Re: Replacing hard drive in Dell notebook

I truly appreciate everyone's thoughtful and detailed responses. I do want
to to learn the process (which is why I and others spend time on these
newsgroups). I'm going to purchase the EHD, imaging software and any needed
cabling and do the deed myself. As mentioned, at least I'll have the HD, SW
and cables to use again. Regards, Joe Starin

"Anna" <myname@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:O$IsLdTjFHA.2852@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> >
> > "Joe Starin" <joespamawaystarin@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> > news:ZUcDe.1491$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
>
>


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Replacing hard drive in Dell notebook
    ... > A direct clone from one drive to another is a very simple operation given ... > drives in a laptop, and the laptop drives have a different connector than ... > cost of having a competent tech do the work for you. ... cloning the contents of your laptop's internal drive to a USB/Firewire ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
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    ... Also, with the cost of USB Thumb drives, I'm now ... I clone the main drive weekly to the second internal drive, ... and other things (five partitions). ... such as Acronis True Image to perform the cloning operation whatever ...
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