Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive

peretzperl · 04-11-2007, 09:03 AM

I recently seem to have corrupted some files on my hard drive by allowing my anti-virus software (Trend PC-Cillin) to delete a pioece of adware. (I run in Win XP Home)

I ran Wiondows System Restore which seems to have returned me to mostly functional status but i still seem to have some corruptions lurking.

I have a very recently made Norton Clone of my hard drive on an external USB hard drive.

Can I restore my computer to precisely identical condition to what it was at the time of that clone by reversing the clone process to copy the clone back to my primary hard drive? Or, is it more complicated than just that. Thanks.

geek73 · 04-11-2007, 09:20 AM

howdy peretzperl..
Yes the clone of the Hard drive will restore the Hard drive exactly what it was when you cloned it.. Its that easy..

peretzperl · 04-11-2007, 09:46 AM

Thanks Geek73 for the speedy response.

Since I am understandably a little apprehensive about launching an operation that will reqrite my hard drive, I just wanted to check that you are saying that the result of such a revserse clone should be a primary hard drive that will have all files (program, system, data, etc.) and boot up just the way it did before. Is that correct?

Thanks for indulging my paranoia.

geek73 · 04-11-2007, 09:50 AM

Yes you are 100% correct. That is the reson for those programs.. Yes it will go to the primary Hard drive.. Afte it is done it will be like the day you cloned it..

peretzperl · 04-11-2007, 09:59 AM

Thanks again.

peretzperl · 04-11-2007, 11:36 AM

Hi me again. Sorry to be a pest.

Should I be testing the clone to first see if it is bootable?

Also, when Norton clone copmpletes, it automaticaaly restars the computer. Will having the extenral drive still connected at that point create any problem?

Thanks.

geek73 · 04-11-2007, 11:39 AM

No it wont. As Windows knows it is a removable drive...

peretzperl · 04-11-2007, 11:54 AM

Can I and should I test the extenranl clone forst to see if it is bootable?

geek73 · 04-11-2007, 11:56 AM

If you want to.. But if you made the clone of the drive, while it was bootable, it will be bootable once all info is exchanged..

peretzperl · 04-11-2007, 12:06 PM

I really appreciate your patience. Thanks again.

**hwm54112** · 04-11-2007, 11:03 PM

If it's a true clone, you could remove the drive from the enclosure and install it in the computer. If it boots fine, install the original corrupted internal into the usb enclosure, copy any new files to the good drive, then clone over the original corrupt drive

**linderman** · 04-12-2007, 10:27 AM

I like HWM's approach, it removes all the maybe and "what ifs"

BTW: you cant test the external drive for bootability becasue windows cant be booted from an external boot drive but you can as HWM suggested, remove the drive from the external enclosure, then connect the drive internally in place of your other internal drive, boot from that.

if all is cool and you are happy, clone from the transplated drive to the USB external.

post back with your progress

peretzperl · 04-12-2007, 12:35 PM

Since my machine further deteriorated to the point where it wouldn't boot at all without bluscreening, I decided to go with the nuclear option. I reinstalled my Win XP OS (which sent up some error messages along the way) Then I reinstalled Norton Ghost (which also seemed to hit some glicthes) BTW, the Dell drive diagnostiocs are still givinig a pass result to my HD which I installed as a brand new replacement HD one year ago.

In any event this mostly functional monster I had now recreated (with it's mostly reintalled XP OPS and mostly reinstalled Norton Ghost) managed to run what appeared to be a succesful backward clone from my external hard drive to the internal drive and, then low and behold, my computer started to boot up to my desktop, looking very much like it did 2 weeks ago. But then the same kinds of application closure messages started cropping up followed by more bluescreens.

So, at this point I'm kind of lost. I doesn't seem to make sense that the clone had corruptions on it becasue at the time I made the clone 2 weeks ago everything was working fine.

In addition Trend PC-Cillin itself (where my problems seem to have started) is also acting twitchy on the new back-cloned Harddrive.

I've always thought that Pc-Cillin, while very vigilant, is a bit over aggressive. I find it's warning messages confusing to the point that ZI'm not always clear on the best course of action. Anyone have any thouights on that.

Someone else suggested to me that crashes of this sort can have something to do withb RAM or possibly the pagefile.sys

Anyway at this point I'm planning on having the system professionally examined as a last resort before I buy a new machine.

geek73 · 04-12-2007, 12:45 PM

Hmm.. Whaever is messing up the pc must also be in the clone of the hard drive. As no extra info gets in once cloned..

peretzperl · 04-12-2007, 12:56 PM

Is it possible the the extenral backup hard drive was infected in the fairly short time it was plugged in before and during the clone since there was no active virus protection at the time?

geek73 · 04-12-2007, 01:03 PM

As far as I know..No.. As the info was being pushed onto the hard drive.. I mean anything is possible. Its Windows lol.. What you can do is install XP..Go into the cloned hard drive. And isntall programs that way instead of doing the whole clone.. This way if you run into a problem you know what program is causing it..

**linderman** · 04-12-2007, 01:20 PM

I would try disabling the anti virus program you have now; then run the Bitdefender version or bull guard version

scan with those, often times any AV program can miss a virus

http://www.bitdefender.com/site/Down...tionVersion/1/

http://www.bullguard.com/download.aspx

I would try the bullguard first.

post back with your results

the memory testing program you spoke of can be found it my signature links (memtest86.com = free)

also; it wouldnt hurt to download and run your hard drive manufacturers diagnostic utility against your drive. it will be westerndigital, maxtor or seagate etc etc etc not any dell utilites

peretzperl · 04-20-2007, 07:31 AM

Just wanted to close the loop.

After reading your suggestions I decided I was out of my depth and took my machine to a local repair shop. They ultimately determined taht I had a faulty memor chip which they replaced. I then reinstalled Win XP and Nortion Ghost and backward cloned my external harddrive and since then I'm running fine.

What I learned from this is:

1) Backwards cloniong really will put you right back where you want.
2) If after a backward clone you are still; having problems even though your hard drive checks out, you may well have a damaged memory chip.

Anyway, thanks again all.

04-11-2007, 09:03 AM	#1 (permalink)
peretzperl Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 31 OS: WinXP	Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive I recently seem to have corrupted some files on my hard drive by allowing my anti-virus software (Trend PC-Cillin) to delete a pioece of adware. (I run in Win XP Home) I ran Wiondows System Restore which seems to have returned me to mostly functional status but i still seem to have some corruptions lurking. I have a very recently made Norton Clone of my hard drive on an external USB hard drive. Can I restore my computer to precisely identical condition to what it was at the time of that clone by reversing the clone process to copy the clone back to my primary hard drive? Or, is it more complicated than just that. Thanks.

04-11-2007, 09:20 AM	#2 (permalink)
geek73 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 694 OS: SuSe Linux My System	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive howdy peretzperl.. Yes the clone of the Hard drive will restore the Hard drive exactly what it was when you cloned it.. Its that easy.. __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

04-11-2007, 09:46 AM	#3 (permalink)
peretzperl Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 31 OS: WinXP	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive Thanks Geek73 for the speedy response. Since I am understandably a little apprehensive about launching an operation that will reqrite my hard drive, I just wanted to check that you are saying that the result of such a revserse clone should be a primary hard drive that will have all files (program, system, data, etc.) and boot up just the way it did before. Is that correct? Thanks for indulging my paranoia.

04-11-2007, 09:50 AM	#4 (permalink)
geek73 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 694 OS: SuSe Linux My System	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive Yes you are 100% correct. That is the reson for those programs.. Yes it will go to the primary Hard drive.. Afte it is done it will be like the day you cloned it.. __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

04-11-2007, 09:59 AM	#5 (permalink)
peretzperl Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 31 OS: WinXP	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive Thanks again.

04-11-2007, 11:36 AM	#6 (permalink)
peretzperl Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 31 OS: WinXP	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive Hi me again. Sorry to be a pest. Should I be testing the clone to first see if it is bootable? Also, when Norton clone copmpletes, it automaticaaly restars the computer. Will having the extenral drive still connected at that point create any problem? Thanks.

04-11-2007, 11:39 AM	#7 (permalink)
geek73 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 694 OS: SuSe Linux My System	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive No it wont. As Windows knows it is a removable drive... __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

04-11-2007, 11:54 AM	#8 (permalink)
peretzperl Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 31 OS: WinXP	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive Can I and should I test the extenranl clone forst to see if it is bootable?

04-11-2007, 11:56 AM	#9 (permalink)
geek73 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 694 OS: SuSe Linux My System	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive If you want to.. But if you made the clone of the drive, while it was bootable, it will be bootable once all info is exchanged.. __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

04-11-2007, 12:06 PM	#10 (permalink)
peretzperl Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 31 OS: WinXP	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive I really appreciate your patience. Thanks again.

04-11-2007, 11:03 PM	#11 (permalink)
hwm54112 TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 2,233 OS: WINXP	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive If it's a true clone, you could remove the drive from the enclosure and install it in the computer. If it boots fine, install the original corrupted internal into the usb enclosure, copy any new files to the good drive, then clone over the original corrupt drive

04-12-2007, 10:27 AM	#12 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,401 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive I like HWM's approach, it removes all the maybe and "what ifs" BTW: you cant test the external drive for bootability becasue windows cant be booted from an external boot drive but you can as HWM suggested, remove the drive from the external enclosure, then connect the drive internally in place of your other internal drive, boot from that. if all is cool and you are happy, clone from the transplated drive to the USB external. post back with your progress __________________ Even a Broken Clock is Right Twice a Day ! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial

04-12-2007, 12:35 PM	#13 (permalink)
peretzperl Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 31 OS: WinXP	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive Since my machine further deteriorated to the point where it wouldn't boot at all without bluscreening, I decided to go with the nuclear option. I reinstalled my Win XP OS (which sent up some error messages along the way) Then I reinstalled Norton Ghost (which also seemed to hit some glicthes) BTW, the Dell drive diagnostiocs are still givinig a pass result to my HD which I installed as a brand new replacement HD one year ago. In any event this mostly functional monster I had now recreated (with it's mostly reintalled XP OPS and mostly reinstalled Norton Ghost) managed to run what appeared to be a succesful backward clone from my external hard drive to the internal drive and, then low and behold, my computer started to boot up to my desktop, looking very much like it did 2 weeks ago. But then the same kinds of application closure messages started cropping up followed by more bluescreens. So, at this point I'm kind of lost. I doesn't seem to make sense that the clone had corruptions on it becasue at the time I made the clone 2 weeks ago everything was working fine. In addition Trend PC-Cillin itself (where my problems seem to have started) is also acting twitchy on the new back-cloned Harddrive. I've always thought that Pc-Cillin, while very vigilant, is a bit over aggressive. I find it's warning messages confusing to the point that ZI'm not always clear on the best course of action. Anyone have any thouights on that. Someone else suggested to me that crashes of this sort can have something to do withb RAM or possibly the pagefile.sys Anyway at this point I'm planning on having the system professionally examined as a last resort before I buy a new machine.

04-12-2007, 12:45 PM	#14 (permalink)
geek73 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 694 OS: SuSe Linux My System	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive Hmm.. Whaever is messing up the pc must also be in the clone of the hard drive. As no extra info gets in once cloned.. __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

04-12-2007, 12:56 PM	#15 (permalink)
peretzperl Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 31 OS: WinXP	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive Is it possible the the extenral backup hard drive was infected in the fairly short time it was plugged in before and during the clone since there was no active virus protection at the time?

04-12-2007, 01:03 PM	#16 (permalink)
geek73 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 694 OS: SuSe Linux My System	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive As far as I know..No.. As the info was being pushed onto the hard drive.. I mean anything is possible. Its Windows lol.. What you can do is install XP..Go into the cloned hard drive. And isntall programs that way instead of doing the whole clone.. This way if you run into a problem you know what program is causing it.. __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

04-12-2007, 01:20 PM	#17 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,401 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive I would try disabling the anti virus program you have now; then run the Bitdefender version or bull guard version scan with those, often times any AV program can miss a virus http://www.bitdefender.com/site/Down...tionVersion/1/ http://www.bullguard.com/download.aspx I would try the bullguard first. post back with your results the memory testing program you spoke of can be found it my signature links (memtest86.com = free) also; it wouldnt hurt to download and run your hard drive manufacturers diagnostic utility against your drive. it will be westerndigital, maxtor or seagate etc etc etc not any dell utilites __________________ Even a Broken Clock is Right Twice a Day ! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial Last edited by linderman; 04-12-2007 at 01:25 PM.

04-20-2007, 07:31 AM	#18 (permalink)
peretzperl Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 31 OS: WinXP	Re: Using Norton Clone to Restore Hard Drive Just wanted to close the loop. After reading your suggestions I decided I was out of my depth and took my machine to a local repair shop. They ultimately determined taht I had a faulty memor chip which they replaced. I then reinstalled Win XP and Nortion Ghost and backward cloned my external harddrive and since then I'm running fine. What I learned from this is: 1) Backwards cloniong really will put you right back where you want. 2) If after a backward clone you are still; having problems even though your hard drive checks out, you may well have a damaged memory chip. Anyway, thanks again all.