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Issue abstract:hard drive will not copy
Detailed description:I have a hard drive that will not copy. I have tried to copy it but a duplicater will not complete I used an online copy service and hard drive will boot but desktop will appear and disappear over and over will any of Norton’s product help fix the drive so I can copy it.
Product & version number:
OS details:win 10
What is the error message you are seeing?
If you have any supporting screenshots, please add them:
bjm
May 30, 2026, 3:04pm
2
Hello @DelbertC_Keller
Norton tools focus on malware protection, backups, cloud security, and system cleanup — not repairing failing hard drives or recovering unstable disk sectors.
From the symptoms described:
“duplicator will not complete”
desktop repeatedly appearing/disappearing after cloning
cloned drive boots inconsistently
…the drive is likely experiencing one of these:
physical drive failure (bad sectors / dying HDD or SSD)
corrupted Windows system files
file system corruption
failing SATA/USB adapter or cable
bad clone caused by unreadable sectors
Norton products will not repair a failing hard drive or fix cloning problems caused by bad sectors or hardware failure.
Before trying more cloning attempts, check the drive’s SMART health using a tool such as CrystalDiskInfo or the manufacturer’s diagnostic utility (Seagate SeaTools, WD Dashboard, Samsung Magician, etc.).
If the drive is failing, use a recovery-oriented cloning tool that can handle bad sectors, such as Macrium Reflect , HDD Raw Copy Tool , or ddrescue documentation . These tools are designed to skip unreadable sectors and continue copying.
The flashing desktop after boot may indicate corrupted Windows files or an incomplete clone rather than a Norton issue. Running Windows Startup Repair or System File Checker (sfc /scannow) from recovery media may help if the clone itself succeeded.
One caution: if the original drive is making clicking noises, disappearing from BIOS, or getting worse quickly, repeated clone attempts can accelerate failure. In that case, recovering important files first is more important than creating a perfect boot clone.
Note — the old free edition of Macrium Reflect was retired. Version 8 Free was the last true free release, and security updates ended January 1, 2024. Current downloads are basically 30-day trials that revert to restore-only afterward.
Clonezilla — free, powerful, but less beginner-friendly
Rescuezilla — easier graphical version inspired by Clonezilla
AOMEI Backupper Standard — still has a free tier
HDDSuperClone — especially useful for drives with bad sectors
Ddrescue - Data recovery tool — one of the better tools for unstable/failing disks
Norton products are not really disk-repair or cloning utilities.
If the desktop is flashing after cloning, that often means corrupted Windows files, unreadable sectors, or an incomplete clone.
The priority should be recovering important data before the original drive degrades further.
AI sourced content may make mistakes
De kikker på det nu stille og rolig
Men om det er sandt eller ej ved jeg ikke fordi jeg forstår det ikke helt det du siger men hvis det ikke er der i kommer det snare end du tror jeg kan ikke sige mere nda jeg ved selv hvornår det kommer jeg sidder med patch noten