Why don't more people image their OS Hard drive

[Steve83]

Yeah, that last quote was for all 3 CPUs. But without actually looking at the CPU (if I can even read what's printed on it), we really don't know what's in this box.

Do you still have a 2400 (or an 1800/1700)? Does it have "AMD Athlon XP 2400+" printed on the chip, or is it some coded number?

I'll shut down, pull this chip & read it, then set the FSB during boot.

[Steve83]

The chip is a 2400. I set the clock to 133 & the multiplier to 15 (making 2GHz), and magically, the BIOS now says "2400". What a POS - obviously, the BIOS doesn't actually read anything from the chip. It just guesses what the chip is, based on the speed it's running at. And Everest is just mimicing the BIOS, because it now says 2400, too. But it still thinks the 12V rail is at 6.43V - do you know which pins or wire colors in the ATX connector are supposed to be 12V so I can check with my DMM?

[Steve83]

I found this page and I ordered this tester, but my DMM says I have +11.96VDC on pin 10 & -12.43VDC on pin 12, so IDK where Everest is coming up with 6.43 .

[Steve83]

The dinky little tester shows everything good with the PS, which is confirmed by my DMM. Do you think it could still be the problem if it only fails under a heavy load? Should I put 4 more HDDs in & then let it rip a DL DVD?

Any idea where that 6.43V is coming from?

[Chewy]

all voltages should be within 5-10% of specs under load, I wouldn't test the power supply by stressing it, might blow another mobo and lord knows what else.

time will tell if you fixed your problem

[Steve83]

I don't know if "stressing it" really applies since it ran like that for a couple of years, but OK. I won't load it up right away. Also, the old mobo was still running - I just thought it was the CAUSE of my problems. I haven't tossed it, so I might eventually go back to using it.

So back to my original question: is there a way I can dupe the OS HDD so that, if does crash again, I won't have to fight thru reinstalling everything?

I have Nero6, NSW05, & the install CDs for Maxtor, WD, & Seagate. Can I use any of those to create a dupe HD? Or an image? If I use a HD install CD to copy a partition containing an OS, will it automatically clear/erase/format the source drive, or can I end up with 2 (or more) exact copies?

[Steve83]

No additional hardware has been added, but I've been adding back data VERY slowly. Today, I dumped a bunch of images & Epson PrintCD files back on (~7G worth) and went on a brief errand while they were copying. There was a mild rainstorm. When I got back, my stereo had defaulted to its base settings, and my computer had booted, but was stuck in POST just after attempting to boot from the 2 CD (DVD) drives. The stereo is on an older APC UPS in the LR, and the computer is on a brand new Tripp-Lite 1100VA UPS in the office. None of the appliance clocks in the kitchen were flashing, so I know there was no power outage, and the UPSs should have filtered out any surges.

The computer will NOT boot. I even changed the boot priority to HDD for all 3 attempts, and it just sticks after "Verifying DMI Pool Data...". I did notice that NOTHING in the "PC Health Status" (a feature specific to this mobo & BIOS) shows 12V, or anything near it. VCC is ~5, but I don't know what CC means, or if that's the one that SHOULD be 12. Vcore & VAGP are ~1.6; Vio~3.3; VDIMM~2.7; VBat~3.15; 5VSB~5.



I'm at my wits' end - does this seem like a PS problem? Should I spend the $100 on that slick Hiper 580W PS with the modular cords? This SmartPower450 still passes both the plug-in ATX tester, and using my DMM. Or are the freaky voltage readings coming from this cheapo mobo? And do they even matter, since the DMM says I'm actually getting good voltage?

Right now, I'm letting the system cool off to see if it'll start running again. If it does, will that tell me it's DEFINITELY a bad HDD? Or will it tell me anything useful?

***********EDIT************

Cooling off didn't help - it still hangs. But on any other HDD (the ones I've formatted after they crashed), it passes that point & tells me "NTLDR is missing", so I'm pretty sure it's not a mobo problem causing it to hang up on POST with the most-recently-crashed HDD. But I still have no idea why they keep crashing, or what I have to do to fix it.

I'd love to use this as an excuse to build a new system, but without any inkling of what's causing this one to crash, I have no reason to think a new one won't.

[Grincat]

It is a good idea to backup your system and hardrive. i try to do it, but I wonder if I am doing it right.

May be somebody here can tell me.
I use Iomega automatic backup pro 3.1

I always wonder if it is the right program. so just in case I did anothe back up using the progrma that came with window xp.

I always do a ful system backup , uncompres and save the backup on an external hard disk

[Steve83]

It crashed again last night just after copying a bunch of pictures & MP3s from DVD-ROM to the HDD. I guess now I have to figure out a way to test if it was the data (virus/malware), or the load on the ROM drive, or on the CPU, or on the HDD, or on the PS.

[Chewy]

I would suspect the optical drive and hard drive used for the copy operation,
cpu should have no load if dma is working, powersupply might act up if there is a problem with one of those 2 drives, try to narrow it down.

[codajohn]

http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

try to get the cpu down to 50-55 under load
40 at idle

C2?

[Steve83]

It happens with ANY of my HDDs (about 8 of them now) and either optical drive (Plextor RW or Pioneer ROM), but I'm not sure if it has always happened after an extended data transfer. Maybe...

I'm thinking about viruses again, though. Maybe I have one embedded in a JPG somehow... But the failure is so catastrophic that it destroys EVERY way to scan for viruses, AND crashes the HDD, so it might be covering its tracks that way. Then nothing will detect it after I format & reload the OS since it's gone, but when I reload it, it bombs me again. Does that sound possible???

So again: can I image the OS HDD so that I'll be able to repeat the test w/o reloading everything? I've dl'ed XP Pro x64 Trial, so I could load that up on another HDD & see what happens with it. My hardware passed the MS online compatibility scan for x64.

[r_j]

backing up computer

is it better to create an image of your entire hard drive or just the system state for backing up or to just use the Windows system tools back up to create a back up of you system state or entire computer? which is easier/ faster?

[bambookrystal]

as for imaging/backup softeware either the acronis or ghost is best bet? which is easier to use?