Cloning Your Hard Drive... Software Suggestion

[davegee]

Bert,

In my case (on an XP PC) I originally had a Wireless Mouse and Keyboard which were not active when the Boot Disc (Memory Key) was used.

I had to use a USB Wired Mouse during the Restore.

I now use Wired Mice and Keyboards exclusively.

DG

[Bert]

Hi Dave,

I have a wired mouse and keyboard, but they do not work with my Boot Disc or repair disc. For the boot disc, the next button was always highlighted and I could click Enter all the time to reboot.

For the repair disc there where different options, repair was highlighted, but if I clicked on one of the arrows on my keyboard, it became un-highlighted and nothing else could be highlighted anymore, could also not go back to the repair option.

Bert

[cjdnzl]

Just a small point, most of the last several posts have been about cloning the C: drive whereas the original discussion was about imaging the C: drive to a backup file. Has anyone any experience of imaging a window 7 or 8 drive and then restoring it? Are there any curlies like the drive letter problem linked to by Lin?

I think if my new win 7 machine crashed with a u/s C: drive, I would probably walk away from computing, such was the hassle in getting the machine to use a mixture of 32-bit applications that were on my old XP machine and 64-bit application updates for some of them.

And, I have to say that my old XP computer was comparatively simple and hassle-free compared to this win 7 device.

Colin

[Barry Beckham]

Don't forget smart technology. Last tme I had a drive failing, the PC told me before it failed. On that occasion it wasn't the C drive, but one of the other storage drives, but I was impressed with how the S.M.A.R.T. techie stuff worked

[nobeefstu]

Bert,

I have a wired mouse and keyboard, but they do not work with my Boot Disc or repair disc. For the boot disc, the next button was always highlighted and I could click Enter all the time to reboot.
For the repair disc there where different options, repair was highlighted, but if I clicked on one of the arrows on my keyboard, it became un-highlighted and nothing else could be highlighted anymore, could also not go back to the repair option.

Its very possible that your BIOS (PC System Setup) - USB Configuration setting is not enabled for USB Legacy Support. You would have to verify this setting from within the BIOS menu ... you cannot adjust these BIOS settings from within Windows. Generally this setting is enabled in the BIOS as default ... unless the system builder has modified it so as not to interfere with other modified/added hardware configurations.

excerpt from MS Support :

This behavior occurs because you cannot use a USB keyboard or mouse in MS-DOS mode without BIOS USB legacy support because the operating system uses the BIOS for device input; without USB legacy support, USB input devices do not work.

The operating system disables USB legacy support for 32-bit USB drivers to work. Windows typically re-enables USB legacy support when you restart your computer in MS-DOS mode unless the USB Host Controller resources have changed from the values that were assigned during Startup.

*I would first test with other mice and keyboards if available from friends and family.

* Many people are hesitant ( rightfully so) to enter their BIOS menu and make changes. It does require caution and knowledge of its settings when making any changes and how to restore/return them if issues arises.

[nobeefstu]

Colin

Has anyone any experience of imaging a window 7 or 8 drive and then restoring it? Are there any curlies like the drive letter problem linked to by Lin?

I have not had any issues restoring the saved image onto the same original HDD drive or a new HDD. My 1 HDD has 1 primary partition and 4 logical drive/partitions When restoring to the new HDD ... I just make sure the MBR (Master Boot Record) setting is also written, whereas with restoring the saved image file to the same original HDD drive I donot need to.

* I usually only restore the C Drive partition and leave the other 4 drive/partitions as they are.

* When doing a new HDD drive .... I of course have to restore/add the additional 4 drive/partitions image files to make it complete copy. ( If I restore only 3 of the drive/partitions image files ... I would need to define the unallocated space left unused into a new partition. Either thru Windows Drive Manager .... but I prefer to use Paragon Partition Manager that has many features above Windows)

[Bob16]

http://www.farstone.com/software/Drive-Clone.php

Lin,

Thank you very much. This is very timely for me.

Bob