| Computer Related > Cloning laptop hard disk | Miscellaneous |
| Thread Author: John Boy | Replies: 10 |
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New Sat 17 Apr 21 15:36
Cloning laptop hard disk - John Boy
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My partner's brother is here and has brought his 11 year old laptop, which can take ages to start up and then freeze with no warning. I can see that the hard disk is well on its way out. Most people would just replace the laptop itself, but there are 2 reasons why he doesn't want to. First, he still plays CDs and DVDs on it and there are no laptops currently available with a DVD drive. Second, he uses it for photo editing and it has a really good screen display. Therefore, I'm thinking of fitting a new hard disk. I've been to the Crucial website, seen the options available and how to do the installation. I'm confident about it, except for one thing - what will happen if the laptop freezes during the disk cloning? |
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New Sat 17 Apr 21 15:56
Cloning laptop hard disk - tyrednemotional
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..you might want to read this recent set of posts www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?f=6&t=28786 ..followed by this (and yes, it is all a long read, but we got Bobby there in the end) www.car4play.com/forum/post/index.htm?f=6&t=28794 Before you attempt anything, back any required data from the disk up to a separate location. If this fails, then your chance of cloning is practically nil. Then make sure you have your windows product key and if possible any install media and keys for any other critical software - in case subsequently you decide to re-image (as Bobby had to). (If it has Win10 installed, check - Activation Settings - that it is activated with a digital licence - and preferably one associated with a Microsoft Account - as these, progressively, increase the likelihood of being able to re-image without licence problems). Much of the rest of the write-up in the first (and possibly second) threads is probably relevant. |
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New Sat 17 Apr 21 17:40
Cloning laptop hard disk - John Boy
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Thanks for your reply, T&E. I'll be doing what you say. My brother-out-law, as he's been called, is only here for the weekend and I won't see him again for another month. I'll get him to decide how much he wants to spend and I'll start doing it next week. In the meantime, it might be helpful if I tell you more about the machine. It's a Packard Bell EasyNote TK87, with a Pentium P6100, 4Gb DDR3 memory and 500Gb hard disk. It came with Windows 7 installed (we have the product key) and he recently did the free upgrade to Windows 10. We've downloaded all of his important data files. |
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New Sat 17 Apr 21 18:11
Cloning laptop hard disk - tyrednemotional
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...well, it's never going to be the fastest of machines, but if he wants to keep it (and if it's otherwise physically OK, why not?), then the cost (assuming 500GB) is going to be in the region of £35 - £50 depending on whether HDD or SSD. Frankly, if you're going to risk the clone, and fall back on re-imaging if it doesn't work, then the extra £15 for a cheap 500GB SSD (rather than HDD) is probably well worthwhile (even if the laptop interface is SATA2 rather than SATA3). Unless you have a "host" machine somewhere to which you can add two additional drives for the cloning process, then you'll have to budget for a USB disk caddy as well (though not expensive, see the links already posted). |
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New Sat 17 Apr 21 19:08
Cloning laptop hard disk - John Boy
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| Thanks again, T&E. I don't understand some of that, but I won't ask any more until I've read the previous topics. |
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New Sat 17 Apr 21 20:52
Cloning laptop hard disk - tyrednemotional
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>> Thanks again, T&E. I don't understand some of that, but I won't ask any more >> until I've read the previous topics. >> Frankly, if you're going to risk the clone, and fall back on re-imaging if it doesn't work, then the extra £15 for a cheap 500GB SSD (rather than HDD) is probably well worthwhile (even if the laptop interface is SATA2 rather than SATA3). If the clone fails, then the machine can usually be "recovered" by installing the new disk, formatting it, and (re-)installing the latest, vanilla, Windows image. This is what Bobby ended up doing once the clone failed. A Solid State Disk will be slightly more expensive than a replacement (spinning) Hard Disk Drive, so there is slightly more money at risk if you come out at the end with a completely borked laptop. SSD will, however, make the laptop more responsive, and probably be worth the extra if it all works. The laptop may be old enough to have a SATA2 (3Gbps/s) disk interface, rather than the current SATA3 (6Gbps/s) version (Though I suspect it might be the latter). An SSD will benefit you even more with SATA3, but SATA2 wouldn't negate advantages. At all practical levels, there is little difference in the process between a standard HDD and an SSD (though the latter needs to be SATA, and the same physical footprint as the disk - 7mm or 9.5mm). They will look similar, present to you much the same, and fit in the laptop much the same (and the two SATA standards mentioned are backwards compatible). Unless you have a "host" machine somewhere to which you can add two additional drives for the cloning process, then you'll have to budget for a USB disk caddy as well (though not expensive, see the links already posted). To clone, you need to read from one disk and write to the other simultaneously. Unless the laptop has a second slot for a disk, that means either attaching the new disk temporarily via a USB adapter, or more neatly in a USB disk caddy, for the cloning process. (both options are cheap - eBay or Amazon) If you happen to have a desktop with two spare SATA (disk) ports internally, it is possible to use these for cloning, after removing the original disk from the laptop. |
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New Sat 17 Apr 21 20:58
Cloning laptop hard disk - Zero
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His reasons for not buying a new one are not technically valid, and upgrading the disk on an 11 year old laptop is a waste of time. New laptop and a separate USB attached DVD drive is the way to go. www.amazon.co.uk/ASUS-SDRW-08D2S-U-LITE-External-Burner/dp/B00BGJ8GPU Plus the display on a modern laptop will be miles better than the one he has for editing Last edited by: Zero on Sat 17 Apr 21 at 21:03
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New Sat 17 Apr 21 21:43
Cloning laptop hard disk - tyrednemotional
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>> His reasons for not buying a new one are not technically valid, and upgrading the >> disk on an 11 year old laptop is a waste of time. >> ...bit of a sweeping statement, that. If he's happy with its current functionality and performance, then an investment of not much more than the USB Optical Drive you highlight could recover the status quo. With the usual caveats of the practicalities of replacement, I'd certainly consider it (and try clone, and if it failed, re-image). Not everyone can, or would want to, spend the extra £300 or so for a new laptop to accessorise the external optical drive (though there's little doubt that that outlay should provide a performance boost). For anything but irregular use, external optical drives are the spawn of the devil (yes, I have one). == I've just fixed a friend's now ageing Lenovo laptop. It was entirely screwed for performance, with the processor unwilling or unable to get off the first speed step (at around 1/8th design speed) and disk running at 100% for 15-30 minutes on start-up. I managed to get round the first issue using "Throttlestop", but what caused it I don't know. The disk issue I couldn't fix (Though I suspect it was repeatedly trying to install failed Windows Updates, failing again, and throwing no error messages). It was thus re-imaged at no cost.........BUT It had both a broken bottom case, and a battery that was down to 40% of its original max capacity. I offered to fix both (since battery replacement requires case dismantling anyway) and was able to source parts for just over £50. She chose to go ahead, and now has a "pristine" machine which, though not leading edge, does everything she needs, should last quite a bit longer, and at a cost of maybe £250-£300 of precious savings less than a new one. It has a DVD drive as well ;-). Correct result all round, I think. |
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New Sat 17 Apr 21 22:56
Cloning laptop hard disk - Stuartli
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I've only had three problems in the past five or six years with laptops - mine or that of best mate - and all three were Levonos. We've both gone back to Dell, a decision made even more emphatic by the fact that getting the necessary spares for a Lenovo was well nigh impossible. That included for a motherboard that burned out whilst being charged and a simple video screen lead..... Incidentally one of my two Dell desktops is now 11 years old and still the one I turn on first - never let me down...!! The other Dell desktop is a Precision TT5500 which I bought towards the end of last year as a winter project during the Covid lockdown. Even fully loaded when configured by me, it still only cost £325 including delivery from Bargain Hardware - the packaging in which it was delivered would have ensured it would survive a substantial explosion...:-) Last edited by: Stuartli on Sat 17 Apr 21 at 22:57
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New Sun 18 Apr 21 17:16
Cloning laptop hard disk - John Boy
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After I'd read through those topics BOL decided to that it would better to replace the laptop as it had always been quite slow. I turned it on to format the drive preparatory to getting rid of it and, sods law, Windows loaded instantly. Before it froze again, I was able to check out a few tasks to confirm the slowness. Anyway he's decided to forego a dvd drive and settled on this machine (an HDMI connector is important to him), comments are welcome: www.dell.com/en-uk/shop/2-in-1-laptops/inspiron-15-3000/spd/inspiron-15-3505-laptop/cn30532sc |
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New Sun 18 Apr 21 17:21
Cloning laptop hard disk - Robin O'Reliant
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| He can always get an external USB DVD drive. I got a new one for less than £20 on ebay because Mrs O'Reliant's laptop does not have one. |
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