Re: Replacing hard drive in Dell notebook


>
> "Joe Starin" <joespamawaystarin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:ZUcDe.1491$fx4.835@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> "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


"D.Currie" <dmbcurrie.nospam@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:3k657qFsq7l6U1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> A direct clone from one drive to another is a very simple operation given
> the right tools. A little experience also helps. The problem with doing a
> clone like that with a laptop is that you normally can't hook up two hard
> drives in a laptop, and the laptop drives have a different connector than
> PC drives, you can't do the clone in another machine unless you have
> adapters.
>
> The problem with the experience part is that I've known people who have
> cloned the empty drive onto the full one, thus erasing everything.
>
> You might want to weigh the cost of the software and anything else you're
> going to need, and the time involved in figuring this out, against the
> cost of having a competent tech do the work for you. You might find that
> it will be cheaper to pay someone than to buy the software.
>
> On the other hand, if this is something you want to do for the fun of it,
> or as a learning experience, make sure you've got the important stuff
> backed up, just in case.


Joe:
As D. Currie has stated, "A direct clone from one drive to another is a very
simple operation given the right tools." And that simplicity extends to
cloning the contents of your laptop's internal drive to a USB/Firewire
external hard drive. As I pointed out in my previous posting(s) on this
issue, the EHD will *not* be bootable. But its contents can be cloned back
to the internal drive for restoration purposes should that need arise. And
this "re:cloning" is no more difficult than the original cloning operation
involving cloning the contents of the internal to the external drive.

The "right tools" in this context would be disk imaging programs such as the
ones I mentioned in my previous posting(s).

D. Currie is correct in that it is not normally practicable to connect two
*internal* HDs in a laptop for disk-to-disk cloning. But in no way should
that dissuade you from using a USB/Firewire EHD as a destination drive for
the clone. As a matter of fact it's desirable for additional security in
that the EHD will ordinarily be disconnected from the laptop except during
the actual cloning operation.

Is there a possibility that things can go wrong as D. Currie states? Of
course. Sure, it's possible that the user will confuse his/her
source/destination disks and clone the wrong drive with disastrous results.
But with a modicum of care in using the software it's nothing to be unduly
concerned about.

We are speaking here not only of a one-time cloning of an "old" drive to a
new one, but using the cloning process as a routine and systematic backup
system, not for the "fun of it" or as a "learning experience". As such,
there is really no need for the average computer user to consider engaging
the services of a technician to "do the work for you". The process involved
is not terribly complex or difficult. There's no reason why the average user
cannot undertake it without undue difficulty.

D. Currie's final comment re backing up critical data before undertaking the
cloning operation is on-the-mark when you first begin using this disk
imaging software for disk-to-disk cloning purposes. It's generally
unnecessary to do so after you've gained a little experience with the
software and are comfortable using it. But that's *always* an option for a
user. If he or she has especially critical data that he or she cannot afford
to lose, then back it up on some removable media before the cloning
operation. And one can always be free to create a second or third, etc.
clone should he/she feel a need for it.

As to the cost of the software, I've seen the Ghost 9 program (including the
2003 version which I use) selling for as little as $19 (online vendor) and
the Acronis True Image program for about $30. Not terribly high prices for
programs with their usefulness. Add to this the cost of a USB or Firewire
external HD, a device that has become so useful in today's personal computer
environment that it's hard to imagine a user without one.
Anna


.

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