not wanting to sound stupid but if I clone the disk .. won't I clone the bad sectors as well ?
I wa sthinking (maybe wrongly) that if I can run it in SAFE mode I can take a back up then (not sure what type) swap out HDD
Clean install of W7, then restore from backup to the the new OS
Check the files system which is the only risk in cloning or imaging, since surface problems on the physical HD are not transferred in an image.
You can use Disk Check from DVD or Repair CD Command Line if necessary, or use free Partition Wizard
I run CHKDSK /F it did it's thing, but did not fix the problem.
Then see if you can save an image from Safe mode or Acronis boot disk, but you'll likely be better off with a Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 to the new HD.
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