From: Bob on
"bk3000" <bk3000(a)discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B23A8AF6-D783-4752-88AA-2850EDE3F13E(a)microsoft.com...
> Machine is still running, though theoretically it could irreparably crash
> at
> any second, I've been told. It seemed close yesterday, in fact. Was
> considering spending the $ for a USB or external hard drive; I have a few
> flash drives but they won't be enough for the whole operation.
>
> How about my internal backup HD? Would it be smart to backup anything
> (documents, for instance) on there


***No.

or even possible to use that as a
> mirror/image location of some sort?
>
> Also curious about commenter Db at the bottom of the thread making the
> point
> about any bad sectors being recreated in any of these scenarios.
>
> "Mark Adams" wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> "Alias" wrote:
>>
>> > Mark Adams wrote:
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > "bk3000" wrote:
>> > >
>> > >> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic
>> > >> test, got
>> > >> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a
>> > >> new one,
>> > >> which I'll have to self-install.
>> > >>
>> > >> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question
>> > >> is, how
>> > >> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current
>> > >> hard
>> > >> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put
>> > >> it all
>> > >> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use?
>> > >> Should I go
>> > >> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or
>> > >> do stuff
>> > >> manually?
>> > >
>> > > If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and a 1
>> > > TB USB
>> > > hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an image of
>> > > your
>> > > computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell,
>> > > restore that
>> > > image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this
>> > > way, but it
>> > > is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.
>> >
>> > You can also do the same thing for free with the CD you can download
>> > from Seagate, Western Digital, etc.
>> >
>> > --
>> > Alias
>> > .
>> >
>>
>> Alias, Bob.
>>
>> It's been awhile since I've used these utilities. Since I've gotten
>> Acronis
>> I've not had to use them. I know they can clone drives, but can they make
>> an
>> image? The OP has a laptop and since two hard drives cannot be installed
>> at
>> the same time, a USB enclosure would be needed to clone to the new drive.
>> This would also eliminate the necessity of purchasing the external hard
>> drive. But, by buying Acronis and the USB drive, the OP could replace the
>> failing drive and also have a reliable backup system. Costs more, but now
>> he
>> can backup everything all in one shot.

From: Mark Adams on


"bk3000" wrote:

> Machine is still running, though theoretically it could irreparably crash at
> any second, I've been told. It seemed close yesterday, in fact. Was
> considering spending the $ for a USB or external hard drive; I have a few
> flash drives but they won't be enough for the whole operation.
>
> How about my internal backup HD?


You said this was a laptop. Laptops only have one hard drive. You certainly
don't want to save anything to a separate partition of a hard drive that you
already know is failing.


>Would it be smart to backup anything
> (documents, for instance) on there or even possible to use that as a
> mirror/image location of some sort?
>

Backup images are saved as one large file. The flash drives would have to be
big enough to hold the whole file, or it won't work. You could manually copy
your documents, pictures, music, and export your email and browser bookmarks
to the flash drives if you have enough of them (I doubt it.) Cheaper to get a
USB hard drive. Alias says Seagate's utility will make an image; I assume it
can restore one to a new hard drive also. If so, you won't need the Acronis.

> Also curious about commenter Db at the bottom of the thread making the point
> about any bad sectors being recreated in any of these scenarios.
>

The bad sectors won't be recreated on the new drive, but any data on those
sectors is probably lost and won't copy to the new drive. This could include
critical operating system files and could crash or cause instability to the
OS.

> "Mark Adams" wrote:
>
> >
> >
> > "Alias" wrote:
> >
> > > Mark Adams wrote:
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > "bk3000" wrote:
> > > >
> > > >> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test, got
> > > >> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new one,
> > > >> which I'll have to self-install.
> > > >>
> > > >> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how
> > > >> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard
> > > >> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it all
> > > >> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should I go
> > > >> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do stuff
> > > >> manually?
> > > >
> > > > If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and a 1 TB USB
> > > > hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an image of your
> > > > computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell, restore that
> > > > image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this way, but it
> > > > is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.
> > >
> > > You can also do the same thing for free with the CD you can download
> > > from Seagate, Western Digital, etc.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Alias
> > > .
> > >
> >
> > Alias, Bob.
> >
> > It's been awhile since I've used these utilities. Since I've gotten Acronis
> > I've not had to use them. I know they can clone drives, but can they make an
> > image? The OP has a laptop and since two hard drives cannot be installed at
> > the same time, a USB enclosure would be needed to clone to the new drive.
> > This would also eliminate the necessity of purchasing the external hard
> > drive. But, by buying Acronis and the USB drive, the OP could replace the
> > failing drive and also have a reliable backup system. Costs more, but now he
> > can backup everything all in one shot.
From: Percival P. Cassidy on
On 05/25/10 10:53 am, bk3000 wrote:

> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test, got
> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new one,
> which I'll have to self-install.
>
> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how
> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard
> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it all
> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should I go
> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do stuff
> manually?

Others have recommended Acronis True Image. I have used the free version
of Macrium Reflect, which seems to work well. The paid version does
more, but the free version is fine for most people.

Perce

From: Alias on
Mark Adams wrote:
>
>
> "bk3000" wrote:
>
>> Machine is still running, though theoretically it could irreparably crash at
>> any second, I've been told. It seemed close yesterday, in fact. Was
>> considering spending the $ for a USB or external hard drive; I have a few
>> flash drives but they won't be enough for the whole operation.
>>
>> How about my internal backup HD?
>
>
> You said this was a laptop. Laptops only have one hard drive. You certainly
> don't want to save anything to a separate partition of a hard drive that you
> already know is failing.
>
>
>> Would it be smart to backup anything
>> (documents, for instance) on there or even possible to use that as a
>> mirror/image location of some sort?
>>
>
> Backup images are saved as one large file. The flash drives would have to be
> big enough to hold the whole file, or it won't work. You could manually copy
> your documents, pictures, music, and export your email and browser bookmarks
> to the flash drives if you have enough of them (I doubt it.) Cheaper to get a
> USB hard drive. Alias says Seagate's utility will make an image; I assume it
> can restore one to a new hard drive also. If so, you won't need the Acronis.
>
>> Also curious about commenter Db at the bottom of the thread making the point
>> about any bad sectors being recreated in any of these scenarios.
>>
>
> The bad sectors won't be recreated on the new drive, but any data on those
> sectors is probably lost and won't copy to the new drive. This could include
> critical operating system files and could crash or cause instability to the
> OS.

Sounds like his best bet would be to back up his data to external media
and reinstall XP when the new hard drive arrives. Course if all he has
is a recovery partition, he should ask the folks at Dell to provide him
with a CD/DVD.

--
Alias
From: bk3000 on
Mark, Alias, et al -

Really appreciate the feedback. I like the idea of having an at-the-ready
backup with an external hd, but it appears I could simply use the
Acronis-powered free download/trial version utility from WD or Seagate to
image the current hd and restore it to the new drive upon its' arrival. I'll
definitely take a peek at the current going rate for external hds, also
Acronis itself if I can't access the free version. I'm really not even going
to inquire further about cloning, which seems to be a more intensive
alternative/for different purposes than the imaging...?

My apologies about the mistaken identification of my separate PARTITION of
the hd as a second drive - confusing it with my older desktop, though I had
always thought they weren't part of the same hardware piece. Thanks for
catching it.

- Brian

"Mark Adams" wrote:

>
>
> "bk3000" wrote:
>
> > Machine is still running, though theoretically it could irreparably crash at
> > any second, I've been told. It seemed close yesterday, in fact. Was
> > considering spending the $ for a USB or external hard drive; I have a few
> > flash drives but they won't be enough for the whole operation.
> >
> > How about my internal backup HD?
>
>
> You said this was a laptop. Laptops only have one hard drive. You certainly
> don't want to save anything to a separate partition of a hard drive that you
> already know is failing.
>
>
> >Would it be smart to backup anything
> > (documents, for instance) on there or even possible to use that as a
> > mirror/image location of some sort?
> >
>
> Backup images are saved as one large file. The flash drives would have to be
> big enough to hold the whole file, or it won't work. You could manually copy
> your documents, pictures, music, and export your email and browser bookmarks
> to the flash drives if you have enough of them (I doubt it.) Cheaper to get a
> USB hard drive. Alias says Seagate's utility will make an image; I assume it
> can restore one to a new hard drive also. If so, you won't need the Acronis.
>
> > Also curious about commenter Db at the bottom of the thread making the point
> > about any bad sectors being recreated in any of these scenarios.
> >
>
> The bad sectors won't be recreated on the new drive, but any data on those
> sectors is probably lost and won't copy to the new drive. This could include
> critical operating system files and could crash or cause instability to the
> OS.
>
> > "Mark Adams" wrote:
> >
> > >
> > >
> > > "Alias" wrote:
> > >
> > > > Mark Adams wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > "bk3000" wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > >> I've got a Dell laptop running XP, and after running a diagnostic test, got
> > > > >> error code 0146 that hard drive was corrupted. Dell is sending me a new one,
> > > > >> which I'll have to self-install.
> > > > >>
> > > > >> I can't remember backing up my entire system ever, so my question is, how
> > > > >> should I go about saving all my settings and programs on the current hard
> > > > >> drive? I've got a backup drive of 20gb, so I'm guessing I should put it all
> > > > >> there, and also a few flash drives, but what method should I use? Should I go
> > > > >> to the C:/ drive system properties and select the backup option or do stuff
> > > > >> manually?
> > > > >
> > > > > If the machine still runs, Go out and buy Acronis True Image and a 1 TB USB
> > > > > hard drive. Boot the machine to the Acronis disk and make an image of your
> > > > > computer to the USB drive. When the new drive arrives from Dell, restore that
> > > > > image to the new drive. It might cost a little more to do it this way, but it
> > > > > is so much easier than reinstalling everything, it's worth it.
> > > >
> > > > You can also do the same thing for free with the CD you can download
> > > > from Seagate, Western Digital, etc.
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > Alias
> > > > .
> > > >
> > >
> > > Alias, Bob.
> > >
> > > It's been awhile since I've used these utilities. Since I've gotten Acronis
> > > I've not had to use them. I know they can clone drives, but can they make an
> > > image? The OP has a laptop and since two hard drives cannot be installed at
> > > the same time, a USB enclosure would be needed to clone to the new drive.
> > > This would also eliminate the necessity of purchasing the external hard
> > > drive. But, by buying Acronis and the USB drive, the OP could replace the
> > > failing drive and also have a reliable backup system. Costs more, but now he
> > > can backup everything all in one shot.