Restoring to a larger drive
I am unsure how best to proceed having just completed a True Image 9.0 restore from a 250 GB drive to a 500 GB drive (Windows XP SP2). The restore was successful, my computer appears to be fully functional (see 2-b) but I have two concerns:
1- Windows reports the new 500 GB drive is 250 GB, not 500 GB.
2- I followed the steps in http://kb.acronis.com/content/1710 ("HPA Makes the Cloned Drive Display Wrong Capacity")
a) I ran the feature tool successfully but was surprised it reported the new 500 GB Hitachi Deskstar drive was already set a "Maximum Capacity" (I thought I was going to have to change it from a smaller value to Max.)
b) I then tried to run the XP Recovery Console to do a fixmbr and fixboot BUT after pressing R to get into Recovery Console (from the Window boot CD) I get the message"
"Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed on your computer"... which I find disturbing since I obviously don't want to live with a system for which Recovery Console fails.
At this point I figured I better explore this forum which I was unfamiliar with.
I discovered there is a 37 page PDF in the Sticky section ("PDF Guide: Upgrading to a Larger Hard drive" and I found a previous post with a suggestion to do the TI restore without the MBR partition.
My question is - How should I now proceed?
1- Somehow fix my current installation so Recovery Console works and then use the fixmbr, fixboot commands?
2- Start over again from my full backup of C_backup.tib on my external USB drive and follow the directions in the PDF file (which I plan on reading thoroughly first !)
3- Just do the restore again without the MBR?
If I follow 2 (or 3) is there any preparation I need to do of the currently installed 500 GB drive (formatting it, deleting something) or is it ready to go as is?
Thanks in advance for your help,
Ken
Mark,
Windows Disk Management shows Drive C is 250 GB (and is 'Healthy').
My computer is a Dell Dimension 8400. In 2004 it came installed with two SATA drives. These are the original 150 Mbps SATA drives (I think they are referred to sometimes as SATA-150). The Hitachi 500 GB drive I bought to replace drive C is rated at 300 Mbps. The salesman at Fry's told me this would not be a problem and it would run at 150... is this part of my problem?
I am using the Dell CD "Reinstallation CD" that came with my computer. It is for the 2004 XP Home Edition Service Pack 1a. I have since upgraded to SP2. Could this be a problem?
Another concern: When in TI Recovery Manager Acronis Secure Zone reports that Disk 1 is 465.8 GB ATA Hitachi... but that the interface is SCSI?
(It also reports my second disk interface is SCSI). Is this a problem too, or should I ignore it. Windows Disk Management reports both drives are NTFS, which is what I want.
I should also mention that a few days ago I was using Recovery Console with my original 250 GB drive and Recovery Console was working properly at that time. So, I don't understand why Recovery Console doesn't see my SATA drives
And... wondering what to do next ?
Thanks Mark,
Ken
Ken:
That's the exact same model Dell PC that I'm using. These machines do not use an HPA as far as I know, so that issue is ruled out. I have Dell 8400 set up with a pair of 160 GB SATA drives in a RAID-1 array. Are your disks set up in a RAID array?
Ignore the SCSI nomenclature; that's a Linux holdover where all non-IDE disks (hda x) are reported as SCSI disks (sda x).
Since TI reports the size of the disk as 465.8 GB, then you are indeed seeing the correct disk size. Look again at Windows Disk Management console (START > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Disk Management). If you can, post a screen shot. You should see the size of the disk as 465.8 GB and the size of the partition as 244 GB with the rest of the disk as unallocated.
Mark,
That's a nice coincidence that we have the same model PC. My disks are not set up for RAID. I am attaching a screen shot file. Haven't tried that before so I hope it makes it. In any case, what it shows is that Drive C: has 232.77 GB NFTS and yes, there are an additional 232.94 GB unallocated.
When I looked the first time I neglected to pull the window out far enough to see the right half of the window so I missed the unallocated part (this is a new utility for me and I didn't know what to expect). Also, I have been referring to my original drive as '250 GB' but in fact it is the amount correctly shown in the screen shot, i.e 232.77 GB.
I think this brings us back to your original suggestion.
- I should restore the image again using TI Recovery but "do not include the MBR"
- This time I should (unlike my first attempt where I included the MBR) get a partition adjustment screen and I move the slider to the right/maximum.
Do I need to do anything to prepare the 500 GB drive (like remove partitions on it... which I don't know how to do)?
Do you think Recovery Console will start working again after doing the above? I assume if everything goes well and I have understood your suggestions I will have no immediate need for it but I would be uncomfortable knowing that it won't work in the future.?
Thanks again,
Ken
Ken:
That looks like what I suspected. Yes, to fix this restore only the C: partition from your image and resize it to fill the disk. You do not need to do anything to prepare the disk for this operation.
About the recovery console problem -- in the BIOS setup for the 8400, how are both of your disks listed? If the one that doesn't work is listed as AHCI mode then try changing it to IDE compatibility mode (I forget the exact wording in the BIOS setup), or at least set it to the same mode as the working disk. If the disk is set to compatibility mode then the XP install CD should see it.
Mark,
I got into the BIOS setup by hitting F2 on boot-up, went to the Drives section. It shows the Drives are SATA. In detail:
Drive 0: SATA-0 ON
Controller: Serial ATA
Port SATA-0
Drive ID = Hitachi...
Capacity = 500 GB
BIOS= This Driver is controlled by System BIOS
(The BIOS date is 7/17/04)
I don't see anywhere a reference to AHCI mode or a place to change it to IDE compatability mode?
When you say only restore partition C from my image do you mean to include both the 232.77 GB partition AND the 55 MB FAT. As I recall, when I did the TI Recovery there were three rows of choice with check boxes: FAT, MBR, and C. So, do I just leave out MBR?
I'll be away from my computer for about 6 hours but I REALLY appreciate your help with this.
I will check back, and if all is clear to me I will start the recovery tonight following your instructions. When I did it the first time I used Verification mode and it took 14 hrs so it may be awhile until I respond again. But I will get back to you with the results (or more questions :-)
Thanks again,
Ken
Ken:
Are the BIOS settings the same for the 250 GB and the 500 GB drive? If so, they should act the same when starting the recovery console from the XP install CD.
You do not need to restore the 55 MB Dell EISA partition again. Just restore the Windows partition with resize. Since it worked before, don't bother with repeating the verification.
Mark,
Good news! The recovery I performed as you instructed worked. I've got the entire 500 GB drive now available.
Also the Recovery Console problem is gone. I don't know for sure what the BIOS setting was with the older 250 GB drive but I suspect it was the 'factory default':
RAID Autodetect / AHCI.
That is also my current BIOS setting. I believe the AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) is a desirable feature for me because my second drive is a Western Digital Raptor Drive which I've read on another forum benefits from this setting in terms of performance.
I hope my experience and your information is useful to others who may come across this post. I am attaching a file showing my final working system.
Thanks again for your help.
Ken
Ken:
Great! I love a good ending...