Windows 7: How can I clone just my old C: drive/partition onto a new HDD?

I have an HP Pavilion drive less than a year old that is corrupt - I recovered the partitions and my data by mounting it as an external and using Test Disk. Boot Sectors are all OK, but the drive failed the self test when mounted so maybe bad sectors; TestDisk says it has Bad MFT and MFT Mirror that can't be fixed, but only says this on the System and Recovery partitions; for the C: partition and HP Tools it says they match perfectly.

HP sent a replacement with Windows 7 media. MY Q: Can I safely image my old good partition (C: drive) that does not say MFT bad (in TestDisk) and clone it onto the new drive? and then use Recovery CD's to do a clean install of System and Recovery and HP Tools partitions? I don't know if there was a virus involved but I doubt it; with 20/20 hindsight there have been signs of the HDD going bad for a 2 or 3 weeks.



This is how a standard HP looks from factory:

Did you get a replacement laptop or only replacement disk? And is replacement disk emtpy now?

You can try cloning or imaging C over if you want but Recovery disks will not cooperate to only reinstall the Recovery and OEM partition.

Obviously you should have your files backed up by now.

I'd also run Malwarebytes on all partitions now, followed by Disk Check and the maker's HD Diagnostic extended CD scan which can actually repair a HD.

I'd not clone a failing HD but instead run Factory Recovery on the replacement, or use this opportunity to get the vastly superior clean reinstall using a Windows 7 Installation DVD with Product Key on COA sticker: Reinstalling Windows 7

Let us know if you need the Windows 7 installation DVD.

Kactussoft - they sent me a drive only and I was told it will be devoid of OS /unformatted.

Gregrocker - Yes, I could use the Windows 7 CD as HP sent only the System Recovery CD, not true Windows 7 installation. My files are backed up but I'm holding onto a thin hope that I can clone my c: drive and avoid some pain not so much with Windows 7 updates and driver updates so much as all the 3rd party software.

I mounted the old HD again into the HP notebook and even with boot set to CD and Recovery disk inserted, can't get it to boot. Nor will the HP QuickWeb work anymore - it was working when the disk partitions were broken but not now and it is enabled in BIOS (that's the QuickOS that goes online and is built into the board). Mbam does see the old disk (!) and found nothing on all partitions, but a full scan took only 19 seconds per partition - this can't be right as a Quick Scan took almost 2 minutes ?? I can't run chkdsk because I can't get to DOS and don't want to risk writing to disk anyway until all data manipulation/backup/imaging options are exhausted or completed. I can't get Bart's PE (built back in XP SP2) to work in Windows 7 64bit. I can't get SpinRite to run either. They suggest using a DOS boot CD or USB to remedy that so I will try. HP Tools has a built in HP drive checker and it gave me a pass on SMART and a fail on the drive. Thank you for the links to the various manuf's disk checks.

Well then what is the version?

You have everything listed in Specs except that.

Ah, sorry: Windows 7 Home Premium (x64) (build 7600)

http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-58997.iso Windows 7 Home Premium x64 English

Windows 7 USB-DVD Download Tool

Reinstalling Windows 7

Thanks, and I read your updated long post you linked on how to do the reinstall, that's helpful. I still don't know exactly how it will work, trying to use the HP Recovery and Tools alongside the Windows 7 install. I'll learn as I go. I did manage to finally image the C: drive/partition to a backup drive while running a Linux live CD (BootMed) that's got Test Disk on it, as I could finally direct output to the backup drive under 'media' in ubuntu; I also then wiped it using Ubuntu dd command. I only imaged it so I could run chkdsk /f on the original HD, and it failed so I'm moving on to a clean install. Thanks again for the links.