Comments for Replacement hard drive: how can I copy files from a failing drive to its replacement?

Comment from Jack on 2009-08-17

2009-08-17T07:11:46Z

Just connect the broken hard driver and new driver (with the fine OS) into the same PC (most PC support the two hard driver), then copy the file.

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Comment from Toni on 2009-06-22

2009-06-23T04:23:28Z

I did the same thing to backup my computer but now I have a new problem. I can tried to restore all the information to my new internal hard drive and I can't. It just sits in my new drive as a complete file and I can't find it on my computer. I have have links, pictures, password and other restore that just sits in my new hard drive. What do I need to do now?

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A comment on: Replacement hard drive: how can I copy files from a failing drive to its replacement?

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Comment from BRENT on 2009-06-18

2009-06-18T19:27:58Z

STEP 1 ABOVE SAYS, "Plug that drive in to your computer as it exists today, still with its old failing hard drive, and copy everything you want to save to the external drive." BUT IF YOUR HARD DRIVE DOESN'T WORK, HOW EXACTLY DO YOU GET THE FILES TO TRANSFER OVER? DOES IT JUST AUTOMATICLY TRANSFER ALL THE FILES? I'M ASKING BECAUSE I HAVE A HARD DRIVE THAT GOT SPYWARE ON IT AND IT DOESN'T ALLOW ME TO LOG IN.

That's not a "Failing Drive", which is what this article is about, that's a malware problem. You either need to address/remove the malware first, boot from CD-based operating system (Knoppix, Ubuntu Live CD or others) so that the malware doesn't start up, or take the hard drive and install it as the second/slave drive in another computer.

- Leo
19-Jun-2009

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A comment on: Replacement hard drive: how can I copy files from a failing drive to its replacement?

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Comment from Jim on 2009-05-30

2009-05-30T23:23:56Z

Worthless advice. Replacing a hard drive should not involve reinstalling Windows - it should involve copying an image of the old drive to the new drive. Otherwise, even with backups, you will have literally days of reconfiguring to do to get the computer back to its original state.

Yes, we know about backups. Different topic.

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A comment on: Replacement hard drive: how can I copy files from a failing drive to its replacement?

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Comment from anonymous on 2009-05-06

2009-05-06T18:31:05Z

Will backing up also back up the programs or just files? I have several old programs that I no longer have the install disc. I would like to copy my old drive to a new drive ...OS, programs, files. Is it possible?

Does leo know about XSS attacks?

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A comment on: Replacement hard drive: how can I copy files from a failing drive to its replacement?

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Comment from Alex on 2007-06-19

2007-06-19T17:05:18Z

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Comment from Molle on 2007-04-18

2007-04-18T13:19:50Z

Alan, if your hard drive is failing then it might not be a good idea to ghost it, but ther is an option if you dont want to install any programs over again. Symantec Ghost is a good example of a program that creates a image of your hard drive. It can then be completely restored on a new hard drive or even on a whole new computer. Im too lazy to give u a manual, but google it and ull get alot of hits :)

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A comment on: Replacement hard drive: how can I copy files from a failing drive to its replacement?

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Comment from Alan on 2006-11-06

2006-11-06T21:08:21Z

The last time I replaced a hard drive with a new one I had a problem with windows and some other programs in the process. WD has a program that said it would transfer everything from one hard drive to another and it did, but windows and some other programs still needed to be re-installed. Don't want to go through this hassle again. Is there a way to just copy and use the new hard drive?

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A comment on: Replacement hard drive: how can I copy files from a failing drive to its replacement?

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2006-08-21

2006-08-21T16:09:05Z

I use a drill press and drill a few holes through the device, making sure to hit the platters. Voids the warrantee though :-).

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Comment from Thor Johnson on 2006-08-21

2006-08-21T13:51:40Z

TW: No - Don't microwave it if you like your microwave...

But the data recovery places charge a pretty penny for what they do. If all you want to do is discourage prying eyes, a .22 long rifle (err... in the drive, not the prying eyes) will probably do it.

But neither a .22 nor a campfire seems to clean a drive beyond OnTracks recovery... for that, it appears you need special equipment like a cross-country UPS truck with no padding in the packaging. [Page 2: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1911132,00.asp ]

A blacksmith'd probably do... probably just a little "quality time" with a sledgehammer will work just as well.

Me, I just put it in the trashcan with the garbage and cat litter (used). If the want my secrets that badly...

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Comment from tw on 2006-08-20

2006-08-20T13:25:40Z

In response to Mark's point: Since the hard drive is failing anyway, the only fail-safe way to destroy the data on a hard drive is heat, and lots of it. Your oven might go hot enough, but if you're really paranoid, find a blacksmith.
I've heard microwaving does a good job too.

When it comes to getting the data off, there's a program called ddrescue available on Linux, that is supposed to read as much data as possible from a failing drive while minimising wear on the drive (ie so it doesn't fail completely halfway through the copy).

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A comment on: Replacement hard drive: how can I copy files from a failing drive to its replacement?

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Comment from bill on 2006-08-18

2006-08-18T07:55:07Z

keith almond is right maxblast does do drive to drive transfers works like a charm i use it all the time ive transfered my operating systems +music and movies once or twice a year to larger hard drives from a forty gig to 300 gig and so on........

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Comment from mroonie on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T19:44:37Z

There have been some recent articles regarding hardware that is thrown away or recycled. Whether you're planning to throw away or give away your old hard drive, just make sure all data from it is erased or encrypted. There is a way that people are able to access the old data so just for future reference, don't just toss the thing once you're done copying the files from it....

Second">Second">http://www.darkreading.com/document.asp?doc_id=101264">Second Hand Drives yeild First Class Data

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Comment from Mark on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T16:18:57Z

While I agree that the Maxtor utility might be of some use, I have often found that doing a complete rebuild is the best option (and I think Leo would agree). If you have to go through all this trouble to begin with, why not start out with a clean and uncluttered machine. One can only "wash" Windows so many times before a reinstall is needed anyway. The day to day activity just clutters it up too much.

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A comment on: Replacement hard drive: how can I copy files from a failing drive to its replacement?

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Comment from Keith Almond on 2006-08-17

2006-08-17T12:25:34Z

Maxtor drives can use a utility called "MaxBlaster" (available FREE from Maxtor's website). This utility will copy a drives contents from one drive to another COMPLETELY - Including the operating system. No further installation or re-installation of software is necessary.

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A comment on: Replacement hard drive: how can I copy files from a failing drive to its replacement?

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