dell ghost image transfer

[gbp007]

I have a inspiron e1505 with a 60gb hard drive and it has the dell pc restore ghost image partition installed and i wanted to upgrade my hard drive to a 100gb but they dont come with the ghost image and i would like to know if there is a way i could transfer the ghost image of my 60gb hard drive to the 100gb hard drive ?

 

[g-paw]

Unless I misunderstand your question, Norton Ghost is a program that came with the computer. When you install the new hdd it should install the partition. Not sure but would probably be created if you're cloning your old drive

 

[gbp007]

Hi, what i meant is that when you want to do a factory restore on your dell laptop there is a hidden ghost partition built inthat you press on reboot - control and f11 and then the hidden ghost image appears so you could restore the drive to factory settings..I have a new blank 100 gb drive which i would like for it to have the control and f11 0ption as in other words have the hidden ghost partition on it also..I guess you could call it cloning..How would i go about in doing that ?

 

[g-paw]

Your machine should have come with a restore CD that you can boot off of to do an install. You could also get a program like Acronis True Image or Norton Ghost for that matter and clone you current drive to your new. This is a snap with a pc because you can just install the new drive and clone to it. With a laptop, unless you can install 2 hard drives on the inspirin, you'd have to get an external case that took a laptop drive, I think they are 2.5 as opposed to the 3.5 used in pcs. Connect the new drive with the USB connector and clone the old to the new drive. If you do this, you good use your old 60GB for external storage.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

I have a inspiron e1505 with a 60gb hard drive and it has the dell pc restore ghost image partition installed and i wanted to upgrade my hard drive to a 100gb but they dont come with the ghost image and i would like to know if there is a way i could transfer the ghost image of my 60gb hard drive to the 100gb hard drive ?

Acronis True Image will do what you need.

Most partition copy tools (like Partition Magic) will not work for you in this situation because they copy the partitions but not the hard drive's Master Boot Record. The MBR on Dells that offer the Ctrl-F11 system restore option is proprietary and you will need a tool that copies the MBR in order to retain this functionality.

 

[g-paw]

Just got an E Mail from Cyber Guys and this was the lead item. Amazing timing
http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/searchdetail.asp?productID=13779& sk=SATA2USB

 

[gbp007]

I am here right in front of my e1505 laptop and im trying to do the cloning using acronis migrate easy and when i press on disk clone it gives me this error - " unable to continue - you have only one drive. this program is designed to work with two or more drives" ..

I dont have acronis true image but i do have acronis migrate easy and i would like to be able to use acronis migrate to clone my hard drives..

The drive that i want to clone is an 100gb internal hard drive so im really confused as what to do

Any suggestions ?


g-paw the problem with the dell restore cd's is that they dont contain the dell restore ghost image partion and you lose function of the Ctrl-F11 and the media direct button and that is why i need to do the cloning..

 

[g-paw]

Do you have the 100GB attached to the laptop via USB or Firewire? To do this you'll either need an external enclosure that will accept a 2.5 drive or a connector such as I previously posted. If you're going to use the old drive for external backup, I'd get an enclosure. If you have it connected to the laptop, is it recognized in My Computer?

I'm surprised the Restore CD does not have those features. Usually the Restore CD that comes with a computer is a Clone of the computer when it is shipped, i.e., should create the partition and give you all functionality. If you got a XP CD instead of a Restore Disk, XP does create a small backup partition for the Restore function but not sure if it's accessible using Ctrl F11. My wife has a Dell 1505 and I formatted and reinstalled Windows as soon as she got it to get rid of the crapware. I installed the drivers and utilities from the CD(s) from Dell. I know the media direct button works because I accidentally hit it a couple times when I was starting the computer, drove me nuts trying to figure what was going on. I've never used the Ctrl F11 so don't know if that works. I'm defragmenting the machine right now and can't test it.

Do you have the restore CD or the XP CD? If you haven't done so, you could install the 100GB and then use the restore CD or install from the XP CD and Dell driver/utility CD and see what happens. If it doesn't work, you can always reinstall the 60GB and work on the Cloning

 

[gbp007]

Im gonna go ahead and get the enclosure and i might also just get the adaptor on the link..Does that adaptor work with 2.5 drives ?

Dell sent me 3cd's which they call restore cd's for my laptop ..One of them is a red cd that says operating system reinstallation cd , the other one is drivers and utilities cd and then the last one is a dell media experience cd which has nothing to do with the mediadirect button..I ran the red install cd and then i checked to see if control F11 works but there is no ghost image partition on there..Dell does not include the ghost image partition on their recovery discs and it just the operating system along with a separate cd for drivers..This is really bad pracrtice in dell's part not to include it..The recovery discs that hp provides do include the ghost image but dell doesnt for some reason..

g-paw are those the same cd's that dell sent you and if they are not can you post a picture to see what the ones you have look like ?

Is this red cd the restore cd or the xp cd because dell india support told me they were restore cd's ? Im really confused on this ..

here are the pics of the cd's dell sent me

 

[diashto]

The CDs you were sent will restore your computer to working condition, and even save you the hassle of uninstalling all the crapware that comes along with a factory install.

No, it's not an image, nor is it a "restore cd" in a traditional sense. It's a re-installation dvd.

Dell doesn't do restore CDs anymore, because maintaining workable images for all their models would require more time and money than they're probably willing to put into it.

Honestly, you're better off going with the reinstallation anyway, as it'll be a much cleaner installation. Sure it'll take a little more time, but your system will probably run a little faster and you'll have more control over what kind of stuff is put on it.

 

[g-paw]

Im gonna go ahead and get the enclosure and i might also just get the adaptor on the link..Does that adaptor work with 2.5 drives ?

Dell sent me 3cd's which they call restore cd's for my laptop ..One of them is a red cd that says operating system reinstallation cd , the other one is drivers and utilities cd and then the last one is a dell media experience cd which has nothing to do with the mediadirect button..I ran the red install cd and then i checked to see if control F11 works but there is no ghost image partition on there..Dell does not include the ghost image partition on their recovery discs and it just the operating system along with a separate cd for drivers..This is really bad pracrtice in dell's part not to include it..The recovery discs that hp provides do include the ghost image but dell doesnt for some reason..

g-paw are those the same cd's that dell sent you and if they are not can you post a picture to see what the ones you have look like ?

Is this red cd the restore cd or the xp cd because dell india support told me they were restore cd's ? Im really confused on this ..

here are the pics of the cd's dell sent me

[url]http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/7092/scanmz6.th.jpg[/URL]

[url]http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/9130/scan0001lq2.th.jpg[/URL]

[url]http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/6762/scan004402nw3.th.jpg[/URL]

gbp007, just checked and those are the disks I got. One thing I did do was to download all the newest drivers from Dell, put them on a CD, and then installed those rather than the ones Dell sent. Don't remember whether it was this thread or another but just read that the Windows CD will only work on Dells Read on one thread with in the last day or so that the Dell Windows CD will only work on Dell machines, something about the Key being associated with the hardware so if there are any problems with the install you probably should contact Dell although there shouldn't be given even Dell knows you may have to replace hdd.

 

[gbp007]

Yeah it's better to get the drivers from the website because they are newer..dell sent me a replacement hard drive with the ghost image and also the restore discs..I ordered the vantac adapter and will be cloning it after i received it..

 

[g-paw]

Yeah it's better to get the drivers from the website because they are newer..dell sent me a replacement hard drive with the ghost image and also the restore discs..I ordered the vantac adapter and will be cloning it after i received it..

Let us know how the adapter works. I've put together an external drive using case but have never tried one of these adapters. As I think I said above, it you're going to use the old hard drive for external storage, you'll probably want an external case because it will both help cool and protect the case. With the adapter, I'd unplug the hdd and store it in a static free bag when not using it. I was amazed how hot hdd get after I got the case and felt it. I have a fanless case, much quieter, and have not had a heating problem but the case is definitely very warm to the touch. In addition, let us know how the cloning works. Hope it goes well.

 

[gbp007]

I ordered it from newegg and it has some great reviews...I should receive it on wednesday...These notebook drives on the dell are really hot i gotta admit..lol ... The larger drive that im going to clone has programs that i have installed and i wanted to know if i should reformat it first before doing the cloning or it doesnt matter ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812232002

 

[g-paw]

I ordered it from newegg and it has some great reviews...I should receive it on wednesday...These notebook drives on the dell are really hot i gotta admit..lol ... The larger drive that im going to clone has programs that i have installed and i wanted to know if i should reformat it first before doing the cloning or it doesnt matter ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16812232002

I"d format the drive first. I cloned a drive for a friend about 2 months ago and I think when you clone it wipes everything off the drive you're cloning to but not absolutely sure given it was more than 5 minutes ago and my long term memory isn't up to remembering much beyond that

 

[gbp007]

Just recieved the vantec ide/sata to usb 2.0 and it's incompatable with my dell 2.5 hard drive..I believe it's also incompatable with all dell 2.5 hard drives ..The connector is just a little to big to plug into the notebook drive..I asked newegg for a refund and they said they were gonna credit me back the money and that i could also keep it and that i didnt have to return it..Great company imo..I guess im gonna have to get buy an enclosure instead..

ps..Im selling the vantec adapter for anybody that wants it , just pm me and we could agree on a reasonable low price..

 

[g-paw]

When you say the connector do you mean the data or power cable? I thought both the power and data connectors were standardized. Did you check with Dell about this. I've used their web chat support once and got an answer although it took a while to get the person to understand what I was asking. If one of the connectors on the hdd isn't standard not sure an enclosure would work. You could also try to contact Vantec, at least I think this is very strange unless Dell came up with some kind of proprietary connectors for they laptop drive. At least on Dell's PCs that are 3 years old or older hard drive compatibility is not a problem.

 

[rwpritchett]

The adapter you bought is for full-size (3.5") drives. Laptop drives use a different connector that is smaller, for IDE anyway. I have an adapter that I use all the time to connect my wife's laptop IDE HDD to my desktop. I don't know about 2.5" SATA drives though. You need something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sata-ATA-IDE-2-...0-Adapter_W0QQitemZ220046741056QQcmdZViewItem

 

[almmohd]

Just recieved the vantec ide/sata to usb 2.0 and it's incompatable with my dell 2.5 hard drive..I believe it's also incompatable with all dell 2.5 hard drives ..The connector is just a little to big to plug into the notebook drive..I asked newegg for a refund and they said they were gonna credit me back the money and that i could also keep it and that i didnt have to return it..Great company imo..I guess im gonna have to get buy an enclosure instead..

ps..Im selling the vantec adapter for anybody that wants it , just pm me and we could agree on a reasonable low price..

Hi gbp007 were you successful in cloning your drive? I would like to clone mine but when I did it worked well the first time it booted but then it recognised it was another drive and stopped working after that. I had tried acronis true image home 11

 

[aawara]

Did you upgrade the hard drive to more capacity like 250 or 320 or more? If yes, can you please post details. I am having E1505 Dell T7200 2Gb 80GB and A17 BIOS.

Do you have the 100GB attached to the laptop via USB or Firewire? To do this you'll either need an external enclosure that will accept a 2.5 drive or a connector such as I previously posted. If you're going to use the old drive for external backup, I'd get an enclosure. If you have it connected to the laptop, is it recognized in My Computer?

I'm surprised the Restore CD does not have those features. Usually the Restore CD that comes with a computer is a Clone of the computer when it is shipped, i.e., should create the partition and give you all functionality. If you got a XP CD instead of a Restore Disk, XP does create a small backup partition for the Restore function but not sure if it's accessible using Ctrl F11. My wife has a Dell 1505 and I formatted and reinstalled Windows as soon as she got it to get rid of the crapware. I installed the drivers and utilities from the CD(s) from Dell. I know the media direct button works because I accidentally hit it a couple times when I was starting the computer, drove me nuts trying to figure what was going on. I've never used the Ctrl F11 so don't know if that works. I'm defragmenting the machine right now and can't test it.

Do you have the restore CD or the XP CD? If you haven't done so, you could install the 100GB and then use the restore CD or install from the XP CD and Dell driver/utility CD and see what happens. If it doesn't work, you can always reinstall the 60GB and work on the Cloning