topic Re: C-drive cloning problems in Other Norton Products

C-drive cloning problems

808Dave — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 03:01:19 GMT

I used the 'copy drive wizard' to copy my old c-drive to an SSD, then found I couldn't boot with new drive. That's when I came across the post at http://community.norton.com/t5/Other-Norton-Products/Windows-7-migration-with-Ghost-15-copy-function-yields-new-disk/td-p/351504 (to which I for some reason can't reply to continue that thread - why?)

I followed what I think was the intent of that fix:

"It happened because you had a drive letter already assigned to the new drive.

You need to do the "copy disk" onto a drive without any partitions or drive letters assigned so that it can become C when it boots like the original.

You can either delete the partitions and do the drive copy again into unpartitioned space, or..."

I decided that rather than go off on possibly still more tangents, I would skip the "or..." part of that and just start over with the copy procedure.

Parenthetically, I am wondering why it is that Norton STILL hasn't fixed/clarified these instructions. There's been ample time, and I only just downloaded the latest version, plus it's gotta be a huge proportion of users that want to do just what I am trying to do: migrate to a new C-drive without having to reload their whole existence in the process. BTW, it's also necessary to check the box that says "show hidden drives," or the unlettered drive doesn't appear on the list. Why not make this a less hours-of-frustration-y process by providing a specific wizard for "replacing your OS drive" or some such?

Anyway, no, another couple of hours of drive-copying has still not fixed my issue - still won't boot, and the suggested 'repair OS' options fail with my Windows disc inserted. Looking at Norton's copy drive wizard now, I see that the new SSD is named identically to my C-drive, but there's been no magical assignment of the letter "C" to it, nor do I know when that's supposed to happen. It's now called *:\ , while the orig C-drive is C:\.

How does unlettered clone become new C-drive, then?

Re: C-drive cloning problems

Brian_K — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 03:15:50 GMT

808Dave,

I'm not sure what you have done.

Did you copy your OS to a partition with a drive letter?

Did you try to boot the SSD while the old HD was still in the computer?

Re: C-drive cloning problems

Brian_K — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 06:05:21 GMT

Also, can you post a screenshot of Disk Management on the old HD? Or a link to a screenshot?

Are you using Ghost 15 SP1? Live update produces this version.

Which OS are you using?

How large is your C: drive?

How much free space is in the C: drive?

What size is the SSD?

What error messages or monitor appearance did you see when the SSD wouldn't boot? The errrors give us a good idea of what went wrong.

Re: C-drive cloning problems

808Dave — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 17:39:08 GMT

Brian - answering your followups:

Did you copy your OS to a partition with a drive letter?

Initially, yes, I allowed it to be named "E". That's when I got a blue screen with the "non genuine Windows 7" message that, after some googling, took me to this forum, specifically to the post I linked earlier in which Dave directed another victim to "delete the partitions and do the drive copy again into unpartitioned space."

I did that - re-copied the C-drive rather than trying to go through whatever the added steps would have been to try to salvage the first attempt - taking pains NOT to assign a drive letter. As I wrote, rebooting after that failed repeatedly, and I wasted more time trying to use the Windows install disc to effect repairs (it's the only suggestion offered during the reboot/fail process).

Did you try to boot the SSD while the old HD was still in the computer?

After the above failures, yes, I had to go back to the original C-drive to have any functionality. That's when I found the just-cloned SSD is un-lettered - it only shows up in Ghost as a "hidden drive," probably because it's got a wild-card (*) instead of a letter as its name. I'm guessing this isn't as simple as using a boot disc and renaming the SSD during that boot, right?

Your next post had some added questions:

Also, can you post a screenshot of Disk Management on the old HD? Or a link to a screenshot?

Tried to, taking great pains to do this by transfering from other computer to this one - but this forum gives me guff about the attachment - wants extension to be .txt, .log, .lue (.wtf? not even a pdf allowed?)

Are you using Ghost 15 SP1? Live update produces this version.

Purchased and installed yesterday, and did Live Update, so I think so.

Which OS are you using?

Win 7 home prem 32 bit.

How large is your C: drive?

Old = 80GB, new (SSD) = 120GB

How much free space is in the C: drive?

Old has 67.5GB in use, of 74.5GB total.

What size is the SSD? New is 120GB.

What error messages or monitor appearance did you see when the SSD wouldn't boot? The errrors give us a good idea of what went wrong.

"windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might have...", followed by suggestions for using windows install disc to repair - then,

Status: 0xc000000e

Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible.

Over 10-20 reboot attempts, I many times set the boot device to the SSD (no difference). I also tried using the Win7 install disc to 'repair' via the "launch startup repair" option - also a failure. Since my SSD doesn't have a drive letter, as I discovered later, this doesn't surprise me greatly.

-------------------

If I'm still on my way down the rabbit-hole, I'd much rather I'd spent the previous hours, plus time to come, in reloading Windows on the new SSD - tell me and I'll abort now. Ghost isn't any timesaver in this regard from my experience thus far, plus it seems it may result in my transporting unwanted problems to the new installation. This was supposed to be a quick and relatively painless way to migrate and to see if it worked well, but clearly not so, at least for me. Please advise.

--Dave

Re: C-drive cloning problems

Brian_K — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 18:09:32 GMT

Dave,

Thanks for the answers. Yes, it should have been an easy process and yes, the Ghost userguide for Copy Drive is a disaster.

To post a screenshot of Disk Management ...

http://community.norton.com/t5/Forum-Feedback/Forum-Tip-How-to-post-screenshots-in-the-forum/td-p/254415

The booting OS assigns the drive letters. As you chose a drive letter of "none" when you did Copy Drive, the Win7 on the SSD will not have a drive letter when the old HD has the booting OS. This is correct. When the SSD boots on its own it will assign C: drive letter to itself.

The main issues we see with Copy Drive are..

failure to copy the SRP or the partition containing the booting files. It doesn't sound like you have a SRP.

copying into a partition with a drive letter

booting the new HD with the old HD still in the computer

Where are you at now? Are you still getting a Windows Boot Manager screen? (the black screen with white text)

Did you zero the Disk Signature at any time?

Are you familiar with Diskpart?

I know you now have both drives in the computer but since the latest Copy Drive did you try to boot the SSD with both drives attached to the motherboard?

Did you use the options below? I guess so because your first Copy Drive booted. However you said "I allowed it to be named "E"." Do you mean you chose the Drive letter of E: in Ghost or did you copy to a partition on the SSD which had the E: drive letter?

http://community.norton.com/t5/Other-Norton-Products/Ghost-15-options-for-recovery/td-p/218202

Re: C-drive cloning problems

808Dave — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 19:40:33 GMT

Brian - thanks for the image-upload instructions. ('Tree.' How could I not know?)

Where are you at now? Are you still getting a Windows Boot Manager screen? (the black screen with white text)

Yes - black screens aplenty.

Did you zero the Disk Signature at any time?

I didn't even want to figure out what this meant when it was mentioned as an option in Dave_H's post so no, not that I know of.

Are you familiar with Diskpart?

Nope. Partitioning utility?

I know you now have both drives in the computer but since the latest Copy Drive did you try to boot the SSD with both drives attached to the motherboard?

Yes, probably several times - after the first failed boot, for example. Never occurred to me to disconnect the SSD after that, if that was important.

Did you use the options below?

I don't know what SRP means - something to do with recovery point? Which of those sequences you posted applies to my setting? I followed the Win7 procedure you provided but just based on dead reckoning:

Check source for file system errors
Check destination for file system errors
Resize drive to fill unallocated space (ONLY if you want to)
DON'T SELECT Disable SmartSector copying
DON'T SELECT Ignore bad sectors during copy
Destination partition type : Primary
Drive letter : None

...I guess so because your first Copy Drive booted. However you said "I allowed it to be named "E"." Do you mean you chose the Drive letter of E: in Ghost or did you copy to a partition on the SSD which had the E: drive letter?

"E" was the default option offered by Ghost when I did the first copy go-round, as I recall. Didn't copy any partitions that had that letter, no. ONLY the old C-drive was used as source, ever, and it's not partitioned - I've not had any other drives connected during this process.

Re: C-drive cloning problems

Brian_K — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 20:14:29 GMT

Dave,

You can see your screenshot but we can't until it is approved. Hopefully soon.

One last question. When you did Copy Drive on the last occasion, was there a drive letter for the SSD in Ghost? A drive letter before you did the copy?

Re: C-drive cloning problems

808Dave — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 20:15:39 GMT

No drive letter from me, nor from any process outside yet. It's still blank, called "WD 80GB (*:\)", apparently named after the old C-drive, which is called "WD 80GB (C:\)" (Size isn't the same in reality, of course - that's just the cloned name.)

BTW, why doesn't the forum check-box for "Email me when someone replies" work, ever?

Re: C-drive cloning problems

Brian_K — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 20:34:31 GMT

Dave,

Still can't see your screenshot. In the meantime I think you should start again and there are a few things you can do until we see the screenshot.

Both drives in the computer. Win7 running. Open an Administrator command prompt. (right click on Command Prompt in Accessories, Run as administrator) Press Enter after each line.

diskpart

list disk

select disk X (X is the number of your SSD)

list disk (make sure the * is next to your SSD)

clean

exit

Open Disk Management. You should see an Initialize Disk window.

Choose MBR, not GPT, click OK.
The Disk will remain Unallocated. There is no partition.

That's all at present.

Re: C-drive cloning problems

DaveH — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 20:48:19 GMT

Every Sunday we all sit here waiting and waiting for a picture to get approved. They must be all out hunting Easter eggs.

Re: C-drive cloning problems

Brian_K — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 20:52:17 GMT

That's right.

Dave (the thread starter), can you upload your screenshot to Photobucket (or similar) and post a link to the image.

Re: C-drive cloning problems

808Dave — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 01:50:51 GMT

Brian - followed your instructions to acheive what was presumably the desired intermediate step - shows up as unallocated Disk 0. Can't get Picasa to put titles on the uploaded photos, but the first of them was from before this operation, the second shows unallocated disk 0. https://plus.google.com/photos/102008637481933914904/albums/5729210006456786689?authkey=CJ7ui-vf-sPQHg

Screenshots: 2000 words would certainly have been easier to upload. Downloaded Picasa so I could upload these shots.

If Norton paid me $5 per hour to use Ghost for the purpose I bought it, I'd have about broken even by now.

--Dave

Re: C-drive cloning problems

Brian_K — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 01:54:01 GMT

Dave, that's great. No SRP.

Run Ghost Copy Drive and copy Win7 to the unallocated space on the SSD. Use these options...

Check source for file system errors
Check destination for file system errors
Resize drive to fill unallocated space
Set drive active (for booting OS)
DON'T SELECT Disable SmartSector copying
DON'T SELECT Ignore bad sectors during copy
Copy MBR
Destination partition type : Primary
Drive letter : None

When it has completed, shutdown the computer. Remove the old HD from the computer and unplug the SSD SATA cable from the motherboard and plug it into the motherboard port the old HD was recently using.

Power on and Win7 should boot. Success?

Re: C-drive cloning problems

808Dave — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 02:19:41 GMT

OK, stared the copy-drive process - for a third time. It's going to be another few hours...will let you know.

Thanks - Dave

Re: C-drive cloning problems

808Dave — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 06:01:25 GMT

Don't believe the hype, but with 27 minutes to go, apparently this error came up, taking the afterglow off of an otherwise pleasant Easter party we just came back from:

-Error EC8F17B3: Cannot complete copying of WD 80GB (C:\) drive.
--Cannot copy source drive to destination location.
---The type of errors encountered indicate that this hard disk drive is about to fail. It is recommended that this drive be replaced soon. To ignore this error and backup this drive, select "Ignore bad sectors during copy" from the advanced options in the Drive Backup Wizard.
---Cannot copy source drive to destination location.
----The type of errors encountered indicate that this hard disk drive is about to fail. It is recommended that this drive be replaced soon. To ignore this error and backup this drive, select "Ignore bad sectors during copy" from the advanced options in the Drive Backup Wizard.

(UMI:V-0-3215-6067)

If my C-drive is really about to go, well, that would be a lot worse luck than even I have experienced with PCs in general. I'm pretty much ready for a refund at this point.

Re: C-drive cloning problems

Brian_K — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 06:25:31 GMT

Dave,

Don't bet on the horses today!

Do you have an external HD? Create a One Time Backup of the Win7 partition, writing the image to anywhere on the external HD.

Let me know if this can be done.

Edit... Let's assume the worst. Your HD has bad sectors and could soon fail. I suggest you create a One Time Backup image, click Advanced and select Ignore bad sectors during copy. Don't select Verify. If this backup succeeds then repeat the One Time Backup image but don't select Ignore bad sectors during copy. So you will have two backups. We'll restore one of these to the SSD instead of trying another Copy Wipe.

Re: C-drive cloning problems

DaveH — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 06:40:11 GMT

Don't bet on horses because your horse is not running very well?

The other horses might pass it going backwards.

That went waaaay to slow.

68.67GB in 4.5Hrs?

I'm pretty tired but wouldn't that be .43MB/Sec?

70,318.08MB / 16,2000Sec

You must be trying to copy over USB, but lets not worry about that now, if you have an external drive do as Brian suggested and do it while you can.

Dave

Re: C-drive cloning problems

Brian_K — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 07:20:09 GMT

I thought is was very slow too. Bad sectors can do that.

Both drives are internal. I would have expected well under an hour.

Re: C-drive cloning problems

Brian_K — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 09:28:20 GMT

I forgot to mention, remove the SSD from your computer before you create those images.

Re: C-drive cloning problems

dayrelton — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:21:55 GMT

New here - just bought Norton Ghost and here is the story:

Disk drive on my 7yr old Dell Inspriron 9300 [80G] not spinning up all the time

Had tech-house check it - they said its gonna go per their tests on it

They put in new 160G drive and gave me USB caddy for old one

They put XP back on, plus my 'data' [my documents]

But not my original registry or software at root level.

They created one partition for whole drive

[they chose to to it this way without asking me - I would have said full image]

I used easeUS Partition Manager 9.1.1 to shrink the C partition on the new drive

I used Run/compmgnt.msc/Disk Management to create 100G 2nd partition with drive letter F

Drive C is the active partition on the new drive, DVD is drive D

My old 'C' drive shows as Drive E [in USB caddy] - so that's the picture

Ghost installed on drive C

Ran Ghost to copy drive E to drive F

[both verifies selected, no MBR, no expand]

[after setting F active, I expect to boot my old partition on the new drive]

After 20mins progress bar started showing a bar

Then 2,3,4 and no more for an hour

Then copy failed due to 'insufficient space for image file'

WHAT THE HECK - why build an image file?

And where? My source drive could have been almost full

[but it wasn't only using 42G out of 80]

The E drive still shows OK on Disk Management, however, F label does not show, but is 'healthy'

need to get the F label back - how?

And how do I get Ghost to do what I thought it was supposed to do.

Now what? Thanks in advance