using disk director to clone win XP disks
I'd like to use Disk director to make clones of win XP disks.
Sure, everyone join in and say use true image.
I've tried that - the result is a disk that only boots with a floppy disk.
Also TI will not clone from a larger disk to a smaller disk even if the used space on the original is less than half the space of the target disk, e.g. original disk is 320GB with 48GB used and target disk is 100GB with nothing on it. TI will just sit there and not allow me to select a target disk.
So i kind of need to use disk director, but getting the MBR correct, and ensuring there are no BOOT.INI or HAL.DLL issues are a rean pain.
any help?? If someone knows a process that will catch and correct the above errors before first boot, that wold be helpful. Using Win XP, on a ThinkPad T30, with both disks internal - no usb enclosures (Thinkpad T series have 2nd HDD ultrabays). Since the partitons copy, the basic problem is getting the new active C: partiton to be bootable in XP.
Mudcrab I will post some screen images when i get off duty and get back to my room. I am not a newbie with PCs I know them pretty well being an IT professional and having done everything from designing databases and WANs to running ARCNet wires. Yeah, ARCnet.
ThinkPad T30 - Yes, only 2 bays so 1 HDD & 1 CD or 2 HDDs I don't have a USB drive enclosure (and PATA ones are hard to find), but i could find one if it streamlines things like allowing a TO backup then restore using a boot CD.
I may also be able to find the old full size thinkpad T20 - T30 series dock. Those things had an additional IDE channel ( additional ultrabay) where i could put the CD in - but that's REALLY hard to find and they're not cheap.
The T30 should support booting from a USB flash drive, because it boots USB floppies just fine. I don't have the necessary boot files, but can install them onto one of my 8 sticks if provided a link.
No difference in geometry. I have used DD to 'clone' before sucessfully, but since it re-boots without letting you stop, it causes boot.ini and hal.dll issues. It is quite flexible, allowing me to custom size the primary and IBM restore partitions., but the result is a HDD that won't boot because DD reboots itself when finished. If i could map out a process of using DD i would have no problems since it is similar to the old partition magic (which i stll use on Win98 ThinkPad T22s) and i can easily copy partitions from 1 HDD to another. In fact the 320 GB that I am trying to clone onto a 100GB is a 'clone' i made off my original 100GB. When True image wouldn't let me get past the target drive selection, i then decided to clone 320GB to 320GB. That resulted in a cloned HDD that will not boot by itself but will boot with a win xp boot floppy !?!?!
Only thing i refuse to do is boot my original Hitachi 100GB disk or the working WDC 320GB in the thinkpad secondary bay since i do not want windoze to mess those disk's MBRs.
Perhaps I could use DD but power off before the re-boot when it finished copying all the partitions - IF i am watching the screens. I could then take out the target disk, reboot my original to make sure it is still good, then power down again and swap in the new HDD.
Are you using DD 11?
Doing a power-off on the reboot is certainly something you could try and something I was going to suggest. It might work and wouldn't hurt anything. There isn't the "reboot" issue when using the boot media (one of the reasons it's recommended). Note that you should be able to power-off at the BIOS screen or around there (you don't have to do it while DD is still running -- just after it exits and before Windows would try to load).
You shouldn't need to boot the original drive from the second bay. The thing is that there can sometimes be problems when cloning in Windows as opposed to using the boot media. However, since you done it successfully before it sounds more like there's just something wrong in this partitular configuration instead of with the system itself.
TI and DD can both create the flash drive media. You'd have to try it and see if it would boot. Some older systems don't like booting from today's "current" HDD-type USB devices (they want USB-FD, USB-HDD, USB-ZIP, etc.). Nice if it would work, though. If the computer would support it and the Acronis Media Builder program doesn't create it correctly, there are fixes this that can be tried. One method I use a lot is Grub4DOS.
For the 320GB drive that will run okay but only boot using the floppy, have you checked that the correct partition is Active? Also, have you booted to the XP Recovery Console and run "fixmbr" and "fixboot"? What happens exactly when you try to boot it?
You know i THOUGHT the newly cloned 320GB had an active partition, I'll check that. this afternoon
disk director version - can't remember I'll have to check. It's a retail box.
I'll also try to make an acronis USB boot stick.
Thanks.
I am using disk director v 10.0. I registered on acronis web site and that's what my serial number tells me. I'm sure its correct.
Is there a reason i should get v11?
Actually, DD 10 will probably be better for you. DD 11 doesn't yet allow you to edit files. This makes DD 10 nicer for fixing boot.ini and things like that. I still use DD 10 a lot more than 11.
Do you have a Windows 7 DVD or Repair Disc? Either of those could also be used to repair the MBR and Boot Sector code. Instructions can be provided.
Disk Management is the Windows disk management utility. It's limited in features, but does the basics. You can get to it by right-clicking on My Computer, selecting Manage, and then clicking on Disk management.
"chkdsk /r" makes it check the file system and scan the entire drive for bad sectors. For example, chkdsk c: /r
I don't think there's anything wrong with the drive sizes you're using. Something else is going on. It should work.
OK, disk management - well hidden. And to think I've been suffering with Diskpart all these years!
I'm running XP, so no win 7 and no repair disc, because these Thinkpads came with recovery CDs not 'real' xp installation CDs. I'm looking for an XP install CD. Maybe my G6 staff will help me out.
I don't think there any bad sectors on the drive, and i have a disk util to check. My logic - well if there were any, then it would not have copied the 48 GB the first time on the 100GC and the 320 - well that works it just won't boot by itself. Maybe it thinks is still on PC-DOS 2.11 and needs the floppy !!!
I also bought a USB enclosure for the original disk so i can boot the bootable CD that i plan to make and then run DD 10 on the drives.
MudCrab, how do you use DD to browse / edit files? Do you have to have booted from the CD or USB flash?? Because if i boot the OS, i can just move files around between the drives with windows explorrer or the command line.
Of course doing that will hose the now D: drive ... because of it being booted as D:...
Have I said microsoft sucks and win blows yet????? maybe i should have started off with that.
I also found this kb article, which might be at the core of my booting issues: http://kb.acronis.com/content/1515 I'm going to wipe both target disks using the instructions i found here, and then try again... The hated DISKPART actually has a useful function after all!!!
Bad sectors are just something to check. They can sometimes cause problems, but I doubt that's the case here. You can also check by running a normal chkdsk /f on the partition and looking at the file report/summary. It will list if there are any currently marked.
In DD 10 you use Manual Mode and then select the partition and then select Explore.
What is the HAL error you keep talking about? It's not making sense to me why you would get a HAL error doing what you're trying to do.
The error message is HAL.DLL is missing or corrupt. As usual it's masking a different problem typical of ms poor error messages. There are hundreds of pages on the internet on it. It usually is a result of an incorrect boot.ini file!
I'm downloading the bootable media DD10 image, and will try booting from a CD...
Latest:
I made two boot CDs they work, but this forces me to use 1 HDD in a USB enclosure, which i have done. Iintially neither windoze of arconis on a CD boot could see the HDD in the USD, so i direct connected it bypassing the 4 port hub. That allowed the acronis boot CD to see the HDD in the enclosure. and i kicked off a clone operation.
But, it is SLOOOOOOOOWWW with USB 1.1. started at 0300, still running now, expected to take over 12 hours to finish.
I also made a USB flash drive bootable stick, but it won't boot. Maybe i had too many USB devices attached. I'll direct connect it to the machine and see if that helps. If it does then I should be good to go, because then the two HDDs would be in their native bays.
Failing that I hunted down 2 Original ThinkPad Dock Is with the intregal ultrabay. These will allow me to boot the CD in the dock's ultrabay and leave the HDDs in their regular bays.
Could not get TI to clone 320 GB to 100 GB. the 100 GB is still greyed out. I think this is because of the restore partition on the 320 GB being at the end of the drive. I can make some tests after the 12 hour marathon is done (that's ruunning in my hotel room, while i'm at work).
This may now be a moot issue since i THINK I found out the reason why true image 11 would not let me select a smaller target HDD in its clone function. I originally bought DD because i read that TI would not clone larger to smaller. I have to hit the road, but will post findings probably tomorrow.
Here's the final report:
First i cleared all system unit and HDD passwords- i don't think they mattered, but it was a possibility, especially if i booted the user PWs and the disks needed partition table updating.
Yes booting with the bootable CD i made and having the new / target disk in the IDE master bay and the original disk in a USB (if you have no other internal HDD bays) is the SAFEST method but it is also the SLOWEST, especialy if your machine only has USB 1.1 (which my ThinkPad T30s have).
It took OVER 15 HOURS to complete a 350 GB clone.
However, that was not the problem. I believe the problem was not "cleaning" the new / target HDDs in the manner necessary. Either DISKPART / CLEAN followed by an initialize or the ATI Add New disk routine must be performed.
Well after the 15 hour marathon, I made 6 sucessful clones while running windows with the following configuration:
Original disk in master IDE bay
Target disk is ThinkPad ultra (secondary IDE) bay
Boot method Windows then run ATI from windows
Yes, that's 6 in a row, i performed DiskPart / Clean on 3 and ATI Add Disk on 3; both methods work and allow cloning from larger to smaller (which is what i really wanted to do!!!) Each took an hour or so to complete.
note, i cannot boot from a USB stick - the T30 does not have that cabability so it's boot TI CD or boot windows.
I will grant this - Adronis TI is actually a powerful product that works through several annoying things that micosoft has done with XP. I do commend you on its functionality - the user interface could stand some refinement, and the users well, i can't seem to be able to downlod it, but again very good product.
I have ATI 2012 and I don't have a clue where to find "initialize or the ATI Add New disk routine must be performed" I too would like to clone a larger disk (with much smaller actual data) into a smaller disk (but with plenty of space for the Drives needed to duplicate...both are Win7. Thanks for the great discussion gentlemen.