I want to be prepared if I need to recover my computer using a new hard drive. If I want to Recover My Computer using Norton Ghost, what steps would I need to take once the new drive is installed on my computer?
Thanks,
Jerry
Jerry8A wrote:I want to be prepared if I need to recover my computer using a new hard drive. If I want to Recover My Computer using Norton Ghost, what steps would I need to take once the new drive is installed on my computer?
Thanks,
Jerry
Hi Jerry,
BEFORE you place the new drive in your box be sure you have made a full one time backup of the existing drive. To do this boot from the System Recovery Disk and place the file on a drive what will still be present after the exchange. Then you can swap the drives and boot from the recovery disk and recover your backup to the new drive. This assumes that the new drive is less than 3TB in size and formatted NTFS. Be sure to ask your questions before you start. An 'oops' in the middle can be a real problem for recovery.
Keep us posted
The drive should not be formatted at all. Ghost will do that for you. The file system is part of the image. Best off having a drive without any partitions present- especially if it has been in the PC that the image was made on. Restoring to a drive with partitions can cause disk signature problems, etc.
Have a look at this post...
And this one...
http://community.norton.com/t5/Other-Norton-Products/Ghost-15-options-for-recovery/m-p/218202#M21280
Hello All –
Quite a bit of information to absorb. First, I use Vista Home Premium and some of the comments were about Windows 7. So, not sure if all the comments would apply to my system. Anyway, this is my understanding.
1. Before installing a new drive I need to make a full one time backup. The post says I can’t merely do a One Time Backup in the normal manner, but must boot from The System Recovery Disk (SRD) and then make a full one time backup.
2. I do not need to format my new drive which tells me once the new drive is installed and I turn on my computer, I only have to insert my SRD and select Home> Recover My Computer
3. I should only recover one partition, my C drive. I assume I can go back and recover my D drive.
4. I should follow the pictures from link: http://community.norton.com/t5/Other-Norton-Products/Ghost-15-on-Windows-7-to-clone-and-replace-Boot...
5. In the post the following settings were mentioned. I see these options are available in the pictures. If not, I assume they will be somewhere in the process. Also, I see some below settings are not checked in the pictures. I assume I would check them as well.
For the SRP
Check source for file system errors
Check destination for file system errors
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
For the SRP
Verify recovery point before restore
Partition type : Primary
Check for file system errors after recovery
Set drive active (for booting OS)
Restore original disk signature
Restore master boot record
For the SRP
No need to restore
6. In your post you mention “Resizing a Drive.” What does that mean and when would a person choose that?
Thanks,
Jerry
Jerry,
You do not need a one time backup, just a full backup of your C drive, That is what Ghost is for... having a current backup in case of a mjor disaster such as HDD failure, virus, etc. That could be a one time hot backup made from within Windows, a scheduled backup (Recovery Point) that would be either a v2i file or if it is from an incremental set, an iv2i file. Or, it could be a cold backup made from the recovery disc. If you are just changing drives, you could also use the copy drive feature.
Since you are using Vista, you do not have a System Reserved Partition, which makes things simpler. A
From Brian K's post this is what pertains to you...
Restore to a new HD if a SRP is not present
Verify recovery point before restore
Resize drive after recover (unallocated space only) (ONLY if you want to)
Partition type : Primary
Check for file system errors after recovery
Set drive active (for booting OS)
Restore original disk signature
Restore master boot record
You would resize the drive if you are replacing the current drive with a larger drive.
You mention having a D Drive, is it a second partition or a seperate physical hardrive?
You may want to post a screenshot of Disk Management so we can see how you partitions are arranged to make sure thare are no traps.
Hello Red –
You said “You do not need a one time backup, just a full backup of your C drive.” And you said I would need a backup that would be a v2i file. Maybe I am misinterpreting your comments in that when I select One Time Backup on Ghost I do get the file v2i as seen below where I can select Drives C or D or both in the One Time Backup. Is that OK? From my comments that follow on the D drive, should I backup both C and D drives or only the C drive?
You also say “Since you are using Vista, you do not have a System Reserved Partition.” And so you advise “Restore to a new HD if a SRP is not present.” My D drive is a second partition. The D drive is only used to restore my computer to its factory state when it was shipped to me. So, am I misinterpreting your comments where I think I do have a SRP?
Below is a shot of my Disk Management. I could not capture the complete picture, so if you need more information please let me know.
Jerry
I cannot see the images yet. If the D partition is a Recovery Partition, you probably do not need to restore it. I believe you have an option to make an install disc, right?
The Windows 7 SRP (System Reserved Partition) holds the boot files and is marked active. Vista did not use this and the boot files are on the same partition as the OS (C Drive). Therefore when you recover your C Drive, it will be the active partition.
The v2i (Recovery Point File or Image file) can be made in 3 ways. Cold Image, One Time Backup or Scheduled Backup. It doesn't matter how you got the v2i file as long s it is error free.
An iv2i file is an incremental file that is built off of the previous iv2i files and ultimately the baseline backup file. As long as you have the whole chain, you can restore from any of those. For example...
C_Drive001.v2i
C_Drive001_i001.iv2i
C_Drive001_i002.iv2i
C_Drive001_i003.iv2i
C_Drive001_i004.iv2i
C_Drive001_i005.iv2i
C_Drive001_i006.iv2i
C_Drive001_i007.iv2i
C_Drive001_i008.iv2i
C_Drive001_i009.iv2i
C_Drive001_i010.iv2i
C_Drive001_i011.iv2i
C_Drive001_i012.iv2i
C_Drive001_i013.iv2i
C_Drive001_i014.iv2i
C_Drive001_i015.iv2i
C_Drive001_i016.iv2i
...each one of these files rely on the previous one. If C_Drive001_i007.iv2i were corrupted or deleted, anything after that is null and void. C_Drive001_i006.iv2i and previous would still be valid.
Does that help?
You should get your hands on a blank HDD and try a restore to it. It is the best way to know how to do it and have confidence if or when the time comes.
I can see your pictures now. As you can see you have three partitions. You probably need to backup the first one too. For some strange reason they put the D partition before the C partition. I think if you do a restore without the first two partitions, it will end up in a non booting system. I THINK it could be fixed with a Vista startup repair disc that you should make now and keep safe.
Hopefully Dave H or Brian K will comment on this strange partition layout.
Hello Red –
First, let me answer to your point of trying to recover as a test. About two weeks ago I had a system operating issue that had appeared recently. I took a guess and chose a recovery date where I thought my system was working okay and recovered my computer only using C and D partitions. The result was my issue was fixed and my computer worked correctly. Probably, if I were to do it again, I would only recover the C drive. So, I guess I should be okay in that regards.
With your response, I see that I should still use the settings under “Restore to a new HD if a SRP is not present” that you mentioned in your previous post.
You ask, “I believe you have an option to make an install disc, right.” Are you referring to the D partition or my Operating System Windows Vista Reinstallation Disk?
Previously I had a forum question that asked for my Disk Management. Below is a shot of one of the responses.
"One time backups" are manual easy backups and can be used to backup multiple partitions. I use them all the time.
A "One Time Backup" is a full computer copy just highlight the partitions and hit the button.
Deric
Good to know that you were able to recover your C and D drives and all worked out.
If you ever restore to a blank drive, You will be missing the EISA partition. This is the first partition that doesn't have a drive letter. I think it contains factory diagnostic tools. This will shift the other two partition up one notch to 1st and 2nd place. Since the boot manager is looking for Windows on the third partition. I don't think it will boot since it will be on the 2nd partition.
The startup repair disc I mentioned is not an install disc, It is to help solve problems with a non booting system.
On Windows 7 you can either type "disc" in the search box and it will bring up 'Create a System Repair Disc", or you can go to Start > Programs > Maintenance > Create a System Repair Disc. If that fails... C:\windows\system32\recdisc.exe. I would assume Vista is the same.
Hello Red –
Appreciate again your and Deric’s response.
You said, “Since the boot manager is looking for Windows on the third partition. I don't think it will boot since it will be on the 2nd partition.”
I’m not sure what you are telling me. When I did recover My Computer using the C and D drives, my computer did boot up in a normal manner without the aid of the original first partition. Your thoughts?
In my case when I tried the links you mentioned to create a System Repair Disc, those links were not on my computer. I did a little research where it said, “Startup Repair is located on the System Recovery Options, which is on the Windows Vista installation disc if your computer manufacturer has preinstalled recovery options.” Also, I think remember seeing a Repair notation when I hit the F8 button. So, I think I’m covered there.
Now with all that being said, let me introduce another wrinkle I just discovered.
I was wondering if Ghost would allow me to back up the 55 MB partition, if for some reason I would need it. This is what I found out. Please look at the shot below. The EISA Configuration appears to be the 55 MB in the first partition.
Now, if I go to Ghost and select Show Hidden Drives it will show me another entry, Dell Utility. See below. I think the 55 MB and the Dell Utility are one in the same. So, it tells me if needed, I could back up that first partition as well as the second and third.
If the above is true, does that change any of your previous comments?
Jerry
If your HDD dies, you will not have a repair option because it is on the HDD. You need a copy of it on an optical disc. If you have a Windows Vista or 7 install disc, it can serve as the repair disc.
The reason your restore worked is because the partitions were already there. If you ever have to install a new blank drive, it will not have partitions. Since you do not have a backup of the Dell utility partition, don't think Ghost will create the same partition layout. You will end up with the boot files looking on the wrong partition.
I would do a one time backup of the Dell utility partition. If you ever need a new HDD, you will have all partitions available.
Vista boots like windows 7, by partition signature rather than partition location.
So you can restore the vista partition anywhere you want and it will boot.
The Dell utility partition is so small you might as well keep it. It never changes so just image it once.
I never used it but people say it has some helpful tools.
The recovery partition never changes either, image it once and it's up to you if you want to restore it or not.
If your restoring everything onto a larger drive you may want to keep it if you ever think you may want to restore the system to factory condition. Otherwise you may be better of making a data partition and usuing your images to restore the system.
If your moving to a smaller drive, like a SSD, leaving out the recovery partition saves valuable space.
Dave
Thanks to all who contributed. I feel more comfortable if I need to recover to a new hard drive.
If not for your help, I can see now I would have had problems had I tried to restore.
Jerry