if i clone my dell provided hdd, can i do a dell pc restore on the new hdd

Hi dool750,

Cloning the entire drive can be a serious challenge, since the restore and utility partitions frequently do not get copied properly. What program did you use?

thank you for your prompt reply.

i used the  seagate disc wizard version 10, that came w/ the new disc.

but i haven't installed yet

i have dled a copy of mini disc partition pro wizard v6.0. but i haven't installed it yet. and really have no clue how to use it ...yet

but some with few days of cramming,  i am >guessing< i could copy the original partition and overwrite the corrupt partition on the new disc.. i think.....  i guess..... i assume ....

please, any better suggestions welcome. should i use  different software?

thank you

dool750

to restore a clone to a new drive you normally have to boot up from the program that you used to clone. See if your Seagate disk is bootable and then set your bios to boot from the disk. There should be a restore utility on the disk to restore the clone to the new drive.

Acronis TrueImage has a bootable CD that will perform these operations.

Previously, I'd used an old DOS version of Norton Ghost, but it didn't work with drivers larger than 1tb.  

Hi Tony,

Just for my edification, does this process result in a cloned drive that includes working utility and restore partitions? Are you able to expand the system partition to the available drive space?

Current Dells with Dell Datasafe 2.0 Cannot be cloned.  HOWEVER if you get a 16 gig or larger USB 2 flash drive you can backup everything onto that using the basic datasafe utility. That backup gets the diag and user and restore partitions.

Its only limitation is that the restored to drive MUST BE at least as large can be larger than the original drive.  The reason is that the Factory.WIM file is stored on an encrypted NTFS partition that cannot be cloned.

If you are looking for an overall fix I would recommend macrium

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

Osprey,

Yes, the Diagnostics Utility and Restore partitions remain intact and useable.  I only expand the system partition.   Note that this specifically applies to the original poster's system which is an E510 with XP SP2 (upgraded).  I am assuming that the upgrade he mentionned is to XP SP3 and not to Windows 7.  If an XP system's C: drive has been subjected to a repair install or to a clean install of XP then the Dell Proprietary Boot Record has been modified and it will be necessary to use Dan Goodell's DSRFIX program to reattach the Dell PC Restore by Symantec Partition.    If a system has been upgraded to Vista or Windows 7 then the Utility and Restore partitions have most likely been destroyed.  If they haven't been destroyed then it is possible to put the system back to it's original XP configuration by simply reformatting the C: drive with XP and using DSRFIX to reattach the Restore partition.

I have an Inspiron XPS Gen 2 on the bench wherein the original 80Gb drive was completely repartitioned and formatted with Windows 7 by the client, an Indycar driver.  As soon as the 2Gb memory upgrade arrives this week, I will be using EASEus TODOBackup to clone that drive to a 320Gb.  I expect the helmet cam videos to work a lot better with the upgraded ram and hard drive.  I've been getting some cheap thrills watching the five-car spinout at Sebring that took him out of the race.

As Speedstep pointed out, the real can of worms comes into play when you're dealing with a system that has Dell DataSafe backup installed.  His suggestion is the best way to handle that situation.

The EASEus TODOBackup worked beautifully on a recent HP tx2525 Windows 7 laptop wherein we upgraded from a  250Gb hard drive to a 500Gb hard drive.  Everything on that system worked as if the drive had never been upgraded.

Tony

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seriously thank you... i have clone a hdd before. i should have restored then but i got lazy umm i have had no success restoring the to factory original i tried cloning the drive then deleting then copying the partitions .. i've been trying all sort of 'rube goldberg' "stuff" . like trying to clone the drive then repair widows on the new drive. google rube goldberg if you don't who he is. it basically means silly and over complicated solutions to accomplish simple tasks. anyway, i am actually prepping the discwizard boot disk as i write. i might also ask where can i get/dl the UAA High Definition Audio class driver 1.0 or 1.0a the windows install kept asking me for the install disc when i tried to repair windows .. i found allot pages describing it, but no dl links if this solution does not work i'll just have to do a complete new install partitions be "forgotten". i'll prob need the uaa drivers to do that. again, thank you

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i changed all the "offensive language" ---- offensive to only the amish...

also "rube goldberg" is a cartoonist who drew cartoons featuring overly complex machines made with every day objects who's purpose was to do something really simple like raise a shade or butter toast.

en.wikipedia.org/.../Rube_Goldberg

it is NOT some weird sexual act ..

ANYWAY..

i made a disc wizard boot disc

made a back up image of the utility sectors

replaced them in the cloned drive

booted the drive holding down Ctrl+F11 when the blue bar appears

this appears

"loading PBR for descriptor 3... done" with a blinking cursor

that's it that is all the comp does .. even when i reboot again

while i no longer get the "unable to restore" error message i'm still 'up the creek'.

BAH!!!!

did a search for "loading PBR for descriptor 3..done"  said it was a corrupt boot record in the utility partition.   followed the instructions  of booting w/ the winxp cd going to the recovery console and typing "fixboot"  all it did was fix the boot sector of the current winxp insallation. not the recovery partition boot sector

i think at this point it's time to just toss out the idea of preserving the recovery partition

Dool750,

You were almost there until you did the the "fixboot".   The "loading PBR for descriptor 3..done" is a normal message when the Dell Proprietary Boot Record (PBR) is loaded and is looking for the Dell PC Restore by Symantec partition.   If you "fix" it with "fixboot" then you actually destroy the PBR and the system has no mechanism for loading the recovery information.

Dan Goodell's DSRFIX program can be used to reconnect the Restore partition.  An explanation of the Dell PC Restore by Symantec partition and how to use DSRFIX to repair it can be found here:  www.goodells.net/.../fixes.shtml

This information should help you fix the PBR so that it can connect to the Restore partition when you press CTRL-F11 during boot up.

Tony

actually, "loading PBR for descriptor 3..done" was on my comp screen for over an hour  before i rebooted.

the "fixboot" dialogue only showed the winxp install not the utility sectors.

anyway i've kind of run out of time. being that i have to return a damaged seagate hdd before the middle of next week or get charged for new 1TB they sent me. and i still have tons of data recovery to do with the damaged drive

i wanted to do an elegant reinstall that kept all the utility partitions intact. instead i aquired a (legal) os disc and  installed a new copy of windows in the NTFS partition managing not to damage to utility partitions and now i have all partitions listed as new drives...  a very ugly software environment...but it works in the allotted time.. if i had three more weeks i would have fixed everything up, nice and neat.

i still have to upgrade windows and reinstall a ton of apps. but that means solving the reason why the new install does not recognize my router.

i also still have the original drive that came with the dell( i am actually using it right now to go online) when i don't have a few weeks and 900GB of data to back up i can try to do it right, once more.

thank you very much for all your help. especially you tony.

i wish i could have done it the right way.  but it's working with a new clean install...   as {expletive} ugly as it is.

no doubt i did stupid things in a rush

umm.... one last question: i still have the discwizard boot disc and a drive image of the utility partitions if i restore the partitions will that fix the  PBR bit i messed up by running the FIXBOOT?

anyway, thanks thanks thanks

Dool750,

Restoring the utility partitions using the DiscWizard boot disc and a drive image will most likely not fix the PBR.   Dan Goodell's DSRFIX (Dell System Restore FIX) program can be used to fix the PBR.  On his site, he also explains how the utility partition works and how it can be created.  www.goodells.net/dellutility

Since you still have the original Dell hard drive, you can always try your hand at cloning again.

Last night, I cloned an XPS Gen 2 drive to a laptop drive in an external USB enclosure. I installed EASEus TODOBackup 3.0.  After cloning the drive, I removed AC power and the battery and installed the cloned drive internally. The system booted right up with no problems.  I left the EASEus TODOBackup program on the desktop so that the user can create  future backups and system images.  You can find EASEus TODOBackup here:  www.easeus.com/download.htm

Tony