Re: Replacing hard drive in Dell notebook

"Anna" <myname@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uJEJh%23IjFHA.3164@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> "Joe Starin" <joespamawaystarin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:CfWCe.274$9k7.2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> My daughter has a Dell 8600 notebook less than a year old with Windows XP
> Pro operating system. The HD is making a strange, very infrequent
mechanical
> noise. Dell sent us a new HD and suggested that she (1) back up the
existing
> HD, (2) install the new HD, and (3)re-install all of the software. Crap!
>
> Q. Can she simply ghost the existing HD and transfer everything to the new
> HD? (The notebook, although noisey at times, is still fully functional.)
>
> Q. Would/should Dell do all of this for me?
>
> Thanks for any and all replies.
> Joe Starin
>
> (And Joe later writes...)
> Thanks for your reply, P. McCarty. I do not have a ghosting program of any
> kind, although it might be a good idea to have one so I can also back up
my
> other PCs. Suggestions? Joe Starin
>
>
> Dave Lipman responds...
> Ghosting is a good idea *if* the old hard disk is still working and
> accessible. Notebooks can be difficult. However if it is Ghost 2003, and
> updated to build 793, you can Ghost to CD, DVD or tape drives via FireWire
> or USB v2.0 or if the drive on the notebook has a writeable CD or DVD
drive.
>
> Otherwise you can do a TCP/IP over-the-wire backup to another PC.
>
> Dell doesn't do this for you under warranty and I don't know if they will
do
> it or not if
> you pay them to do it.
> --
> Dave
> http://www.claymania.com/removal-trojan-adware.html
> http://www.ik-cs.com/got-a-virus.htm
>
>
> > From: "Joe Starin" <joespamawaystarin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >
> > | Thanks, Dave. I do not have Ghost 2003 or any other ghosting program.
> > Would
> > | this program copy everything to, say, an external hard drive if I
> > purchased
> > | one? What software would I need to do a TCP/IP over-the-wire backup to
> > | another PC? Yes, the laptop has a writable CD drive, but is not a DVD
> > | burner. I'm asking a million questions so this whole process might be
> > way
> > | out of my league. Your answers are appreciated.
> Joe Starin
>
>
> "David H. Lipman" <DLipman~nospam~@Verizon.Net> wrote in message
> news:eAocRGIjFHA.3608@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> |
> >
> > No problem Joe.
> >
> > If you had an external USB or FireWire hard disk, you would create an
> > image of the enite hard disk as a series of 2GB disk files. The first
> > being a GHO file and then subsequent GHS files each no more than 2GB.
> >
> > Assuming the failed hard disk was 20GB with 10GB of free space and the
> > replacement was 30GB, the non-formatted 30GB hard disk can be installed
in
> > the notebook, you would boot off a created Ghost Boot Disk and you would
> > restore the image to the new hard disk. Now the system will be exactly
as
> > it was (a clone) except that it will be on a 30GB hard disk with 20GB of
> > free space.
> >
> > When you create a Ghost Boot Disk you have options on how the disk(s)
are
> > to be created. TCP/IP is one of theose options. You create a Boot Disk
> > associated to the Network Interface Card (or chip-set) and you would
> > communicate with another PC also booted from a Ghost Boot Disk
associated
> > with its Network Interface Card (or chip-set) and using a master-slave
> > relation ship you cpuld then image one PC to another over Ethernet and
> > then restore said image over Ethernet. Obviously the external USB or
> > FireWire hard disk process would be easier.
> >
> > You can do it with CD but... You would need many CD's. There is only
> > ~700MB per CD while there is approx. 4.7GB per DVD. Just like you were
> > getting a an External USB or FireWire
> > hard disk, you could get an External DVD writer. This way not only can
> > you backup and retore the system but you will now be able to b\play DVDs
> > and if you have a notebook and a desktop, you can place this external
DVD
> > on the desktop further enhancing its value.
> > --
> > Dave
> > http://www.claymania.com/removal-trojan-adware.html
> > http://www.ik-cs.com/got-a-virus.htm
>
>
> Joe:
> I wonder if all this is getting a bit more complicated than it needs to
> be...
>
> 1. You plan to install a new Dell HD in your daughter's laptop to replace
> what appears to be a failing HD.
> 2. We'll assume that for the moment the *contents* of the old drive are
> sound in that the current drive boots to a Desktop without any problem and
> the operating system functions without any known system files corruption.
> Fair assumption?
> 3. You mention purchasing an external HD, presumably a USB one. A fine
idea.
> 4. While the present laptop's HD is functional and you're reasonably
assured
> there's no problem with the operating system, you can use a disk imaging
> program such as the ones mentioned, i.e., Symantec's Norton Ghost 9 (or
> Ghost 2003 which is bundled with Ghost 9) or Acronis True Image 8 to
"clone"
> the contents of the present laptop's drive to the USB EHD. For all
practical
> purposes, the EHD is now a duplicate of the source disk (although it is
not
> bootable).
> 5. Now you remove the old drive and install the new one.
> 6. Again using your disk imaging program, you then re:clone the contents
of
> your USBEHD to the new HD you just installed in the laptop.
> 7. And that's it.
>
> You (your daughter) can now routinely use the USBEHD as a backup device by
> systematically cloning the contents of her internal drive to the external
> one. It's an ideal backup system for a laptop. I think you also mentioned
> you have other PCs, so that you can use the disk imaging program to create
&
> maintain similar backup systems involving those machines.
>
> I trust I have correctly understood your problem & objective. If not,
please
> correct me. If I did correctly understand you, and you need step-by-step
> instructions re using Ghost 2003 or Acronis True Image, please so indicate
> that.
> Anna
>
>
Yes, Anna, that's exactly the situation. My hope is that I can clone (ghost,
image, backup, whatever the verbiage) the contents of the sometimes noisy
(but still booting/working) laptop HD to a soon-to-be-purchased external HD
(temporarily) then back to the laptop's new HD after I install it. Could it
be that simple?

I have never cloned or ghosted or backed up a hard drive so I would need to
get up to speed on that, Anna. I would temporarily be booting from the EHD
at least once, would I not? Thanks for your reply and time.

Joe Starin



.

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