help to restore windows disk

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  • LCHIEN
    Super Moderator
    • Dec 2002
    • 22000
    • Katy, TX, USA.
    • BT3000 vintage 1999
    #1

    help to restore windows disk

    I need the collective PC wisdom of the forum

    I had a Windows 7 Pro system running only a few months old. Last week the system told me my 2TB disk was going bad and I should make a backup and call my system supplier.
    I made a backup of the entire disk image to a USB drive. Then since I was the supplier I looked up on the 'net what to do next... Run a Chkdsk was suggested, fine, to do that the system needed to restart and run it, well, it never rebooted - the drive was locking up the biois when accessd. I removed the drive, it's under warranty, the'll get me a new drive eventually, and the BIOS now functions. I have no bootable system disk, so I have this problem...

    1. I have a 128 GB SSD that I was going to install. It has cloning software but that's obviously impossible now.
    2. I don't have another Win 7 system, only some XP pro systems.

    My question: is the XP restore same as the Win 7 restore? On my XP system, Can I hook up the SSD drive with its USB adapter cable, hook up the backup USB drive, then Use Win XP's restore to restore the Win 7 backup image to the SSD drive and then boot the Win 7 system from it? At this time the image will fit on the SSD drive as it was only about 70 Gig. Then I can use the system and go about moving data and less used programs to the eventual replacement HDD.


    Or... any other suggestions?

    P.S. I can see a folder on the USB HDD that says WIndowsimagebackup.
    When I run Win XP backup/restore and ask it to restore, it looks for *.BKF and it not finding anything on that disk. Does that mean Win 7 and Win XP have different backup file formats?
    Last edited by LCHIEN; 07-15-2012, 03:01 AM.
    Loring in Katy, TX USA
    If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
    BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions
    Tags: None
    • LCHIEN
      Super Moderator
      • Dec 2002
      • 22000
      • Katy, TX, USA.
      • BT3000 vintage 1999
      #2
      I did some googling and indeed, they changed for format so I can't use my XP systems for this task.

      Maybe my best bet is to take both the USB-SSD and the USB HD to work and restore using the restore utility on my Win 7 desktop at work.
      Loring in Katy, TX USA
      If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
      BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

        Comment

        • jseklund
          Established Member
          • Aug 2006
          • 428
          #3
          Never done it this way - but can you go into bios and make the bios look to the USB drive at startup before the HDD?

          If you activate USB in bios and do this, I would think you might get a pleasant suprise. Of course, this is a SWAG.
          F#$@ no good piece of S#$% piece of #$@#% #@$#% #$@#$ wood! Dang. - Me woodworking

            Comment

            • LCHIEN
              Super Moderator
              • Dec 2002
              • 22000
              • Katy, TX, USA.
              • BT3000 vintage 1999
              #4
              Originally posted by jseklund
              Never done it this way - but can you go into bios and make the bios look to the USB drive at startup before the HDD?

              If you activate USB in bios and do this, I would think you might get a pleasant suprise. Of course, this is a SWAG.
              yeah I don't think that will work. The backup program stored an image of the disk as a file (to the HDD); so you can get several images on the disk if they are not huge, Restore (image) will write the image on the disk so as to be bootable. That's what I want to do to the USB SSD.
              Then I'll take the USB adapter off the SSD (which is really a SATA drive) and install it directly into the Win 7 computer and boot off what should be an image of the original drive that died just before the backup of its image.

              .
              Loring in Katy, TX USA
              If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
              BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                Comment

                • dbhost
                  Slow and steady
                  • Apr 2008
                  • 9509
                  • League City, Texas
                  • Ryobi BT3100
                  #5
                  Swap in a new disk, and use Ghost to move the image from the disk that is going bad to the new disk, then pull the bad disk from production...
                  Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

                    Comment

                    • LCHIEN
                      Super Moderator
                      • Dec 2002
                      • 22000
                      • Katy, TX, USA.
                      • BT3000 vintage 1999
                      #6
                      Originally posted by dbhost
                      Swap in a new disk, and use Ghost to move the image from the disk that is going bad to the new disk, then pull the bad disk from production...
                      the "going bad" disk has already bit the dust right after the Windows Image backup and can't be read at all any more -did not survive a reboot.
                      Loring in Katy, TX USA
                      If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
                      BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

                        Comment

                        • pelligrini
                          Veteran Member
                          • Apr 2007
                          • 4217
                          • Fort Worth, TX
                          • Craftsman 21829
                          #7
                          What program did you create the backup image from? I'm assuming it was Windows 7.

                          Have you tried your Windows Installation disc or a system repair disc? I believe there is an option in windows repair that will let you restore an image. Through it you could install the image on your new SSD.

                          I'd go for a clean new install myself.
                          Erik

                            Comment

                            • alpha
                              Established Member
                              • Dec 2003
                              • 352
                              • Owensboro, KY, USA.
                              #8
                              You need about 30GB for a full install of Win 7 Pro. 64 bit. Have you thought of putting your new drive in and partitioning it and installing the system on the new partition?

                              Another thought would be pick up a 32GB thumb drive for your system. Don't know if either would work, but just food for thought.

                              Also make sure you have removed the USB when trying to boot to your old drive. Sometimes that will interfere with the boot. By the way, your computer should be going through the post when you are trying to boot. If it is totally dead, check for the loose connections.

                                Comment

                                • dbhost
                                  Slow and steady
                                  • Apr 2008
                                  • 9509
                                  • League City, Texas
                                  • Ryobi BT3100
                                  #9
                                  So as I understand what I am reading, you have a full, successful backup using Windows backup saved off somewhere? Stab a new disk at it, get a basic Windows 7 load in it, and do a restore from your backup file...
                                  Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Please check out and subscribe to my Workshop Blog.

                                    Comment

                                    • alpha
                                      Established Member
                                      • Dec 2003
                                      • 352
                                      • Owensboro, KY, USA.
                                      #10
                                      This might be too late for you. Remove your failed hard drive. Put it in a freezer bag and place it in your freezer overnight. The next morning, put it back into your computer and try to boot it. It "might" boot up. Here's the tip on video:

                                      http://www.tvkim.com/watch/1518/kim-...mpaign=title-g

                                      Bob

                                        Comment

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