Installing A Hdd Mirror Image Over An Existing Copy Of Windows?
May 4, 2012
I bought a laptop running windows 7 SP1 with some other software already installed on it. I recently upgraded to a desktop that is much faster also running windows 7. I made a mirror of the laptop HDD. Is there a way to install this mirror onto the desktop HDD so that I can use my new desktop as if it were my laptop?
I have an external enclosure. Could anyone point to me where to go and read in point blank detail step by step how to:
1. Make a mirror image backup copy of the pc hard drive including partitions and the OS..
2. How to set it in such a way that I could save the eventual changes produced in that backed up copy by doing in future just an incremental back up each time (of only what has changed since the previous backup).I am running Windows 7 Home 64-bit.
Can somebody please advise how to only copy data changes to a 2nd mirror drive (identical) is there any software free or buy that will do this job quickly as I have been doing it manually.I have 2 drive identical and I work on one for some time then I clone it to the 2nd drive but all I really want to do is copy the data/work only and not system files.
I have my present hard drive backed up using Windows Backup on an external hard drive. I want to replace the 500gb hard drive in my desktop with a 1tb hard drive, I am assuming (i know bad word) after the transfer is complete the new hard drive will be recognized and function on boot as the 500gb drive did.
I am replacing my HHD with a SSD and made a mirror image on my backup external drive. When I tried to do the system image recovery, it fails to find the recovery information. It says the no disk that can be used for recovering the system disk can be found.
I cannot copy a file and replace an exiting file:No messages, not even "file exists"; this includes drags and copy/paste.Get "file exists" on "Save As.On "Cut" "Error 0x80070490: Element not found"I have to physically delete the file and paste the new one. This is not a protection problem, it is just a simple text file that I created for the test in 2 different folders. This is the first time I have ever seen this including Win 3.1.
On hard drive drive only Win7 mirror image."Some Smart" deleted all. Motherboard was bad - change motherboard & memory.Start resoring windows and when it start setting for first time say config error.
i cant seem to find a thread that will tell me so, but i currently have win 7 64bit which is my main system, but also its partioned with xp, what i need to do is reinstal windows 7 again but dont want to loose my xp. do i have to delete windows 7 first before instaling, its time my pc had a good clear up.
I have a setup running with 1 physical SATA disk divided in two partitions (C,D). Tomorrow i am receiving an 120GB SSD. I am planning on disconnecting the HDD and plugging the SSD with AHCI enabled in the bios and performing a clean install.I need help for the steps after that, what is going to happen when i plug in the HDD in the 2nd SATA port? Will windows boot from the SSD and see the two partitions as D & E? If this is the case can i merge the 2 partitions after that and not lose any data? The purpose as you can see is to install fresh Win 7 on the SSD and plug in the HDD after that for storage purposes only but want 1 partition to it.
I have a problem as follows: After I restared my comp yesterday, win 7 loads up the blue-green screen with leafs, and right after that, hangs on the black screen with visible cursor.i'm only able to move it then. ctr+alt+del is not working.
What strange, in the safe mode all works well. I tried 'last known config' - didn't work. I tried system restore - same thing. I tried to repair system with the 'repair tool' from the cd - didn't recognize any problems.
My question - is it possible to re-place system files, or do un upgrade win 7 to win 7 but keeping all my programs installed? I really do not want to reinstall them, it would last 3 days.
In old xp, there was an option to hit 'r' on the second question while installing from cd, and we could have everything still installed, but system files replaced.
I have a system with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit installed on the C: drive and the Users folders moved to the D: drive (per the directions in this tutorial User Profiles - Create and Move During Windows 7 Installation. I have a new motherboard (Asus ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3), CPU (Intel I5-2500k), memory (Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 ), SSD (Corsair Force Series GT 120GB) and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit on order that I want to swap into this system. Well, actually, I guess that it is mostly a new system with my old D: data drive, power supply and case.I have a few questions about the best way to go about getting up and running with the least amount of headaches: The new MB has a UEFI BIOS, so does that mean that it will automatically create a GPT style disk on the SSD for the new Windows 7 installation, or is there the option to create a MBR style disk? The reason that I ask, is that I use Macrium Reflect Free to make drive image backups of the C: drive periodically and it doesnot work with GPT disks apparently. My thoughts are to leave all of the data on the D: drive as it is, and do a clean install of Windows 7 on the new SSD after all of the components are swapped out. Would it be better to rename the Users folder on my D: drive, install Windows 7 and use the same tutorial as above to move the Users at this time, thus creating a second version of the Users folder and then delete the new and rename the old, or would it be better to install everything to the new SSD, and then after installation, then move the individual folders and point them to the existing folders on the D: drive? Is there a difference in moving Users folders during installation and moving after installation? It looks to me like the move during installation moves the ProgramData folder as well. For those that do clean re-installs, is there a good generic way to preserve application preferences/configurations/settings for installed applications and then be able to use them after everything is installed back? If I can use the existing Users folder that is on my D: drive after the install of Windows 7, will this do what I am looking for? In the past, I have used various techniques like screen prints, some apps have a preferences file that can be saved and moved back,
I was going through the instructions on TweakHound for a clean install of Windows 7. 1 -oot up from the Windows 7 installation disc.2 - Choose Repair your computer.3 - In the System Recovery Options screen, choose Use recovery tools...and click Next.4 - Open the Command Prompt.5 - Type diskpart and hit Enter.6 - Type list disk . Find the disk you wish to install Windows 7 on. If you only have one disk then it will show as disk 0. If you have multiple disks find the drive you wish to install 7 on.7 - Type select disk 0 (or use the number of the disk you wish to install Windows 7 on)(note - that is a zero)8 - Type list partition. There shouldn't be any.9 - Type create partition primary.10- Type select partition 1.11- Type active.12- Type format quick.13- When finished reboot and begin your installation.I got to step 8 and when I did a "list partition" there are 4 partitions on my machine. Partition 1 - OEM 47MBPartition 2 - Primary 51GBPartition 3 - Primary 17GBPartition 4 - Primary 4753MBWhere do I go from here? Do I use the current configuration? Delete partitions (if I do that how do I do that?) Which partitions to keep?
Is there a quicker way to copy image? MS instructions is causing my dvd drive errors when I'm copying image to cd disk. MS istructions are giving you two ways to copy your HD image. Both sets of options are showing media too small error and when I go and check if anything is showing copied image nothing is on that disk. I'm using cd-r 700 mb disks from Best Buy.
I'm currently using Windows 7 Professional and have 4 internal HD's set up in RAID. Current Setup: 2 - 500GB drives in RAID 0 2 - 500GB drives in RAID 1
I use the RAID 1 drives for backup purposes only. I have 3 partitions on Raid 0, named as follows: A:,B:,C: I have the OS (Windows 7) installed on C: partition and use the other two partitions on RAID 0 for data. Future Setup: I have just bought the Intel X-25 120GB SSD and would like to do a clean OS install on the SSD and still keep my RAID 0 and RAID 1 setup for other data.
Here's my question: 1. How can I install the OS on SSD without disrupting any data on the RAID 0 and RAID 1 HD's?
I would like to be able to install the OS on SSD and still have access to the data on my previous C: drive on RAID 0 (including the OS data). I want to delete the OS data on the RAID 0 HD from within Windows(on SDD) if that makes. Will that be possible?
I'm afraid of losing my RAID drives/data. I have read that I should unplug the RAID drives before I install Windows on SDD and then re-plug them again. Is there a particular order I should do that in? Will the BIOS recognize the old set up if I unplug/re-plug the old drives? way to install Windows on the single SSD without losing the existing RAID 0 & RAID 1 setup and data.
I am not able to make backup, I get message not enough free space for shadow copy? How do I resolve this? I understand some kind of USN journal is created on System reserved partion. This hidden partition was created when I installed and now I have only 38Mb free out of 100Mb. As I understand this has been an Issue for more than a year, and still Microsoft has not resolved?
I have some pictures in my computer that I had too in my external hd as a backup. Last time I just formatted my PC and restored the backup from the external HD. I had a batch file script that automated both backup and restore process, so I could just let it working overnight. The big problem is that I needed to format the external, but after doing this, I realized that some installers that I had restored was corrupted, like some videos and other files. Then I checked the pictures, and lots of them are damaged. I can open the files, but some have distortions, or colors are messed up. I tried to defrag the drive, tried pixrecovery to restore the picture, but no way, they're still damaged. I want to know if anyone have any idea for me. Really important pictures to me are damaged now..
win7 disk from the prompt, however the Repair option isnt avaialbe, my "Partition 1" with windows currently on it is 484gb's and only 21 is free, i cannot system restore, safe mode or anything so this is my only option, i cant backup any data as i have no externals, and i need everything on this drive intact, so formatting isnt an option but the OS is unbootable due to a bad driver, which i cant fix, im at the Win7 setup screen ive clicked install, accepted terms, and now i have to select the partition to instal windows on i have my 100mb recovery and my main partition, with all my stuf on it, if i choose this partition and click next but i dont click the format button
I am making regular backups - both the image backup and the file sets using Windows 7 Backup program. No problems with that.
But, I periodically would like to copy the image backup to a portable drive. I plan to take this portable drive offsite to a secure location - I call it my archive.
Is this possible? What files must I copy? Do I have to maintain a certain directory structure or naming convention in case I have to use the archived copy to restore (assume a bare metal restoration)?
I thought I could just copy the VHD files (boot and system) but the image backup has other directories and files and I just don't understand their purpose.
I need to copy these files rather than running the backup over again to this portable archive device. I have multiple computers and it is impractical for me to physically access each computer to re-run an image backup to the same archive device.
My archive device is a regular USB/eSata HDD and I don't plan to put VSS on it.
While I was installing an OEM 64-bit version of Windows 7 I got the following pop-up message during the "completing installation" step:
setup.exe - Bad image C:Windowssystem32sppc.dll is either not designed to run on windows or it contains a error. Try installing the program again using the original installation media or contact your system administrator or the software vendor for support.
I hit ok, and it popped up again... and again... etc. So finally I tried to cancel the Install via the standard red x routine. Upon which i received a message saying that installation cannot be cancelled at this point... blah blah"
So being stuck and unable to finish or cancel the installation, I went for the good old turn off the computer method. Then I started fresh reformatting the drive and all. I had to leave the location I was at unfortunately while it was at "extracting files 52%" We'll see what's showing when I arrive in the morning.
Now, the question(s):
What causes this message to appear? And obviously, how do I fix/prevent it?
If it's due to bad media, how do I get a replacement copy? (seeing as it's OEM and thus I am technically responsible for support as I am the system builder)
Finally, the disclaimer:
Yes, I do know the difference between OEM and Retail. Yes, I did legitimately purchase the installation media & key. Yes, I am reselling this system to an end user; it is NOT for personal use. No, I did not run the OPK prior to using this software; I did not see the point as in this particular case I am personally setting up the machine for the client (plugging it in, installing software, registering & activating that software as well as the OS, etc.) Yes, I did look on this forum, as well as others, including window's own, and all over "the Google" to no avail
I was using recovery manager to reset my laptop (ACER 5470G) back to factory settings. The image failed to copy across. I then got Boot Mgr is Missing - I have tried, everything it states on the internet and even bought some software WIN RE to carry out the recovery but nothing works. I have tried to reinstall W7 ISO and W7 full installation software but it all has failed. The message i get with the full install disc and iso is that the system i have to select a drive PQ, F and C, the only option I have is C, but when I try it states it can't do it. I tried Ubuntu and it did work, so I presume the HDD is ok. I did have Zone Alarm Data-lock installed on it and I don't know if that is preventing the re-install. I tried to install XP, but that just dies out.
I am preparing for MCTS 70-680 (Win 7 configuration exam) for doing labs I am using VMware workstation 7. Every thing is going OK but when I try to copy the created image wim file to destination computer. On that particular destination computer I cannot access the e: drive in which I have the Windows PE (pre environment) disk.
The command I use is like that : x:e:imagex.exe /apply f:capturedimage.wim 1 c: I got error the system cannot find the drive specified.
I want to install a fresh copy of Win 7 on a second actually third hard drive my question is do I just run it from my present Windows installation or do I run at boot up from the BIOS? My quandary is when in the BIOS I can't tell which drive is which? I do not want to wipe out my present installation is my question
Alright, I did a backup image in Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit from a 500GB drive. I then took that out and put in a new Barracuda 3TB sata3 drive. After it was done restoring the image I extended the volume and of course it only gave me 2TB of space. So after reading a bit I needed to use Seagates disc wizard to format it to accept and show 3TB (2.79 useable) space which I did by hooking it up as an extra drive in another computer. Now my question is when I do hook it up in the new computer and put the image on again the process wants to automatically format the drive and in doing so I am afraid I will end up with the same 2TB's of space after extending the volume again.
I need to install Windows 7 on multiple computers (over 20), overwriting the original install with a customized one with added software. I would use a boot time imaging software to simply load the image but I am concerned about the license key for each computer.Could I update the cloned license information with the license I copied from each computer beforehand? Either by getting it from the documentation that came with the computer or by using a software tool to extract the key from the Windows 7 install that was originally on the computer before I overwrite it with the clone image.
I have a drive that was using PGP that has become damaged and will not boot despite trying 3 days of different fixes and repairs. I have a complete drive backup that will restore but when I try and boot after my PGP password I get 'Missing operating system'. Again I have tried decrypting and fixing but to no end.
I have another disk with a working and booting install of Windows 7 (same architecture etc) on. I have the entire contents of the non-booting system disk that I can access from the image of it.
If I booted into something like Windows Recovery or Live Linux environment, can I copy the entire contents of the non-working Windows 7 drive over the working one and expect it to work and then boot?
I was looking at the Dell Inspiron Zino HD to replace the full tower PC in my living room that has lower specs. Right now my living room PC is running Ubuntu 9.04 with Boxee so if I did order the Zino HD I would install Ubuntu on it and not need Windows.
My question is can I take the copy of windows that comes with the Zino HD and give it to my sister to put on her PC? Right now she has XP(was running Vista but she downgraded). Also, her computer is not a Dell, if that matters. It does have a 64 bit Intel chip though, so would I need to order a 64 bit version of Windows 7 with my Zino HD?
I haven't called Dell to see if I can get a Zino HD OSless but that is always a hassle and my sister could use a copy of Windows 7.
If it is possible do I call Microsoft right away to deactivate it or can I just give her the CDs to my sister and install and activate on her computer? Also, do I need to get Ultimate with my Zino HD to have it work or can I do it with the cheapest version that has 64 bit?
I am currently planning on upgrading one of my PC's that has a genuine retail version of 64-bit Win7 Home Premium installed.
I am planning on replacing my ageing (E5200/P35/DDR2/HDD) hardware with fresh stuff (Core i3 530/H55/DDR3/SSD).
The way I understand it is that if I were to just replace my MOBO and CPU I could just plug my old hard drive into the new mobo and use the windows disc to repair any problems it may have. However, I am planning on upgrading to an SSD as well.
My question is this, if I make a bare metal backup of Win7 off my current hard drive onto the SSD using something like Clonezilla, and then boot off the SSD once my new system is built, will there be any issues that the Win7 disc won't solve? I don't want to get all this new kit just to find I need a new OS as well.
Anyway, I hope that makes sense.
EDIT: I should add that I currently have 3 hard drives but I only have my OS on my primary hard drive so backing up my music etc isn't an issue. The SSD I'm getting is 64GB so should be fine for Win7 Install.
I just installed a ssd harddrive. Windows (7) backup discs ran fine. System image restore seems to have worked fine, only thing is programs are not showing up. This is my first time doing this and everthing I read, prior to, lead me to believe the programs would be included in the system image.