Can I use an OS image from another system

Discussion in 'Paragon Drive Backup Product Line' started by kcaegis45, Sep 1, 2009.

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  1. kcaegis45

    kcaegis45 Registered Member

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    I have two same laptops.
    I did a full install of window XP to laptop B. It installed but I didn't have all the drivers for some of the special button features. I was thinking if I load the recovery & OS image of laptop A to laptop B then I can do a restore to factory condition to laptop B and I will have all the features.
    Can I use the recovery & OS image of laptop A and using the recovery CD, load it to laptop B?
    Will it load to laptop B and will laptop B boot up and run?
    Also, if the image partition has 14GB of info and is 40GB larger, can I load the image to a HD that is only 20GB?

    Thanks
     
    Last edited: Sep 1, 2009
  2. kcaegis45

    kcaegis45 Registered Member

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    I just tried to use the "simple restore" function from the recovery and it didn't work. It said it didn't see the target disk but I said proceed anyway and when it finished nothing was restore to the HD.
    I thought I can back it up to a different laptop's internal HD but it didn't work.
    Is it because it is a different laptop?
    Should I try the copy partition function instead?
    What is the best way to copy the 33GB internal HD (19GB OS partition & 14GB partition - empty) in laptop A to a 20GB internal HD with one partition in laptop B. I also have an USB 1TB external HD.
    Is this possible? If so, how....

    Thanks
     
  3. Paragon_Tommy

    Paragon_Tommy Paragon Moderator

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    Hello Kcaegis45,

    Backing up from a larger hard drive and restoring it to a smaller one is possible as long as the actual data taken up on the source drive does not exceed the capacity of the target hard drive. Essentially in this case, you are backing up only the 19GB OS partition and restoring it to the 20GB hard drive. I assume the combined data on the 40GB hard drive is greater than 20GB therefore we can not restore both partitions, but we can backup both partitions and only restore one of the partition. For the sake of simplicity, I'll walk you through backing one partition.

    Things you'll need: Recovery Disk Media and external storage (USB HD).

    To create the recovery media, open Paragon Drive Backup, under Tools > Recovery Media and create a CD/DVD or Flash Memory recovery media.

    With Paragon Drive Backup installed on your source operating system, under "Wizards", click "Backup Disk or Partition", in this case, select only the "Local Disk C" partition and backup the archive to your external USB Hard drive.

    On the destination laptop, connect the USB HD and insert the recovery media CD/DVD or Flash Drive we created earlier. Enter BIOS to change boot order or hit F12 for boot options.

    Perform the restore onto the 20GB internal hard drive from the archive we created. Once done, right click "Basic Hard Disk 0" (your internal hard drive), and update MBR. It's also important to check that the Windows partition is the only partition marked as 'Active' and is unhidden. Restart.

    Your machine should now boot into the operating system, looking identical to the old one. If you encounter any blue screens with the error 7B, it's because a hardware component is incompatible. With the Adjust OS feature we can correct this or with Adaptive Restore, we can inject any necessary drivers. Good Luck!


    -Tommy
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 2, 2009
  4. kcaegis45

    kcaegis45 Registered Member

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    I was able to load the image but when it finished, I could only close it by clicking the close button, there was no option or place to pick the basic disk to right click and update the MBR as you advised. To check if the partition is active and not hidden, I started the process of restoring and when it came to the disk I want to restore to, it said the disk was active and not hidden and I then cancelled the operation. Then I restarted the laptop and I got the blue screen with the error 7B. It then came to a point where I can start using safe mode, safe mode with networking , etc and I tried using safe mode but it cycled through and came up with the same error 7B. Is it because I didn't update MBR or because some of the drivers are not correct? I am using Disk Backup Pro (free edition). Thanks for any help you can provide.
     
  5. Paragon_Tommy

    Paragon_Tommy Paragon Moderator

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    After the restore, close the progress window, near the top where your disk map is laid out, with basic hard disk 0, and your partitions below in forms of blue (NTFS) rectangular boxes. Simply right-click "Basic Hard Disk 0" and update MBR.
     
    Last edited: Sep 10, 2009
  6. Paragon_Tommy

    Paragon_Tommy Paragon Moderator

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    Hello kcaegis45,

    The blue screen 7B means the restore operating system cannot boot due to a dissimilar hardware found. Boot to the recovery media again, select Boot Corrector and adjust OS to new hardware configuration. If this still doesn't work, it means the OS doesn't have the proper drivers installed.

    At this point, we have a tool call Adaptive Restore that can inject the drivers post restoration, or you can go back to the source computer, install the driver that's missing on the destination computer, run the backup again, and restore.

    -Tommy
     
  7. pip22

    pip22 Registered Member

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    There is a much simpler reason for your problem. A Windows XP installation (or an image of same) cannot be moved to a different PC. To a different hard disk certainly, but not to a different PC. Nothing to do with incorrect drivers. It's just technically impossible whatever cloning or imaging program you use. If it was possible it would make Microsoft's anti-piracy measures completely pointless.
     
  8. Paragon_Tommy

    Paragon_Tommy Paragon Moderator

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    Certainly in the case of a server hardware crash and the system can not be rebuilt with similar hardware, the adaptive restore is your only solution and a proven method. The technology is relatively new. Regarding Microsoft legal agreements, a company may have volume licenses or just need to re-activate their OS licenses. With OEM licenses, the hardware can go through a sysprep and update with a new OS license for the new hardware.
     
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