Copying a HDD didn't work? Help!

merc_fan

merc_fan

New Member
Hi

Basically I built my PC nearly 3 years ago and wanted to upgrade the internal 120Gb to a 250Gb.

I copied the drive using Symantec Norton Ghost 10.0 and I checked the drive and all the data had been copied onto the new drive successfully.

So I took out my old 120Gb and put my new 250Gb in.

I made sure the jumper was on Master as it should be on my config and I also noted the motherboard detected it fine.

However, whenever it went to bootup, I just got a message saying "Press a key to reboot". I'd reboot and get the same message again!

In the end, I put my old 120Gb back in but I want the 250Gb in there. I'd prefer to have it boot up with all my settings and files intact - thus the whole point me copying the drive.

Do you think I should just format the new drive and do a clean installation of XP?

Thanks
 
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PC eye

banned
XP loves fresh partitions to install onto. That's the wonder of the newer hardware detection process over the older versions of Windows. Once the fresh installation is complete many things can be copied direct into sub directories from those on the 120gb drive.

A clean installation of Windows along with the fresh installation of programs and drivers generally sees the best results. That avoids problems from an incomplete clone from one drive to the next. Plus you also will see a new and fresh system registry to work with. You could even leave the 120gb drive in as a backup drive once the new 250gb primary is up and running.

This would also allow copying settings and other files including web links from Favorites from the 120gb onto the new user account on the 250gb. I run presently run two 250gb drives here with other operating systems on the second drive along with a large storage partition for the XP primary. If you wipeout the primary the files you need are still there on the secondary.
 
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PC eye

banned
SirKenin said:
If you run "FDISK /MBR" on that drive from a prompt it should fix it all up for you.
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:p :p :p on you! That can goof up often where a repair install will finally have to be used to get Windows to even run. I've seen where using the fixboot and fixmbr commands has made a drive unbootable! forcing an install to repair in order to get the drive bootable again.
 
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SirKenin

banned
Yeah, but we all know your tech abilities by now so I'm not too worried about it PC Eye. Trust me, merc_fan... We all know the guy doesn't know what he's doing. For instance, did I even so much as mention fixboot and fixmbr like he asserts in his post? No, I didn't. It just shows you that he isn't even operating on the same playing field.

Try FDISK /MBR first. If it doesn't work, a repair install of XP will work regardless. The problem is that you didn't modify the boot record of your HDD. You put all the files on it and that's good, but now you need to make it bootable.
 
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PC eye

banned
SirKenin said:
Yeah, but we all know your tech abilities by now so I'm not too worried about it PC Eye. Trust me, merc_fan... We all know the guy doesn't know what he's doing. For instance, did I even so much as mention fixboot and fixmbr like he asserts in his post? No, I didn't. It just shows you that he isn't even operating on the same playing field.

Try FDISK /MBR first. If it doesn't work, a repair install of XP will work regardless. The problem is that you didn't modify the boot record of your HDD. You put all the files on it and that's good, but now you need to make it bootable.
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And which prompt would that be? :rolleyes: The "fdisk /mbr command that someone doesn't explain here is when booting from a 98/ME startup floppy in order to reach a "MSDos" prompt usually seen as "A:>". The partition information is also something to consider since XP records that upon it's hardware detection process at the time of the original installation.

The best clone is seen when performed with two identical drives not with a mismatch. The fdisk, fixmbr, and fixboot commands are also used on drives where a working installation of Windows has already been running.
 
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SirKenin

banned
merc_fan said:
Do you think I should just format the new drive and do a clean installation of XP?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Seeing as how you have the XP CD, boot into the Recovery Console and type in FDISK /MBR at the prompt.

Alternatively, if you have an XP boot disk that you made in My Computer (not the six disk set that you may have made elsewhere), then that single boot disk will take you to a prompt where you can do the same thing. Beats the crap out of reformatting, or repair installs, or any other stupidity.

And yeah, I've used Ghost before. I love that program. Only Norton program I like.
 
P

PC eye

banned
SirKenin said:
Seeing as how you have the XP CD, boot into the Recovery Console and type in FDISK /MBR at the prompt.

Alternatively, if you have an XP boot disk that you made in My Computer (not the six disk set that you may have made elsewhere), then that single boot disk will take you to a prompt where you can do the same thing. Beats the crap out of reformatting, or repair installs, or any other stupidity.

And yeah, I've used Ghost before. I love that program. Only Norton program I like.
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:p :p :p Boy you are destined to get this wrong! Fdisk is not part of XP! For real information review the actual information seen at http://www.geocities.com/kilian0072002/recconsole2.html#2

"love it when a plan comes together!"

How to Use the Fdisk and Format Tools

loadTOCNode(2, 'moreinformation');Before you install your operating system, you must first create a primary partition on the hard disk (disk 1) on your computer, and then format a file system on that partition. The Fdisk tool is an MS-DOS-based tool that you can use to prepare (partition) a hard disk. You can use the Fdisk tool to create, change, delete, or display current partitions on the hard disk, and then each allocated space on the hard disk (primary partition, extended partition, or logical drive) is assigned a drive letter. Disk 1 may contain one extended partition, and a second hard disk may contain a primary or extended partition. An extended partition may contain one or more logical MS-DOS drives. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255867/
 
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Bobo

banned
PC eye said:
:p :p :p Boy you are destined to get this wrong! Fdisk is not part of XP! For real information review the actual information seen at http://www.geocities.com/kilian0072002/recconsole2.html#2

"love it when a plan comes together!"

How to Use the Fdisk and Format Tools

loadTOCNode(2, 'moreinformation');Before you install your operating system, you must first create a primary partition on the hard disk (disk 1) on your computer, and then format a file system on that partition. The Fdisk tool is an MS-DOS-based tool that you can use to prepare (partition) a hard disk. You can use the Fdisk tool to create, change, delete, or display current partitions on the hard disk, and then each allocated space on the hard disk (primary partition, extended partition, or logical drive) is assigned a drive letter. Disk 1 may contain one extended partition, and a second hard disk may contain a primary or extended partition. An extended partition may contain one or more logical MS-DOS drives. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255867/
Click to expand...
Wow....mr. copy and paste and infringe as many copyright laws as I possibly can....


Listen to Sir Kenin. Ignore the eye of the PC.
 
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SirKenin

banned
Ok, so use fixboot then if you have to using your Recovery Console. Fixboot won't damage your drive. It will create a new boot sector. It will only make a drive unbootable if you're a putz. Especially seeing as how the drive isn't bootable at the moment.

Bobo: Windows XP is built on NTFS, not DOS. DOS is gone (thank goodness). ;)

And yeah, he is the king of cut and paste. He has truly earned the title of Mr. Google.
 
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Bobo

banned
SirKenin said:
DOS is gone from Windows, brainiac. If you followed the context of the thread FOR ONCE, it wouldn't be you making the fool out of yourself AGAIN.
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Am I getting confused here? What is that little black box where you type in white text? Is that not DOS? (well I know it isn't actually DOS, but isn't it the same thing?)
 
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SirKenin

banned
Bobo said:
I didn't really mean built on....cause it is built off of NT and 2000.....you know what I meant. Well wahtever I meant, PC Eye is just wrong as usual.
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He can't help himself. Senility does that to you.

Windows Me was the last Windows based off DOS. Not that I don't like DOS, mind you, but basing Windows off of NTFS was the smartest thing they could have done. It's far more stable and secure.

Bobo said:
Am I getting confused here? What is that little black box where you type in white text? Is that not DOS? (well I know it isn't actually DOS, but isn't it the same thing?)
Click to expand...

No, that's a command prompt. It certainly mimics the DOS style interface, and it comes in very handy at times, but it's not DOS.
 
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Bobo

banned
SirKenin said:
No, that's a command prompt. It certainly mimics the DOS style interface, and it comes in very handy at times, but it's not DOS.
Click to expand...
Huh. Well everybody calls is DOS prompt...but I can see why.

OK, whatever. Let's just drop this whole thing, since we are evidently getting nowhere.
 
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