Cloned hard drive not 'precisely' the same as original

[Greg33]

Hello everyone,

I just cloned my existing hard drive which I believed to be on the brink of failure. Surprisingly, the cloning procedure worked well - the new drive worked almost perfectly upon installation in my Thinkpad.

While it seems that all the files, documents, programs, etc. are exactly the same as the original drive, there are a couple of issues I don't understand though.

I have since discovered that the fingerprint reader no longer recognizes my stored fingerprints and the standby and hibernate options are no longer available either. Any ideas what could have caused these problems?

I would have thought that the cloned drive would have been an exact copy of the original and all files/settings should have been transferred to the new drive. This isn't the case however. Is it possible to manually move the file(s) which my stored fingerprints to the new drive and see if that makes any difference? If so, where would they be located?

Also, how can I get standby and hibernate to appear once again? I checked various settings already and the hibernate feature is shown as enabled.

I've also re-installed the original hard drive again and the fingerprint and standby/hibernate features are working just fine with that one. I don't have a clue why they wouldn't be working in the cloned copy.

Thanks folks...

[SHoTTa35]

i don't know for the fingerprint stuff, that's weird. For the standby issue, check the device manager to make sure all the drivers are installed correctly. Since you cloned your drive it should all be the same but maybe Windows for whatever reason didn't initilize the driver.

Problems like these are weird but it's probably the reason i always format and install fresh. It's especially a good idea since it's a new drive anyways.. i get that it takes some time to configure everything back to the way it was but maybe you've found out a new way to do something better and would implement it now instead of undoing what you did before and then trying then. I dunno.. i just love a clean system instead.

[carbon_unit]

Probably since your old drive was "on the brink of failure" some data may have been corrupted causing the symptoms you are seeing now.
Cloning a failing drive presents unique challenges. It sounds like you were fairly lucky to get as much as you did. I would check for corrupted drivers and reinstall them as needed.

[Johan]

Greg:

1) What OS do you run - Windows XP w/SP2 or some Vista??

2) Could you perhaps enlighten us a little about the exact method you used for cloning... e.g. Acronis True Image (if so: Which version?) or some other program? Also; How was the target drive mounted while being cloned? In some external USB2-box or in the internal ("CD-ROM") bay? What was the size of the source disk, and what was the size of the target disk? Manual clone mode or proportional mode used? Did you verify (compare) the cloned drive against the source?

3) Did the source and cloned drive include the "Access IBM" hidden partition, and if so: Have you checked (on the cloned drive) that it works?

Thanks!

[Greg33]

Please excuse the delay, I haven't had a chance to reply until now.

Regarding the questions posted from Johan, my answers are as follows:

1. OS is Windows XP Pro, SP2

2. I used the Apricorn Notebook Hard Drive Upgrade Kit with their own cloning/backup software. Both drives were identical - 40GB, 5400RPM. I mounted the source drive from my T42 into the external enclosure and installed the new, destination drive, into my notebook. Used the 'Disk Clone' option from their EZ Gig II cd.

3. Yes, the cloned drive has full access to the hidden partition. Everything was identical except for the fingerprint issue and the missing shut down options of "hibernate" and "standby".

In addition, the following might be best in a new thread, but I wanted to add some further information. I decided later to save the files I wanted to keep and start over with a 'fresh' hard drive. I formatted the drive and used the R&R cd's to restore to factory condition. However, I soon discovered that a R&R built drive is actually much different then the original drive I had received in the unit. Some of the differences I noticed immediately were:

1. Only 3 Power Schemes available:
a. High System Performance
b. Disable Shut Off Timers
c. Presentation

2. Turn Off computer only shows "Shut Down" and "Restart". "Stand By" and "Hibernate" still not visible. Fn-F12 did not work either.

3. Access Connections missing.

4. TrackPoint no longer functioned.

There could have been more inconsistencies, but these are what I noticed immediately. After trying the R&R discs twice with the same end results, I called IBM service for some assistance. The service rep on the phone explained to me that the R&R cd's are not intended to bring the drive back to a "shipped from factory condition", but just install enough software to get the drive configured in a typical working condition. He even suggested that sending the unit back for a hard drive re-image would not necessarily result in receiving a drive identical to what I first got in the new computer. The rep explained that it was because of inconsistencies with the MS Windows OS. After a lengthy conversation, he finally agreed for me to return the unit for a re-image. I should be getting it back in the next day or two and I'm a little anxious to see what features may or may not be there. Has anyone else had such a problem when using the R&R discs?

By the way, when I receive the new unit, I'm thinking to make a clone of the drive before I even power it on. I want to have a 100% exact copy of the original factory drive before I touch it. Would that be possible? Could I use a program like True Image, Ghost, or the Apricorn backup software to copy the drive and then burn that copy to a DVD for safe keeping?

Thanks for the advise/comments!

[NathanA]

Bizarre. I have only used RnR CDs once, but in my experience it does give you a complete "factory reload." Not sure I agree with the tech you spoke with.

Have you tried resetting your BIOS to defaults and then re-running the RnR restore?

-- Nathan