how to upgrade hard disk without loosing installed software?

[Maurizio]

Hello:
I like to upgrade my current 200GB hard disk to a 1TB one, but without
re-installing all softwares. So I made an image of the main partition C:
(40 GB) with Norton Ghost 2003, and put it on an external USB hard disk.
Then I removed my HD, and put a 80GB one, just for test. I restarted
from Norton ghost 2003 CD, and tried to get back the image already
stored on the external HD. after restoring the image, the new HD didn't
boot. is that because it was not formatted to a 40GB partition?
what's the best method for doing that? is there a tool that retrieve an
image and store it in a completely blank new disk?

thanks in advance

 

[Carpe_Diem]

Op 10/09/2013 17:40, Maurizio schreef:

Hello:
I like to upgrade my current 200GB hard disk to a 1TB one, but without
re-installing all softwares. So I made an image of the main partition C:
(40 GB) with Norton Ghost 2003, and put it on an external USB hard disk.
Then I removed my HD, and put a 80GB one, just for test. I restarted
from Norton ghost 2003 CD, and tried to get back the image already
stored on the external HD. after restoring the image, the new HD didn't
boot. is that because it was not formatted to a 40GB partition?
what's the best method for doing that? is there a tool that retrieve an
image and store it in a completely blank new disk?

thanks in advance

The best strategy is a disk cloning program ; see :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_disk_cloning_software
Is it a laptop or a desktop?

 

[Ed Cryer]

Hello:
I like to upgrade my current 200GB hard disk to a 1TB one, but without
re-installing all softwares. So I made an image of the main partition C:
(40 GB) with Norton Ghost 2003, and put it on an external USB hard disk.
Then I removed my HD, and put a 80GB one, just for test. I restarted
from Norton ghost 2003 CD, and tried to get back the image already
stored on the external HD. after restoring the image, the new HD didn't
boot. is that because it was not formatted to a 40GB partition?
what's the best method for doing that? is there a tool that retrieve an
image and store it in a completely blank new disk?

thanks in advance

It sounds as if you omitted the boot partition.

Have a look at the original 200GB disk. It could be a simple job of just
ghosting that too.

An alternative would be to let Windows itself create the necessary boot
files. To do that boot from a System Repair disk; or from a Win7 setup
disc and choose repair.

Good luck,
Ed

 

[Ed Cryer]

It sounds as if you omitted the boot partition.

Have a look at the original 200GB disk. It could be a simple job of just
ghosting that too.

An alternative would be to let Windows itself create the necessary boot
files. To do that boot from a System Repair disk; or from a Win7 setup
disc and choose repair.

Good luck,
Ed

Quick recommendation.
If you omitted the boot partition, then you probably omitted the
recovery partition as well.
My recommendation is to ghost the full original 200GB drive, and restore
from that.

Ed

 

[OldGuy]

Hello:

I like to upgrade my current 200GB hard disk to a 1TB one, but without
re-installing all softwares. So I made an image of the main partition C: (40
GB) with Norton Ghost 2003, and put it on an external USB hard disk. Then I
removed my HD, and put a 80GB one, just for test. I restarted from Norton
ghost 2003 CD, and tried to get back the image already stored on the external
HD. after restoring the image, the new HD didn't boot. is that because it was
not formatted to a 40GB partition?
what's the best method for doing that? is there a tool that retrieve an
image and store it in a completely blank new disk?

thanks in advance

Cloning a HD include bad sectors and other stuff you do not want.

I use Macrium Reflect FREE (make sure you get the free and during an
update, do not update but go to the website and download the newest
Macrium Reflect free. BTW it is freeee.

Create an image using Macrium Reflect Free. (You can also do a clone
with it but image is better).
Then create a Macrium boot disk: Either Linux based or MS based (MS
based takes a little longer due to larger size files but it is more
Windows user, user friendly) to create the operation sys and all files
on the new HD.



--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: (e-mail address removed) ---

 

[Paul]

Hello:
I like to upgrade my current 200GB hard disk to a 1TB one, but without
re-installing all softwares. So I made an image of the main partition C:
(40 GB) with Norton Ghost 2003, and put it on an external USB hard disk.
Then I removed my HD, and put a 80GB one, just for test. I restarted
from Norton ghost 2003 CD, and tried to get back the image already
stored on the external HD. after restoring the image, the new HD didn't
boot. is that because it was not formatted to a 40GB partition?
what's the best method for doing that? is there a tool that retrieve an
image and store it in a completely blank new disk?

thanks in advance

Go back to Disk Management and have another look at the disk.

Windows 7 can be installed using one partition or two.

My laptop uses two partitions, called C: and SYSTEM RESERVED.
The SYSTEM RESERVED partition does not have a drive letter.
And that causes problems for backup programs which use
a drive letter as an identifier. I backup both of those
when doing backups. (Windows 7 comes with System Image
from Microsoft, for this purpose.)

When copying the contents of the 200GB drive to the 1TB drive,
this will be easy. Because there is plenty of room, and no reason
to be selective about anything. You can just copy every sector,
secure in the knowledge it will boot.

If you're going from a 200GB drive to a 80GB drive, then
a more selective copy is required. There might not be room
for all the information content.

But in any case, as long as you got C: , SYSTEM RESERVED, and
the MBR at sector 0, that should be enough to get it to work.
Getting the other partitions is nice, but not essential
to getting boot going.

Macrium Reflect Free can do it.

http://download.cnet.com/Macrium-Reflect-Free/3000-2242_4-10845728.html?tag=mncol;1

The download is not 2.2MB. The "teaser" downloader program is
2.2MB. The actual download is at least 30MB. The "teaser" will
try to install toolbars and the like, and be generally annoying.
Keep your wits about you.

Once Macrium is running, there is a "Clone this disk" button,
underneath the drive definition. That would be suitable if
both 200GB and 80GB were connected at the same time. Notice
how this situation in the picture below is similar to yours,
in that Disk 1 has the tiny 100MB "SYSTEM RESERVED" partition,
as well as the larger C: partition. And both need to be copied
over to be bootable.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/macrium_reflect.jpg

I would clean off the 80GB drive now, before attempting it.
You want to show Macrium a disk with no partitions, so it
will be recognized as the target immediately. You can use
Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc) to delete the partitions
you've already put on the "empty" 80GB drive. Then give it a
whirl.

The system utility, "diskpart", has a "clean" option as well,
which will instantly remove the partitions (by zeroing a portion
of the MBR). But that's not very user friendly. Some learning
required, to use that one.

Once Macrium is finished the copy step, you will want to
disconnect the 200GB drive, before test booting the 80GB drive.
For the first boot, the source drive should be disconnected.
For subsequent boots, no care is required. Booting the destination
drive, with the source absent, also proves there are no
"entanglements" or "dependencies" between the operation
of the two disks.

Paul

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Ed.

It sounds as if you omitted the boot partition.

It sounds as if you forgot that we BOOT from the SYSTEM partition and keep
the operating SYSTEM files in the BOOT volume.

I think he omitted the SYSTEM partition. (The Boot Volume is the one with
the \Windows folder tree and all the thousands of files that make up the
Windows OS. I'm sure you know this, but the OP probably doesn't.)

The boot process starts with the few files in the System Partition, which
point the way to the many files in the Boot Volume. Without the System
Partition (which, like the Recovery Partition, often has no "drive" letter
these days), the computer doesn't know how to find C:\Windows. Confirm this
terminology by looking at the labels in the Status column of Disk
Management.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010)
Windows Live Mail 2012 (Build 16.4.3508.0205) in Win8 Pro


"Ed Cryer" wrote in message

Hello:
I like to upgrade my current 200GB hard disk to a 1TB one, but without
re-installing all softwares. So I made an image of the main partition C:
(40 GB) with Norton Ghost 2003, and put it on an external USB hard disk.
Then I removed my HD, and put a 80GB one, just for test. I restarted
from Norton ghost 2003 CD, and tried to get back the image already
stored on the external HD. after restoring the image, the new HD didn't
boot. is that because it was not formatted to a 40GB partition?
what's the best method for doing that? is there a tool that retrieve an
image and store it in a completely blank new disk?

thanks in advance

It sounds as if you omitted the boot partition.

Have a look at the original 200GB disk. It could be a simple job of just
ghosting that too.

An alternative would be to let Windows itself create the necessary boot
files. To do that boot from a System Repair disk; or from a Win7 setup
disc and choose repair.

Good luck,
Ed

 

[Ed Cryer]

Hi, Ed.


It sounds as if you forgot that we BOOT from the SYSTEM partition and
keep the operating SYSTEM files in the BOOT volume.

I think he omitted the SYSTEM partition. (The Boot Volume is the one
with the \Windows folder tree and all the thousands of files that make
up the Windows OS. I'm sure you know this, but the OP probably doesn't.)

The boot process starts with the few files in the System Partition,
which point the way to the many files in the Boot Volume. Without the
System Partition (which, like the Recovery Partition, often has no
"drive" letter these days), the computer doesn't know how to find
C:\Windows. Confirm this terminology by looking at the labels in the
Status column of Disk Management.

RC

Quite so. It's the system partition he needs.

What do you think of this method? It's the way I'd do what the OP is
doing. In fact item 1 is my routine backup procedure.

1. Use Paragon Backup to create an image of the whole HD onto an
external drive. That includes all partitions; even ones without a letter
under Windows.
2. Remove HD; put in new one.
3. Boot with a Paragon restore disc and restore the saved image to the
new HD.
4. Boot from HD.
5. Delete any partition you might not want to keep.
(I suppose that "Paragon" can be replaced by quite a few other backup
utilities. But do they incorporate that very useful single click for the
whole drive? A Windows 7 system image also would work because it
incorporates the System partition even without a letter assigned.)

Ed

 

[Dave]

Cloning a HD include bad sectors and other stuff you do not want.

I use Macrium Reflect FREE (make sure you get the free and during an
update, do not update but go to the website and download the newest
Macrium Reflect free. BTW it is freeee.

What's your objection to using the Macrium update dialog, I use it all the
time, same with other programs.

 

[Scott]

Hello:
I like to upgrade my current 200GB hard disk to a 1TB one, but without
re-installing all softwares. So I made an image of the main partition C:
(40 GB) with Norton Ghost 2003, and put it on an external USB hard disk.
Then I removed my HD, and put a 80GB one, just for test. I restarted
from Norton ghost 2003 CD, and tried to get back the image already
stored on the external HD. after restoring the image, the new HD didn't
boot. is that because it was not formatted to a 40GB partition?
what's the best method for doing that? is there a tool that retrieve an
image and store it in a completely blank new disk?

thanks in advance

To avoid loosing the software a good screwdriver is needed. If you
want to avoid losing the software, well that's an IT question

 

[Danny D.]

The best strategy is a disk cloning program

While that may be true, I suggest that forethought is the best answer
(and cheapest).

Here's what *I* do:

1. I save all my downloaded installers in a specific software hierarchy
e.g., c:\software\archivers\{IZarc,WinRar,WinZip,etc.
c:\software\browsers\{firefox,ie,safari,etc.
c:\software\cleaners\{ccleaner,avast,malwarebytes,etc.
etc.

2. I create an ISO of the few store-bought necessities,
e.g., Microsoft Office can (almost) always be downloaded from MS.com
Adobe Acrobat disks can be copied and installed from a zip file
TurboTax can be saved as an ISO file
etc.

3. I always put all data in a separate directory, *outside* of all
Microsoft-provided directories! I can't stress enough the sheer
importance of never using any Microsoft-provided directory!

It matters not where you put the data - other than to avoid (like the
plague) anything created by Microsoft. The reason is that anything that
other developers know about will be polluted enough to make the Indian
cry just by the sight of it.

I keep data in (duh) c:\data, organized by users
e.g., c:\data\user1\{organized by that user any way they like)
c:\data\user2\{organized by that user any way they like)
c:\data\user3\{organized by that user any way they like)
etc.

But, the point is to simply keep *all data outside the polluted
hierarchies*.

4. The only other thing I do is I maintain a menu hierarchy that is the
same as the software archive hierarchy (which, incidentally, is the same
as the software-installation hierarchy in C:\apps\{archiver,browser
\cleaner,etc}).

Now comes the easy part. Let's say it's time to re-install the operating
system. With all the forethought above, the re-install is trivially easy:

A. Back up the C:\data hierarchy.
B. Format the hard disk & re-install the operating system
C. Copy the data back
D. Copy the menu back
D. Re-install the applications, one by one, into the same hierarchies
e.g., c:\apps\archivers\{IZarc,WinRar,WinZip,etc.
c:\apps\browsers\{firefox,ie,safari,etc.
c:\apps\cleaners\{ccleaner,avast,malwarebytes,etc.
etc.

I've been doing this for 20 years or so!

Rules of thumb for instant re-use:
#1. All data you care about goes ONLY in c:\data (nowhere else!)
#2. Save installers in c:\data\software the moment you download them!
#3. Set up your menu once, to reflect the software hierarchy 1:1

Good luck!

 

[Char Jackson]

Cloning a HD include bad sectors and other stuff you do not want.

Bad sectors, no. Not sure what "other stuff you do not want" might be, but
anytime you start leaving things out, it's not really a clone anymore.

I use Macrium Reflect FREE (make sure you get the free and during an
update, do not update but go to the website and download the newest
Macrium Reflect free. BTW it is freeee.

Using the update is fine. Not sure why you're advising against it.

Create an image using Macrium Reflect Free. (You can also do a clone
with it but image is better).

If it's a clone that you want, then making a clone is 'better'. There's no
need to make an image and then restore that image to another drive when all
you wanted in the first place was a clone.

Then create a Macrium boot disk: Either Linux based or MS based (MS
based takes a little longer due to larger size files but it is more
Windows user, user friendly) to create the operation sys and all files
on the new HD.

You can avoid all of that by simply cloning.

 

[Ed Cryer]

While that may be true, I suggest that forethought is the best answer
(and cheapest).

Here's what *I* do:

1. I save all my downloaded installers in a specific software hierarchy
e.g., c:\software\archivers\{IZarc,WinRar,WinZip,etc.
c:\software\browsers\{firefox,ie,safari,etc.
c:\software\cleaners\{ccleaner,avast,malwarebytes,etc.
etc.

2. I create an ISO of the few store-bought necessities,
e.g., Microsoft Office can (almost) always be downloaded from MS.com
Adobe Acrobat disks can be copied and installed from a zip file
TurboTax can be saved as an ISO file
etc.

3. I always put all data in a separate directory, *outside* of all
Microsoft-provided directories! I can't stress enough the sheer
importance of never using any Microsoft-provided directory!

It matters not where you put the data - other than to avoid (like the
plague) anything created by Microsoft. The reason is that anything that
other developers know about will be polluted enough to make the Indian
cry just by the sight of it.

I keep data in (duh) c:\data, organized by users
e.g., c:\data\user1\{organized by that user any way they like)
c:\data\user2\{organized by that user any way they like)
c:\data\user3\{organized by that user any way they like)
etc.

But, the point is to simply keep *all data outside the polluted
hierarchies*.

4. The only other thing I do is I maintain a menu hierarchy that is the
same as the software archive hierarchy (which, incidentally, is the same
as the software-installation hierarchy in C:\apps\{archiver,browser
\cleaner,etc}).

Now comes the easy part. Let's say it's time to re-install the operating
system. With all the forethought above, the re-install is trivially easy:

A. Back up the C:\data hierarchy.
B. Format the hard disk & re-install the operating system
C. Copy the data back
D. Copy the menu back
D. Re-install the applications, one by one, into the same hierarchies
e.g., c:\apps\archivers\{IZarc,WinRar,WinZip,etc.
c:\apps\browsers\{firefox,ie,safari,etc.
c:\apps\cleaners\{ccleaner,avast,malwarebytes,etc.
etc.

I've been doing this for 20 years or so!

Rules of thumb for instant re-use:
#1. All data you care about goes ONLY in c:\data (nowhere else!)
#2. Save installers in c:\data\software the moment you download them!
#3. Set up your menu once, to reflect the software hierarchy 1:1

Good luck!

I think that would be great if you had to do a complete system rebuild
from scratch every month; well worth the effort, but otherwise just
wasted time.

Ed