Bad Hard Drive?

[mccoady]

Re: #1 - I'm not sure what any of these programs would be can you give me an example?

Re: #5 - So the image I created for the original drive which would be transferred to the new drive wouldn't include the hidden partition?

[Number Six]

1. Not really - but you should be able to tell if all your files are in My Documents or not. I do know that Outlook does not keep it's database files in My Documents.

5. No, you imaged the partition with the OS on it - not the Drive, you can't image all the partitions at once. You can't move the hidden partition and it's files to another drive. Go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Disk Management and see how many partitions are on that drive - it probably will not have a drive letter.

[mccoady]

Okay stay with me Number six just a few more (lol)

I'm a little nervous with using using the Semi-Destructive Restore over the Non-Destructive Restore both say they recover Windows with all drivers and application exactly as they were installed when I purchased the computer. The former says it will keep all my settings, files, and applications while the latter says it won't keep my settings and any applications I installed while the files are kept in a backup folder. Is it saying any files I created and settings I made up to today will be kept with the Non-Destructive and they wouldn't with the Semi-Destructive? What would be an example of a setting I would have to redo?

I assume I would have to reinstall my printer and scanner so should they be disconnected from the computer before running Restore?

As soon as I get it restored I will immediately run Windows Updates to help secure the computer, would it be a good idea to copy some program installers such as Avast, SuperAntiSpyware, etc. so I could transfer and install to my computer quickly to limit internet exposure?

[Number Six]

You can try the Non Destructive restore if you feel more comfortable with it, but I have never had this type of restore make a computer work much better than it did before, and I have seen some computers work worse. This type of restore installs Windows on top of the old senile foundation that is there now - it will preserve all your programs and settings - but you probably will not be happy with the results. Give it a try - you can always do the Semi-Destructive install later. Nothing makes a computer run better than a fresh clean installation of Windows!

If you do the Non Destructive restore, you should not have to reinstall the printer and scanner. You also should not have to reinstall Avast, etc. again if they are already installed - but there is no guarantee that every program will work properly - some might have to be reinstalled anyway.

Definitely run Windows Update.

[mccoady]

Thanks I will go ahead and give the Semi-Destructive a try tomorrow and hope for the best.

Carbonite has already backed up my "Documents and Settings" so hopefully that will be enough.

[Ethlred]

If you still have your Acronis backup it should have all the files. You can recover any missing data from it. At least in the newer versions you can get individual files.

Ethelred

[mccoady]

I picked option 2 (SemiDestructive) and ran the restore this morning and it looks like it went pretty smoothly except for some minor things (So Far):

1. My computer originally came with Norton Antivirus 2005 how is the best way to remove it so I can install Avast or AVG I see they have a removal tool is this sufficient?


2. I have another internal drive I keep my music and some backups on which I called M drive, after the restore it changed it's name to D drive and changed some files. Now, Carbonite backed up this M drive so I'm afraid when I use it to restore those items it won't know where to put them, can I just right click and rename it back to M?


Mike

[Number Six]

The only thing that can remove NORTON from the computer is KRAMDEN

Definitely use the Norton removal tool for that version - it is available on the Norton or Symantec website.

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039


Go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Disk Management - Right click on DRIVE D and select CHANGE DRIVE LETTER. You really do not have to do this, but it will not hurt anything.


By the Way - After you get everything back to working condition, and all your files back where they belong, you should delete all the old backups that you created as well as the backup folder that the restore created - they are taking up a lot of space. Then you should create a new IMAGE backup of the OS partition - DRIVE C - so that you have an easy restore next you need it.

[mccoady]

Yeah thanks for the latest info I'm busy trying to reload everything I'm sure it will take days. I didn't think about the backup folder the restore created that must be why my first scan with Avast is taking so long so I will delete it in a few days. It looks like Carbonite might take days or a week or two to restore my backed up files because it's going pretty slow, but time I've got.

Avast did pickup a couple of Trojans I guess between the time I uninstalled Norton and installed Avast so I deleted them hopefully their gone for good at least it will do a boot scan if necessary.

After I get everything back to working condition I will create a new Image as you suggested and I might even entertain the thought of replacing my current drive with the much larger drive I just bought putting the new image on it. I have to think about that though because I hate to loose the Restore program it's come in so handy fot me.

[lordsmurf]

I think reinstalling the OS is wholly unnecessary right now.
That's a lot of work for nothing.

[Number Six]

I do not understand why Carbonite would take so long to restore your files, but they are still on you hard drive in the backup folder that was created - you can just move them back to where they belong yourself. I hope that is only restoring your DATA files, and not any old SYSTEM files - the new installation of Windows does not need any of the old system files.

I hope that Avast only found Trojans in the backup folder - there is no reason to find any in the new installation. Just be aware that all the Virus scanners report false positives for some files - I do not know why this is, but it has happened to me, and I am sure that the files that they deleted on me were NOT viruses!


At this point, you should have a lot less processes running and the computer should be booting much quicker and be more responsive.

[mccoady]

I hope that is only restoring your DATA files, and not any old SYSTEM files - the new installation of Windows does not need any of the old system files.

Carbonite is a online backup service and has backed up my "Documents and Settings" on their website and is now restoring those files, would this include old system files? Since I've never done this before I didn't think about pulling the files from the backup folder.

Yes it is running much better/faster so I think I did the right thing although I will feel alot better when all my files are back where they belong.

I also think I may have screwed up with my iTunes since I forgot to find a program to backup my Playlists, in fact not all of my music files have shown up in there yet either. Several months ago I actually followed specific instructions here http://www.komando.com/toolbox.aspx?mode=print&id=2074 to move my iTunes folder to my M drive so I will have to wait and see how this plays out but "My Music" folder is backed up.

[Number Six]

Glad it is working better

Never used or even heard of Carbonite, so I can't guess as to system files. I backup everything myself, so no use for these services.

Sorry again, but I have a Zune and do not use iTunes - so no clue about it's playlists either. Since you have all your music backed up, I assume that there should be no problem reloading the iPod.

[mccoady]

Number Six since Carbonite is taking so long to restore files I think I will try moving them manually if you can give me some pointers.

The Backup folder my Restore program created included the "Documents and Settings" folder (from before the restore) can I just drag it to my C drive won't it replace the existing "Documents and Settings" folder? Or is there a probability screwing something up doing it like that.

[Number Six]

Do not move the whole folder - too much junk. Under the DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS folder there are several folders - go into the folder with YOUR USER NAME - under that will be several folders including MY DOCUMENTS - Copy this MY DOCUMENTS folder to the same place in your C DRIVE - it will say that the folder already exists, do you want to replace it - say yes and all your files will be copied to into the working OS.

[mccoady]

Thanks that was so much easier!

Okay now you said to delete the backed up folder but would you recommend maybe first copying both my wife's and my Documents folder to say my other internal drive as a backup?

One thing I didn't realize would happen after the restore is it affected what was on my second internal drive (M). I had a folder named My Music 2 that had all my iTunes files that had been moved from my C drive and it is no longer there nor does Carbonite show it as backed up.

Apparently the restore put the files back on my C drive but at least all my music files and Playlists are back in my iTunes I'll just have to move them again.

The C Drive image I created before the restore is still there but I might as well delete it, right?

I will create another image as soon as I think everything is loaded back.

[Number Six]

YES - definitely make a copy of everyone's documents folder. DO NOT delete the backup folder until you have all your programs installed and running - make sure that each program can find your data files that were created by it. I assumed that you were able to backup your Outlook emails, etc. before the restore because you did not mention it.

As long as you still have the music and playlists, it is not a problem to move them. You should also keep a copy of these files somewhere else too.

Those old images are worthless now - best to get rid of them and create a new one.



You are doing a lot better with this than a lot of other people that I try to help - GOOD JOB

[mccoady]

Thanks! Actually I backed up my Address Book but forgot to backup my emails so I just did a search to find out where they were stored, located them in my backup folder and then imported them. Just got done and worked perfectly!

I will backup our Documents then and wait maybe a couple of weeks or longer before I delete the backup folder, so far so good with my programs finding it's files but I better give it some time.

I'll use this setup for awhile but how big of a deal would it be to swap out my current drive, install the much bigger/faster new drive I bought and put the new backup Image on it?

I know as far as physically installing the drive it just amounts to mounting it and plugging in the power and SATA cable but don't know what else it involves before mounting the Image.

Once the new drive was setup with the new Image are you able to swap the drives old and new back and forth if needed, will the computer automatically detect whichever drive is installed without any issues?

[Number Six]

If you bought a retail drive, it probably came with software to clone the old drive into the new one. If you bought a bare bones OEM drive, then go to the drive manufacturer's website and download the software. You could also image the drive, and then restore the image to the new drive by following the Imaging programs instructions - I can't help with this because I do not use such software. It will not copy the hidden restore partition, so you have to keep the old drive for that.

Once you have the new drive installed and setup, you can keep both drives and boot to either one because they will both have a bootable OS on them. You can go into BIOS setup and specify which drive to boot from - all modern computers let you do this - I do this all the time with my desktop computers. If you want to physically swap the drives, then you have to make sure that BIOS is set to AUTO DETECT, or something similar.

[mccoady]

I bought a OEM drive so doing the imaging method might be easier for I will try to get some help for that. I would want to swap the drives if needed so it sounds like I could do what I want at a later time.

Well just discovered even though my music files are back in iTunes they won't play because they don't have the right location, it's not finding them.

If I put them back to my M drive like before the restore do you think iTunes will be able to find them then?

[Number Six]

You reinstalled iTunes, so the old configuration is no longer there - there must be a way of having iTune search for the files to create it's database. I do not use iTunes, so I really can't assist.

[mccoady]

Okay I'll do some research one last question and I'll let you be.

Before the restore I noticed in msconfig/startup that "IntelAudioStudio" was listed and now it's not does this mean anything?

[Number Six]

It's probably an audio suite program, and was not reinstalled - if you need it, you probably can download it or you can replace it with other programs.


Glad that I can help.

[mccoady]

Again many thanks!!!