My current bootable HD is starting to get some bad spots on it and only boots about 75% of the time. I have an extra HD bay that I would like to put a new drive in and mirror the old one. Is there a way to do this, so that it will copy over all the files (including boot, system and hidden files) and I can swap out the new, mirrored drive for the old, bad one?
2006-11-25 05:37:31 · 6 answers · asked by Danger Russ 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
When you buy a new hard drive it normally comes with a program that will allow you to mirror your old drive to the new, or you can use a program like Ghost. However, if you are getting errors on your hard drive, the mirror might not work. If it hits errors during the mirror the mirror will fail.
2006-11-25 05:48:27 · answer #1 · answered by HD Rider 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
First question: Mac or PC?
With a mac it's as simple as copying everything but the OS from the old hard drive and moving it to the new with an already installed clean OS. (It could be a system problem causing the old drive's problems.) You can even go back and copy your old prefs to the new OS if desired. (If something doesn't want to copy, make a copy of it on the old drive and move that. Then remove the word copy from the name and put it where you want.
You can try the same thing with a PC, but I've had very mixed success. Many PC programs need to be installed in order to work properly. You won't hurt anything on the new drive by trying a complete copy. If it doesn't work, reformat the new drive to make it blank again.
2006-11-25 05:51:12 · answer #2 · answered by dallenmarket 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Are you replacing the drive with one of the same size. If so, you can just use Ghost to do a 1:1 partition copy of the data over, making your new drive the boot.
If not, make a partition the size of your current drive's partition (using fdisk) then use Ghost to that partition.
He's right about the errors, sadly they're likely going to cause data errors when you transfer over. I would suggest placing your "old" hard drive in a ziplock bag and sticking it in the freezer for a bit just before you go and recover the drive, you will likely have better luck that way.
2006-11-25 05:51:25 · answer #3 · answered by Andrew W 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your best bet is to copy all the software programs and file ya wanna keep to disc's to save them, then install a new hard drive and install the new operating system. (windows) Or, boot up your pc, run defrag. Then, download http://www.download.com/Advanced-WindowsCare-Personal/3000-2086-10407614.html?part=dl-AdvancedW&subj=uo&tag=button. This is a free program and will straighten up your operating system. Also, make sure you run http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx to make sure you haven't been infected with a virus. Try this before doing anything drastic. Good luck. Mikie.
2006-11-25 05:56:35 · answer #4 · answered by Mikie 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
relies upon on what harddrives it somewhat is/ what motherboard it somewhat is. if its sata drives then a sata cable if its IDE drives then a IDE cable etc. as i dont see the harddisk nor understand what style it somewhat is, i cant tell what one you pick.
2016-10-13 02:21:35 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can use HDClone Free Edition
http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/HDClone_Free_Edition/hdclonefree.html
2006-11-25 06:43:07 · answer #6 · answered by Ole R 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋