Cannot clone my HDD - bad sector.

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  1. Posts : 9
    Win7 Pro 32-bit and XP Pro (17 windows machines)
       #11

    Same story here, Macrium fails then 'causes' later failure?


    boyboyds said:
    Hi,

    Windows 7 PC, WD HDD.

    I was trying to clone it using Macrium Reflect (I have done it successfully many times before) but this time I got an error - "Clone Failed - Read Failed - 13 - Broken Pipe".

    I ran diskcheck and also downloaded WD diagnostic utility to test. WD utility found a bad sector but failed to fix it.

    My PC is running well, and the WD HDD that causing the issue is recently installed and was cloned from a previous HDD that failed.

    Is there any way to fix the bad sector so it can be cloned.....?
    What are my options....?


    Thanks,
    -BBDS
    I too have been using Macrium for some three+ years, and it always worked well on my Win7 machines, for cloning (not so well in other functions). But last September they started 'upgrading' Pro 5 for Win 8.1, and then the nightmares began. You can't see it now, but lots of folks reported clone failures on single-license machines (like mine, I have maybe 12). All of them were using WD My Passport, as am I. In my case though, the failure only occurs where the drive is 1TB, and that .1 (point 1, so 10% of a GB) bigger than the WD Passport -- which was never an issue in the past, have been cloning same drive to same WD My Passport since last summer or prior. In Macrium, they use 'smart' sector, so if the ending partition isn't fully used, the clone destination needn't be the same size.

    Apparently that's no longer true. Macrium trashed the partition it failed to clone, wrecked many of my files, wrecked the destination disk (which of course had had a GOOD copy of those files), created bad sectors where there were none, and it's never become right since. The new Macrium 6 same problem, so of course I didn't renew my license for 6 (just tested all this today with 6).

    EASEUS was able to copy the partition properly. Macrium could image it, so clearly it's not the drive, but something related to size and WD My Passport.

    I hate Acronis, so won't try that, but I did try Clonezilla which has saved the same machine many times in the past (esp. when Macrium started to go funky), but over the past two days suddenly I can't get Clonezilla to do its regular 'thang' either.

    I have NO idea what's going wrong, really. The above is just a report of what SEEMS to be the problem. And I've lost hundreds of hours trying to trouble-shoot it.

    So bottom line, try downloading the latest free EASEUS Partition Master and merely copy the partition: that worked for me. At least you'll have that. Or image it, though I hate imaging, I want immediate gratification from cloning.

    Clonezilla forum is reporting cloning failure of other types, and if they ever send me the okay email so I can participate in that forum, I'll be there too. I'm a huge Clonezilla fan.

    If you want more on this saga, I'm running a log on it here: https://vimeo.com/groups/pcworldalum...m/topic:266071

    Tone is strident, as I'm frustrated. The actual CAUSE of the problem, I'm not sure. Am throwing stones to see what fits. I can't go into the Macrium 6 forum until and unless I buy 6 also, and that ain't gonna happen.

    BTW, the latest version of Clonezilla just changed, and the usb installation instructions are bad (i.e., no download links or broken links). The ONLY good way to install it to usb is 'do' 'Method B' in that page.

    So, for example you download 2.4 (latest) Clonezilla zip for i686 (multi-core processor backward), then extract the zip to a flash drive you've already NAMED (they should tell you, it's really important to NAME your disks) and already FORMATTED as FAT32 (which is normally what flash drives are anyway).

    Then, IN that flash drive, find the utils folder then the win version (32 or 64) then IN that folder click on 'makeboot'. You get a DOS window in Windows, saying WHAT DRIVE will be made bootable, warning you to be sure you've selected the right one (no problem, if you clicked that file from WITHIN the flash drive's extracted copy). Click, and in seconds you're done.
    Last edited by brainout; 21 Jun 2015 at 02:13. Reason: Clarification and last paragraph re new Clonezilla how-to's.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 107
    Windows 7 Home 64bit
    Thread Starter
       #12

    I think switching to imaging is OK. This was my first imaging attempt ever and I cannot be sure if it will work. I do not really care, but I do agree that Macrium was an easy option for switching HDD.

    -BBDS
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 1
    Windows 7 64bit Home Premium
       #13

    How can you recover data if HDD won't boot?


    I have the same problem as original poster.Except mine won't boot at all.I installed a back-up HDD(Vista) to try and recover data from the failed HDD(Win7)& mangaged to recover some documents and then Vista had to reboot after a driver install now IT won't boot(or it's just trying to read it cause it just hangs there after the win logo appears).I've searched the web for solutions but most utilities only work AFTER Windows loads.Any utility that can run from boot-up?The failed HDD is a WD 1 tb drive that I took out of an external case that failed due to a faulty power port 3 years ago and havn;t had probs til now. I have Hirens BootCD but nothing on it worked.
      My Computer


 
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