Backing up and restoring OS (XP) drive on to a new HDD

[DB83]

That sounds a very logical approach. Except that.....

The WD Passport Ultra is not compatable under WinXP. Or so the box tells me.

[DB83]

Update:

Just installed that on Win7. All drives/volumes/partitions seen.

Currently creating the image for the OS partition. Estimated total completion time is 25 mins (67 gig)

[Poppa_Meth]

Maybe I have overreacted but have now cancelled that backup.

Took a look at the created files at the 85% mark and it was at Program Files. So no idea if the Windows folder would have been created.

But what was concerning me was the 'missing' 20 gig - partition was reported at 70 gig yet the backup was only 50. Windows itself could account for 10.

But I will try again tomorrow with Acronis. But if I read that correctly the clone works on the drive not the partition. If the drive if coughing over 50 gig, goodness knows how long 320 gig will take.

All I know right now is in that 5 hours I could have reinstalled XP and the critical software and just copy as much of the data from the other partition to the passport.

Backups compress data by default. The image should be a fair bit smaller than the original disk.

[DB83]

^^ There was no compression. All files/folders could be seen. And as I stated, if I had had the patience to see it though then I doubt if I had seen the Windows folder since it was listed in the exceptions list.

The trial with Terabytes has completed in 29 mins. Since I have a slow system and other things are happening I am quite happy with that. The HDD is on order so I'll be crossing fingers, thumbs, legs and any appropriate parts of my anatomy when I come to attempt the restore.

[SameSelf]

I used O&O Disk Image once long time ago. I found it so user unfriendly and complicated. I messed up and lost everything on my HDD and had to re format the new HDD and install OS and programs. Lost all my data. Now, I keep back ups in at least two places. Cloned HDDs and images.. But, because we are only human, we make mistakes and pay for that, and also learn.

LOL! Sounds like user error to me. Restoring an image is equivalent to the old DOS command format c: /s (should only be used by experts). FWIW, O&O is updated constantly (I am currently two versions behind), so I imagine the version you used was ancient. I need an image program that comes with a Pre-Install Environment. I am constantly nuking my OS and reloading custom images I build. With modern SSDs, the process takes literally just a few minutes.

In truth, I never image my data drives. That is what incremental backup software is for (very different than imaging). But I don't even do that anymore. I just write out my data to DL BD-R now.

Bottomline, I am no longer a prisoner of any of my drives. If a drive starts to malfunction, I just yank it and get a warranty replacement. No hesitation. Reload the image or data as needed from the BD-R. I have a LOT of data burned to BD-R. The thought of all that data sitting on spinning rust just gives me shivers.

[cornemuse]

I'd be hesitant to go with an SSD for Windows XP. They were nowhere near mainstream when XP died. There just isn't good support in that OS for keeping them healthy. There are programs like AS Cleaner that will manually perform a TRIM-like function. But you have to be careful to setup your OS to avoid issues that can wear out an SSD faster. A good drive like Samsung will have their Magician software to help with configuring the OS and doing some maintenance.

Edit: Just had a thought. If this is dual boot and both drives show up in Win7, then Win7 can handle trim commands for both SSDs.

I have an IDE ssd installed in my ooold toshiba laptop (xp home). Goes like a rocket compared to hdd.

XP is not dead!! They are tryin, but they cant kill it!!

I have used pwfree to clone multiple times with no problems. I have used acronus but didnt really like it. Only cloning problems were with newer laptop w/ W-7 on it. <- & the problem was cloning an ssd.

-c-

[Poppa_Meth]

Didn't mean XP was dead, but support for it is, so no new updates that could improve SSD capabilities.

[DB83]

Used CloneZilla to succesfully clone a disc with surface errors where Acronis, Paragon, EaseUS ... failed.

I'll add Terabyte Image for Windows to that list. This morning I attempted to create an image of the 'troublesome' partition and the program coughed as soon as it hit some bad sectors.

Resorted to a plain 'n simple folder-by-folder/file-by-file copy to the passport drive. Ignored the inaccessible folder(which drew my attention to the potential issues with the drive in the first place) and the rest appear to have transferred fine.

[october262]

Didn't mean XP was dead, but support for it is, so no new updates that could improve SSD capabilities.

correct !! even firefox will end support for XP next year - http://www.myce.com/news/firefox-53-marks-end-support-windows-xp-vista-80548/

[SameSelf]

Resorted to a plain 'n simple folder-by-folder/file-by-file copy to the passport drive. Ignored the inaccessible folder(which drew my attention to the potential issues with the drive in the first place) and the rest appear to have transferred fine.

In the distant past, if my spinning rust was choking and on its last legs, my go-to rescue plan was a Knoppix boot CD/USB. Mount the drive then copy-paste just as you did. Knoppix would mount when Windows would often fail. I still keep a CD around just in case although I haven't had a need in a long, long time.