote:

>> > > > >

>> > > > >

>> > > > > "bk3000" wrote:

>> > > > >

>> > > > >> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a

>> > > > >> diagnostic test, got

>> > > > >> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending

>> > > > >> me a new one,

>> > > > >> which I'll have to self-install.

>> > > > >>

>> > > > >> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my

>> > > > >> question is, how

>> > > > >> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the

>> > > > >> current hard

>> > > > >> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should

>> > > > >> put it all

>> > > > >> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I

>> > > > >> use? Should I go

>> > > > >> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option

>> > > > >> or do stuff

>> > > > >> manually?

>> > > > >

>> > > > > If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and

>> > > > > a 1 TB USB

>> > > > > hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an

>> > > > > image of your

>> > > > > computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell,

>> > > > > restore that

>> > > > > image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this

>> > > > > way, but it

>> > > > > is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.

>> > > >

>> > > > You can also do the same thing for free with the CD you can

>> > > > download

>> > > > from Seagate, Western Digital, etc.

>> > > >

>> > > > --

>> > > > Alias

>> > > > .

>> > > >

>> > >

>> > > Alias, Bob.

>> > >

>> > > It's been awhile since I've used these utilities. Since I've gotten

>> > > Acronis

>> > > I've not had to use them. I know they can clone drives, but can they

>> > > make an

>> > > image? The OP has a laptop and since two hard drives cannot be

>> > > installed at

>> > > the same time, a USB enclosure would be needed to clone to the new

>> > > drive.

>> > > This would also eliminate the necessity of purchasing the external

>> > > hard

>> > > drive. But, by buying Acronis and the USB drive, the OP could replace

>> > > the

>> > > failing drive and also have a reliable backup system. Costs more, but

>> > > now he

>> > > can backup everything all in one shot.

 

[Mark Adams]

"bk3000" wrote:



> Mark, Alias, et al -

>

> Really appreciate the feedback. I like the idea of having an at-the-ready

> backup with an external hd, but it appears I could simply use the

> Acronis-powered free download/trial version utility from WD or Seagate to

> image the current hd and restore it to the new drive upon its' arrival. I'll

> definitely take a peek at the current going rate for external hds, also

> Acronis itself if I can't access the free version. I'm really not even going

> to inquire further about cloning, which seems to be a more intensive

> alternative/for different purposes than the imaging...?

>





If you do not buy the external hard drive, you will have to clone the old

hard drive to the new one. You will have to buy a 2.5 inch USB hard drive

enclosure to do this. Download the utility from the website of the maker of

the new drive to your desktop machine and burn a bootable CD from the

download file. Put the new hard drive in the USB enclosure and connect to the

laptop. Boot the laptop to the CD you just made and clone the old drive to

the new one. When done, remove the CD from the drive and shut the laptop

down. Remove the old hard drive from the laptop and replace it with the new

one, and you should be good to go. Keep the old drive for awhile until you

are satisfied that all is well with the new installation.



If you do buy the external drive, use the bootable disk to save an image of

the old drive to the external drive. Then, put the new hard drive into the

laptop and use the CD to restore the image to the new drive. You will now

have a backup image safely stored on the external drive, and the laptop

should be good to go.



Acronis can do both of these functions and can also be installed to your

machine and make incrimental backups to the USB drive while Windows is

running. You can schedule those backups to be made at night while you are

asleep. A very useful program.





> My apologies about the mistaken identification of my separate PARTITION of

> the hd as a second drive - confusing it with my older desktop, though I had

> always thought they weren't part of the same hardware piece. Thanks for

> catching it.

>

> - Brian

>

> "Mark Adams" wrote:

>

> >

> >

> > "bk3000" wrote:

> >

> > > Machine is still running, though theoretically it could irreparably crash at

> > > any second, I've been told. It seemed close yesterday, in fact. Was

> > > considering spending the $ for a USB or external hard drive; I have a few

> > > flash drives but they won't be enough for the whole operation.

> > >

> > > How about my internal backup HD?

> >

> >

> > You said this was a laptop. Laptops only have one hard drive. You certainly

> > don't want to save anything to a separate partition of a hard drive that you

> > already know is failing.

> >

> >

> > >Would it be smart to backup anything

> > > (documents, for instance) on there or even possible to use that as a

> > > mirror/image location of some sort?

> > >

> >

> > Backup images are saved as one large file. The flash drives would have to be

> > big enough to hold the whole file, or it won't work. You could manually copy

> > your documents, pictures, music, and export your email and browser bookmarks

> > to the flash drives if you have enough of them (I doubt it.) Cheaper to get a

> > USB hard drive. Alias says Seagate's utility will make an image; I assume it

> > can restore one to a new hard drive also. If so, you won't need the Acronis.

> >

> > > Also curious about commenter Db at the bottom of the thread making the point

> > > about any bad sectors being recreated in any of these scenarios.

> > >

> >

> > The bad sectors won't be recreated on the new drive, but any data on those

> > sectors is probably lost and won't copy to the new drive. This could include

> > critical operating system files and could crash or cause instability to the

> > OS.

> >

> > > "Mark Adams" wrote:

> > >

> > > >

> > > >

> > > > "Alias" wrote:

> > > >

> > > > > Mark Adams wrote:

> > > > > >

> > > > > >

> > > > > > "bk3000" wrote:

> > > > > >

> > > > > >> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test, got

> > > > > >> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new one,

> > > > > >> which I'll have to self-install.

> > > > > >>

> > > > > >> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how

> > > > > >> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard

> > > > > >> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it all

> > > > > >> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should I go

> > > > > >> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do stuff

> > > > > >> manually?

> > > > > >

> > > > > > If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and a 1 TB USB

> > > > > > hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an image of your

> > > > > > computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell, restore that

> > > > > > image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this way, but it

> > > > > > is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.

> > > > >

> > > > > You can also do the same thing for free with the CD you can download

> > > > > from Seagate, Western Digital, etc.

> > > > >

> > > > > --

> > > > > Alias

> > > > > .

> > > > >

> > > >

> > > > Alias, Bob.

> > > >

> > > > It's been awhile since I've used these utilities. Since I've gotten Acronis

> > > > I've not had to use them. I know they can clone drives, but can they make an

> > > > image? The OP has a laptop and since two hard drives cannot be installed at

> > > > the same time, a USB enclosure would be needed to clone to the new drive.

> > > > This would also eliminate the necessity of purchasing the external hard

> > > > drive. But, by buying Acronis and the USB drive, the OP could replace the

> > > > failing drive and also have a reliable backup system. Costs more, but now he

> > > > can backup everything all in one shot.

 

[Roy Smith]

One comment that bears mentioning about these free backup programs from

Seagate/Maxtor and Western Digital... these programs have one stipulation

in that you are required to have a drive from the respective manufacturer,

or the program won't run. The program is basically Acronis True Image Home

with several of the retail features removed such as incremental backups,

scheduling, and the ability to mount a backup archive as a drive to name a

few. The programs are available at:



Maxtor:

http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.j...toid=7add8b9c4a8ff010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD

Seagate:

http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.j...toid=d9fd4a3cdde5c010VgnVCM100000dd04090aRCRD

Western Digital:

http://support.wdc.com/product/downloaddetail.asp?swid=119&wdc_lang=en



(The Maxtor and Seagate lines may be word-wrapped)





"Mark Adams" wrote in message

news:6848B6CE-6428-4307-B780-3F8508662E12@microsoft.com...

>

>

> "bk3000" wrote:

>

>> Mark, Alias, et al -

>>

>> Really appreciate the feedback. I like the idea of having an at-the-ready

>> backup with an external hd, but it appears I could simply use the

>> Acronis-powered free download/trial version utility from WD or Seagate to

>> image the current hd and restore it to the new drive upon its' arrival.

>> I'll

>> definitely take a peek at the current going rate for external hds, also

>> Acronis itself if I can't access the free version. I'm really not even

>> going

>> to inquire further about cloning, which seems to be a more intensive

>> alternative/for different purposes than the imaging...?

>>

>

>

> If you do not buy the external hard drive, you will have to clone the old

> hard drive to the new one. You will have to buy a 2.5 inch USB hard drive

> enclosure to do this. Download the utility from the website of the maker

> of

> the new drive to your desktop machine and burn a bootable CD from the

> download file. Put the new hard drive in the USB enclosure and connect to

> the

> laptop. Boot the laptop to the CD you just made and clone the old drive to

> the new one. When done, remove the CD from the drive and shut the laptop

> down. Remove the old hard drive from the laptop and replace it with the

> new

> one, and you should be good to go. Keep the old drive for awhile until you

> are satisfied that all is well with the new installation.

>

> If you do buy the external drive, use the bootable disk to save an image

> of

> the old drive to the external drive. Then, put the new hard drive into the

> laptop and use the CD to restore the image to the new drive. You will now

> have a backup image safely stored on the external drive, and the laptop

> should be good to go.

>

> Acronis can do both of these functions and can also be installed to your

> machine and make incrimental backups to the USB drive while Windows is

> running. You can schedule those backups to be made at night while you are

> asleep. A very useful program.

>

>

>> My apologies about the mistaken identification of my separate PARTITION

>> of

>> the hd as a second drive - confusing it with my older desktop, though I

>> had

>> always thought they weren't part of the same hardware piece. Thanks for

>> catching it.

>>

>> - Brian

>>

>> "Mark Adams" wrote:

>>

>> >

>> >

>> > "bk3000" wrote:

>> >

>> > > Machine is still running, though theoretically it could irreparably

>> > > crash at

>> > > any second, I've been told. It seemed close yesterday, in fact. Was

>> > > considering spending the $ for a USB or external hard drive; I have a

>> > > few

>> > > flash drives but they won't be enough for the whole operation.

>> > >

>> > > How about my internal backup HD?

>> >

>> >

>> > You said this was a laptop. Laptops only have one hard drive. You

>> > certainly

>> > don't want to save anything to a separate partition of a hard drive

>> > that you

>> > already know is failing.

>> >

>> >

>> > >Would it be smart to backup anything

>> > > (documents, for instance) on there or even possible to use that as a

>> > > mirror/image location of some sort?

>> > >

>> >

>> > Backup images are saved as one large file. The flash drives would have

>> > to be

>> > big enough to hold the whole file, or it won't work. You could manually

>> > copy

>> > your documents, pictures, music, and export your email and browser

>> > bookmarks

>> > to the flash drives if you have enough of them (I doubt it.) Cheaper to

>> > get a

>> > USB hard drive. Alias says Seagate's utility will make an image; I

>> > assume it

>> > can restore one to a new hard drive also. If so, you won't need the

>> > Acronis.

>> >

>> > > Also curious about commenter Db at the bottom of the thread making

>> > > the point

>> > > about any bad sectors being recreated in any of these scenarios.

>> > >

>> >

>> > The bad sectors won't be recreated on the new drive, but any data on

>> > those

>> > sectors is probably lost and won't copy to the new drive. This could

>> > include

>> > critical operating system files and could crash or cause instability to

>> > the

>> > OS.

>> >

>> > > "Mark Adams" wrote:

>> > >

>> > > >

>> > > >

>> > > > "Alias" wrote:

>> > > >

>> > > > > Mark Adams wrote:

>> > > > > >

>> > > > > >

>> > > > > > "bk3000" wrote:

>> > > > > >

>> > > > > >> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a

>> > > > > >> diagnostic test, got

>> > > > > >> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending

>> > > > > >> me a new one,

>> > > > > >> which I'll have to self-install.

>> > > > > >>

>> > > > > >> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my

>> > > > > >> question is, how

>> > > > > >> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the

>> > > > > >> current hard

>> > > > > >> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I

>> > > > > >> should put it all

>> > > > > >> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I

>> > > > > >> use? Should I go

>> > > > > >> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup

>> > > > > >> option or do stuff

>> > > > > >> manually?

>> > > > > >

>> > > > > > If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image

>> > > > > > and a 1 TB USB

>> > > > > > hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an

>> > > > > > image of your

>> > > > > > computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from

>> > > > > > Dell, restore that

>> > > > > > image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it

>> > > > > > this way, but it

>> > > > > > is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.

>> > > > >

>> > > > > You can also do the same thing for free with the CD you can

>> > > > > download

>> > > > > from Seagate, Western Digital, etc.

>> > > > >

>> > > > > --

>> > > > > Alias

>> > > > > .

>> > > > >

>> > > >

>> > > > Alias, Bob.

>> > > >

>> > > > It's been awhile since I've used these utilities. Since I've gotten

>> > > > Acronis

>> > > > I've not had to use them. I know they can clone drives, but can

>> > > > they make an

>> > > > image? The OP has a laptop and since two hard drives cannot be

>> > > > installed at

>> > > > the same time, a USB enclosure would be needed to clone to the new

>> > > > drive.

>> > > > This would also eliminate the necessity of purchasing the external

>> > > > hard

>> > > > drive. But, by buying Acronis and the USB drive, the OP could

>> > > > replace the

>> > > > failing drive and also have a reliable backup system. Costs more,

>> > > > but now he

>> > > > can backup everything all in one shot.