Solved Failing HDD, clone fails

[James7679]

Hello all! I need some help. My wife's laptop's HDD is failing. I have purchased a new one and tried to clone it and the clone fails to boot.

HP dv6-2150us
-Current HDD WD Scorpio Black 300gb(factory)
-New SSHD, Seagate 1EJ162-500
-Windows 7 x64 factory installl
-backup is corrupt

So here is what I have done.
-Cloned old drive(w/macrium reflect) to new drive in my PC. Clone was "successful"
-Installed "cloned" drive into laptop, would not boot.
-tried to rebuild MBR, no go
-tried startup repair, 3 times, no go
-bought and sata data transfer cable, cloned directly from laptop with EZ Gig, clone was not successful(i believe there were more than 200k read errors and a little over 100 write errors).
-sfc /scannow, no errors
-chkdsk runs on current but doesn't seem to find any problems

So here's a few questions;
-I am sure I will have to reinstall with the factory restore partition(if it's still good). Problem, I will have to see if I can find a copy of the key, as the sticker has worn over time and is not legible. If I do have to do this, what is the best course of action as to not lose all of the files on the current, failing, HDD?
-If the restore partition is no longer good, can I use my Windows 7 x64 disc(OEM) from my desktop, to install and download all of the drivers from HP?

Thank you in advance for your help.

P.S. To all my old friends, I have missed you. RL has been hectic and has not lent any time for the forums. To those who don't know me, I am James, nice to meet you.

 

[essenbe]

James, if you can download Belarc, you can find your windows COA key. You can use any disk of the same version to reinstall. I would download the drivers first, but this may be of help to you. http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html

You should be able to copy your user files to an external hard drive if the drive is still readable. C:/users is the location of the user files. If it isn't bootable but still readable, you can do it from an external enclosure or http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/93347-copy-paste-windows-recovery-console.html

 

[James7679]

James, if you can download Belarc, you can find your windows COA key. You can use any disk of the same version to reinstall. I would download the drivers first, but this may be of help to you. http://softdls.com/b/belarc-advisor?mkwid=An2A9IqZ&pcrid=1609183452&kword=belarc advisor&match=e

You should be able to copy your user files to an external hard drive if the drive is still readable. C:/users is the location of the user files. If it isn't bootable but still readable, you can do it from an external enclosure or http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/93347-copy-paste-windows-recovery-console.html

Thank you sir. This will come in handy, I'm sure. I am still holding out hope that this can be resolved w/out doing a fresh OEM install. My wife is technologically inept. She won't know what to do if her laptop isn't the "same".

 

[essenbe]

Please notice, I've corrected the links. If there are errors on the original hard drive, I think they will transfer with a clone. I use Paragon Migrate (19.95) even though it says hard drive to SSD, it will work on any hard drive. I know it isn't free, but if won't do it, it probably can't be done, but Macrium is pretty good too. If you have a Western Digital or Seagate drive, they offer a free version of Acronis which has a clone feature also.

 

[gregrocker]

Hi James -

Did you confirm the 100mb System Reserved (preferred) or C partition is Marked Active
first before running up to 3 separate Startup Repairs? It won't repair if not.

But with that many driver errors it seems like there are problems with the file system being passed through in the clone. So I'd first run a full Disk Check from the Win7 installer or Repair CD Command Prompt accessed from Repair console on second screen.

 

[James7679]

Hi James -

Did you confirm the 100mb System Reserved (preferred) or C partition is Marked Active
first before running up to 3 separate Startup Repairs? It won't repair if not.

[/URL]

But with that many driver errors it seems like there are problems with the file system being passed through in the clone. So I'd first run a full Disk Check from the Win7 installer or Repair CD Command Prompt accessed from Repair console on second screen.

I have tried running disk check from every way imaginable...except, maybe not from the installer. I will give that a go and see if it will fix. Here is the logs from the checks i have done;
Log Name: Application
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Wininit
Date: 6/12/2013 11:45:18 PM
Event ID: 1001
Task Category: None
Level: Information
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: AlexisHoneycutt
Description:


Checking file system on D:
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Volume label is RECOVERY.

A disk check has been scheduled.
Windows will now check the disk.

CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 5)...
256 file records processed.

File verification completed.
0 large file records processed.

0 bad file records processed.

0 EA records processed.

0 reparse records processed.

CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 5)...
314 index entries processed.

Index verification completed.
0 unindexed files scanned.

0 unindexed files recovered.

CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 5)...
256 file SDs/SIDs processed.

Security descriptor verification completed.
30 data files processed.

CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
395832 USN bytes processed.

Usn Journal verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying file data (stage 4 of 5)...
240 files processed.

File data verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying free space (stage 5 of 5)...
576636 free clusters processed.

Free space verification is complete.
Windows has checked the file system and found no problems.

13838335 KB total disk space.
11464616 KB in 62 files.
32 KB in 31 indexes.
0 KB in bad sectors.
67143 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
2306544 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
3459583 total allocation units on disk.
576636 allocation units available on disk.

Internal Info:
00 01 00 00 69 00 00 00 70 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ....i...p.......
16 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................

Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Wininit" Guid="{206f6dea-d3c5-4d10-bc72-989f03c8b84b}" EventSourceName="Wininit" />
<EventID Qualifiers="16384">1001</EventID>
<Version>0</Version>
<Level>4</Level>
<Task>0</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2013-06-13T03:45:18.000000000Z" />
<EventRecordID>57045</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="0" ThreadID="0" />
<Channel>Application</Channel>
<Computer>AlexisHoneycutt</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data>

Checking file system on D:
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Volume label is RECOVERY.

A disk check has been scheduled.
Windows will now check the disk.

CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 5)...
256 file records processed.

File verification completed.
0 large file records processed.

0 bad file records processed.

0 EA records processed.

0 reparse records processed.

CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 5)...
314 index entries processed.

Index verification completed.
0 unindexed files scanned.

0 unindexed files recovered.

CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 5)...
256 file SDs/SIDs processed.

Security descriptor verification completed.
30 data files processed.

CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
395832 USN bytes processed.

Usn Journal verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying file data (stage 4 of 5)...
240 files processed.

File data verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying free space (stage 5 of 5)...
576636 free clusters processed.

Free space verification is complete.
Windows has checked the file system and found no problems.

13838335 KB total disk space.
11464616 KB in 62 files.
32 KB in 31 indexes.
0 KB in bad sectors.
67143 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
2306544 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
3459583 total allocation units on disk.
576636 allocation units available on disk.

Internal Info:
00 01 00 00 69 00 00 00 70 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ....i...p.......
16 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................
</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>

Log Name: Application
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Wininit
Date: 6/12/2013 11:45:17 PM
Event ID: 1001
Task Category: None
Level: Information
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: AlexisHoneycutt
Description:


Checking file system on C:
The type of the file system is NTFS.

A disk check has been scheduled.
Windows will now check the disk.

CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 5)...
728832 file records processed.

File verification completed.
992 large file records processed.

0 bad file records processed.

0 EA records processed.

45 reparse records processed.

CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 5)...
828686 index entries processed.

Index verification completed.
0 unindexed files scanned.

0 unindexed files recovered.

CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 5)...
728832 file SDs/SIDs processed.

Cleaning up 23 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 23 unused index entries from index $SDH of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 23 unused security descriptors.
Security descriptor verification completed.
49928 data files processed.

CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
33802896 USN bytes processed.

Usn Journal verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying file data (stage 4 of 5)...
728816 files processed.

File data verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying free space (stage 5 of 5)...
49361467 free clusters processed.

Free space verification is complete.
Windows has checked the file system and found no problems.

298421247 KB total disk space.
99891896 KB in 430920 files.
244236 KB in 49929 indexes.
4 KB in bad sectors.
839243 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
197445868 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
74605311 total allocation units on disk.
49361467 allocation units available on disk.

Internal Info:
00 1f 0b 00 5c 56 07 00 2f 90 0d 00 00 00 00 00 ....\V../.......
47 78 00 00 2d 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 Gx..-...........
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................

Windows has finished checking your disk.
Please wait while your computer restarts.

Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Wininit" Guid="{206f6dea-d3c5-4d10-bc72-989f03c8b84b}" EventSourceName="Wininit" />
<EventID Qualifiers="16384">1001</EventID>
<Version>0</Version>
<Level>4</Level>
<Task>0</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2013-06-13T03:45:17.000000000Z" />
<EventRecordID>57044</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="0" ThreadID="0" />
<Channel>Application</Channel>
<Computer>AlexisHoneycutt</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data>

Checking file system on C:
The type of the file system is NTFS.

A disk check has been scheduled.
Windows will now check the disk.

CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 5)...
728832 file records processed.

File verification completed.
992 large file records processed.

0 bad file records processed.

0 EA records processed.

45 reparse records processed.

CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 5)...
828686 index entries processed.

Index verification completed.
0 unindexed files scanned.

0 unindexed files recovered.

CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 5)...
728832 file SDs/SIDs processed.

Cleaning up 23 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 23 unused index entries from index $SDH of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 23 unused security descriptors.
Security descriptor verification completed.
49928 data files processed.

CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
33802896 USN bytes processed.

Usn Journal verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying file data (stage 4 of 5)...
728816 files processed.

File data verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying free space (stage 5 of 5)...
49361467 free clusters processed.

Free space verification is complete.
Windows has checked the file system and found no problems.

298421247 KB total disk space.
99891896 KB in 430920 files.
244236 KB in 49929 indexes.
4 KB in bad sectors.
839243 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
197445868 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
74605311 total allocation units on disk.
49361467 allocation units available on disk.

Internal Info:
00 1f 0b 00 5c 56 07 00 2f 90 0d 00 00 00 00 00 ....\V../.......
47 78 00 00 2d 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 Gx..-...........
00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ................

Windows has finished checking your disk.
Please wait while your computer restarts.
</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>

Log Name: Application
Source: Chkdsk
Date: 6/12/2013 8:57:00 PM
Event ID: 26214
Task Category: None
Level: Information
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: AlexisHoneycutt
Description:
Chkdsk was executed in read/write mode.

Checking file system on D:
Volume label is RECOVERY.

CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 5)...
256 file records processed.

File verification completed.
0 large file records processed.

0 bad file records processed.

0 EA records processed.

0 reparse records processed.

CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 5)...
312 index entries processed.

Index verification completed.


CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 5)...
256 file SDs/SIDs processed.

Cleaning up 8 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 8 unused index entries from index $SDH of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 8 unused security descriptors.
Security descriptor verification completed.
29 data files processed.

CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
395392 USN bytes processed.

Usn Journal verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying file data (stage 4 of 5)...
240 files processed.

File data verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying free space (stage 5 of 5)...
576636 free clusters processed.

Free space verification is complete.
Windows has checked the file system and found no problems.

13838335 KB total disk space.
11464612 KB in 61 files.
32 KB in 30 indexes.
67143 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
2306548 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
3459583 total allocation units on disk.
576637 allocation units available on disk.

Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Chkdsk" />
<EventID Qualifiers="0">26214</EventID>
<Level>4</Level>
<Task>0</Task>
<Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2013-06-13T00:57:00.000000000Z" />
<EventRecordID>57019</EventRecordID>
<Channel>Application</Channel>
<Computer>AlexisHoneycutt</Computer>
<Security />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data>

Checking file system on D:
Volume label is RECOVERY.

CHKDSK is verifying files (stage 1 of 5)...
256 file records processed.

File verification completed.
0 large file records processed.

0 bad file records processed.

0 EA records processed.

0 reparse records processed.

CHKDSK is verifying indexes (stage 2 of 5)...
312 index entries processed.

Index verification completed.


CHKDSK is verifying security descriptors (stage 3 of 5)...
256 file SDs/SIDs processed.

Cleaning up 8 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 8 unused index entries from index $SDH of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 8 unused security descriptors.
Security descriptor verification completed.
29 data files processed.

CHKDSK is verifying Usn Journal...
395392 USN bytes processed.

Usn Journal verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying file data (stage 4 of 5)...
240 files processed.

File data verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying free space (stage 5 of 5)...
576636 free clusters processed.

Free space verification is complete.
Windows has checked the file system and found no problems.

13838335 KB total disk space.
11464612 KB in 61 files.
32 KB in 30 indexes.
67143 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
2306548 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
3459583 total allocation units on disk.
576637 allocation units available on disk.
</Data>
<Binary>00010000670000006E0000000000000016000000000000000000000000000000</Binary>
</EventData>
</Event>

 

[Kaktussoft]

-Cloned old drive(w/macrium reflect) to new drive in my PC. Clone was "successful"
-Installed "cloned" drive into laptop, would not boot.=>what error?
-tried to rebuild MBR, no go
-tried startup repair, 3 times, no go=>what error? click "view disgnostic repair results". (status 0x0 means success)

What error do you get on normal boot?

 

[gregrocker]

The Repairs would have to be done with the source HD unplugged.

But since this is the corrupt HP factory preinstall with the worst load of bloatware in the industry, what I'd suggest you do instead is get the vastly superior Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7.

There is no sense cloning or otherwise preserving the worst possible install of Win7 one can have.

 

[James7679]

Thanks Greg. After some thought, I probably will do the clean install. Fun, fun, fun...but overdue. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again, Greg and Steve.

 

[James7679]

Well, I have about 6 hours into a failed install. It seems like, most of the HP drivers are not digitally signed. Therefore, I can't get the laptop fully functional. Also, I noticed WU is not on, and refuses to turn on.

 

[essenbe]

James, did you follow Greg's Tutorial http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html and which installer did you get? Did you do a clean install or a repair install?

 

[James7679]

Yes sir, I did. The problem seems to be fixed now. I tried using the drivers available on HPs website. Most were not digitally signed, so they would not install. I tried to mod the registry to force them and corrupted the install. I have corrected it and used the drivers.from windows and all seems to be working now.

 

[essenbe]

That's good to hear. I'm glad you have it working. But, why would HP not sign their drivers? It does not make sense to me.

 

[James7679]

There's probably no need to on their canned install...that's all I can think of.

 

[gregrocker]

I'm wondering if it doesn't state clearly enough in tutorial to use the drivers Win7 wants. Don't change any of them out unless performance points to one. Only import drivers that are missing after all rounds of Updates are completed - unless its Standard VGA placeholder driver or you need the LAN driver to get online to do Updates..

I'm thinking about putting it into a special Warning box since it seems to be ignored even four years after the release of the first driver-complete OS. It's an XPired habit which can't seem to be broken.

 

[James7679]

TBH, Greg, I didn't even read the tut. After only having built machines for years, I have learned to not use windows drivers...unless there isn't one available, otherwise. So its my fault, more than likely.

 

[kbrady1979]

I'm wondering if it doesn't state clearly enough in tutorial to use the drivers Win7 wants. Don't change any of them out unless performance points to one. Only import drivers that are missing after all rounds of Updates are completed - unless its Stadard VGA placeholder driver or you need the LAN driver to get online to do Updates..

I'm thinking about putting it into a special Warning box since it seems to be ignored even four years after the release of the first driver-complete OS. It's an Xpired habit which can't seem to be broken.

I think a warning box with a very brief explanation would be great......force of habit makes people go to manufacturers websites for drivers when Windows Update will take care of 99% of them. Old habits die hard lol.

 

[James7679]

Also, from my past experience, all of the tuts on SF are great. It's almost always user error if something does not work properly, in relation to the intended resolution of said tut.

 

[kbrady1979]

Also, from my past experience, all of the tuts on SF are great. It's almost always user error if something does not work properly, in relation to the intended resolution of said tut.

That is probably true. 99% of issues are when the user deviates from the tutorial. 1% of the time, there is actually a discrepancy the tutorial author had no way to know about. You'd be surprised how many times a user will "read" a tutorial and continue having problems, be told to follow it to the letter by several members, and after the issue is resolved admit that they didn't read it at all. Sometimes we get into a hurry and skim to get the jest of it to resolve our problems....it happens.