Cloning a Hard-disk
Thread poster: Williamson
Williamson
Williamson  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:52
Flemish to English
+ ...
Jun 3, 2007

I tried to clone my Hard-disk (WD250 gig) onto a Maxtor 320 gig. When cloning with Norton Ghost 2003, the WD250 was set as master and the maxtor as slave.
Cloning happens in DOS. When the cloning process is finished, I get a warning: Virus, BIOS change yes/no.
I always chose "Yes".
Until now I never had problems with getting that clone (jumpers set as master) started.
However, when I tried to start the clone (Maxtor 320 gig) WindowsXP (SP2) logs off automatically instead
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I tried to clone my Hard-disk (WD250 gig) onto a Maxtor 320 gig. When cloning with Norton Ghost 2003, the WD250 was set as master and the maxtor as slave.
Cloning happens in DOS. When the cloning process is finished, I get a warning: Virus, BIOS change yes/no.
I always chose "Yes".
Until now I never had problems with getting that clone (jumpers set as master) started.
However, when I tried to start the clone (Maxtor 320 gig) WindowsXP (SP2) logs off automatically instead of logging on.
I recently installed a "I this genuine update" on the genuine original. Could this be some kind of copy protection to prevent making clones.
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tectranslate ITS GmbH
tectranslate ITS GmbH
Local time: 15:52
German
+ ...
Use another program perhaps? Jun 3, 2007

While it seems unlikely to me that a copy-protection scheme would produce effects like this, all I can tell you is that I tried a couple of cloning programs a while back and had similar results as you with most of them.

The only program that worked just the way I needed it to was Acronis TrueImage. This is confirmed by a recent article in the German "c't magazine" where they tested various programs, including Ghost and TrueImage (the latter of which came out on top).

HT
... See more
While it seems unlikely to me that a copy-protection scheme would produce effects like this, all I can tell you is that I tried a couple of cloning programs a while back and had similar results as you with most of them.

The only program that worked just the way I needed it to was Acronis TrueImage. This is confirmed by a recent article in the German "c't magazine" where they tested various programs, including Ghost and TrueImage (the latter of which came out on top).

HTH,
Benjamin

P.S.: And no, they're not paying me to say this. Wish they were, though.

[Edited at 2007-06-03 22:40]
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Uldis Liepkalns
Uldis Liepkalns  Identity Verified
Latvia
Local time: 16:52
Member (2003)
English to Latvian
+ ...
Agree Jun 3, 2007

Actually all I ever have used with success (and use regularly- I backup my system on the external disk normally laying in my cupboard- but if the C fails (has happened), it takes only few minutes to replace it) is Acronis "MigrateEasy". Has never failed.

OTOH, with Northon Ghost I have tried several times, but never succeeded- (probably my fault that I never understood its interface and couldn't make out what I'm expected to do next).

Uldis

tectranslate wrote:
The only program that worked just the way I needed it to was Acronis TrueImage.


[Rediģēts plkst. 2007-06-03 23:00]


 
Endre Both
Endre Both  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:52
English to German
Windows Activation invalidated? Jun 4, 2007

Williamson wrote:
When the cloning process is finished, I get a warning: Virus, BIOS change yes/no.


The cloning extends to the master boot record, so if the BIOS MBR protection is active, it warns you when a change is made to the MBR (that is, if the change is made through the BIOS -- most modern OS bypass the BIOS, but not DOS).


However, when I tried to start the clone (Maxtor 320 gig) WindowsXP (SP2) logs off automatically instead of logging on.


I am told this is a typical symptom of an invalidated Windows activation. Activation is bound to different hardware items, among them the hard disk. Hard disks usually have a signature (at the address 0x01B8, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mbr – look for "optional disk signature"). If you clone a disk, this signature is usually not cloned (because under ordinary circumstances, it is preferable not to do so).

I presume there should be a way to re-activate your installation (even if it seems difficult if you're not even allowed to log on) -- you may want to contact Microsoft for related information.

To get your Windows installation to work without reactivation, you can try and edit the signature of the new disk to be the same as the old disk. To do so, you need a disk editor like TinyHexer: http://www.mirkes.de/en/freeware/tinyhex.php – but beware: it is quite easy to make the data on the hard drive unusable in the process. However, if you make sure not to make changes to the original drive (you only have to read out its signature), the worst thing that can happen is that you need to clone the new disk again.

Endre


 
Williamson
Williamson  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:52
Flemish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
MBR? Jun 5, 2007

Can't I simply copy the MBR from the orginal and copy it to the destination disk. If so, where do I find the MBR on C and to where do I have to copy it?
If WinXP logs on, I don't mind cloning the hd a third time.
When DOS gives the "warning", virus, bios change, do you wish to continue, what do I answer: yes/no?


 
franksf
franksf
Chinese to English
Try dd Jun 10, 2007

Hello Sir or Madam.

Have you tried to boot up from a Knoppix CD and run from within a command shell (for example /bin/bash), e.g.:

dd if=/dev/hda of=/dev/hdb bs=512


 


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Cloning a Hard-disk






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