Newbie backup question

pugmug...after checking the dell site I've come to the same conclusion. I was told by a friend to do the jumpers as master and slave. Sounded reasonable but apparently wrong. I'll be back in the AM after I rest my brain & complete your recommendations. Thanks again

 

PETER,the problem is an incorrect install of a second internal h/d not with Casper.

 

pugmug....I have changed jumpers to cable select. Went into set-up & 2nd hdd still is not shown in boot sequence. Looks the same in there as it did yesterday. Do you still want me to reformat disk? Screen shot from disk manager.

 

Hey Seadog, looks like you may be SOL trying to boot through the BIOS to the other HDD. This from a Dell forum:

http://www.dellcommunity.com/suppor...m_bios&message.id=48169&query.id=81037#M48169

Swapping out the cables, which is what you'll have to do regardless if your first HDD craps out, is the way to go to verify your clone.

 

seadog,read this link, http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim4550/syssetup.htm#1097056 and try highlighting primary drive 1 and turn it to auto if you can.

 

Jaws..... thanks for the link. I was afraid it was some Dell specific issue. No biggie...I've had a lot of practice the last few days opening the case & switching cables. I'll have a go at it shortly & give the new drive a test run. I created a test document in word & copied it to the 2nd hdd so I know it's there.

pugmug...thanks for the link. I read that yesterday & switched to auto. It shows the data for both the 0 drive &
1 drive but still not in boot sequence. Read the thread from the link Jaws posted & it sound like Dell won't add it to boot.

 

Dell will not boot from an external hard drive but I spoke with a person that owns a 4550 and he said you can boot to a second internal h/d as he has done it before.He told me that the second hard drive needs to be installed correctly,as you have done now and then install a fresh xp o/s on the first hard drive and all will be well.Sorry but best I can do for you with that Dell.

 

pugmug.....Thanks for all your efforts. I don't know if I'm ready to do a reinstall of XP. I think I wil try manually switching cables to 2nd drive to make it primary for test purposes.

 

seadog,one more question if I may?When you first boot and the Dell splash screen comes up what BIOS ver. does it state?Should be like AO2,A04,etc...

 

pugmug...bios is AO3. I have manually switched the cable to the 2nd hdd & left the old hdd totally disconnected so I am now operating on new drive. So far all looks good as far as the imaging goes. It would be nice to be able to do this without going into the box. On the other hand If my primary hdd tanks I'll have to go into the box to replace it.

 

Speaking to the same owner of a 4550 he states that your bios AO3 is outdated.He said to flash to BIOS A06 but do not use A08.Use the hard drive exe. found here, http://support.euro.dell.com/support/downloads/format.aspx?c=uk&l=en&s=gen&SystemID=DIM_PNT_P4_4550&servicetag=&os=WW1&osl=en&deviceid=308&libid=1&catid=-1&impid=-1&typecnt=0&vercnt=7&releaseid=R59793 and you should have no problem.It may help as I have flashed 24 Dell BIOS with zero problems using their Bios exe. myself.It is up to you in the end.

 

pugmug....thanks for the link re: bios. I'm going to switch my cables back and then give it a try.

 

Let me know how it turns out .I still belive a clean o/s install with both h/d's connected will fix your problem as well as the BIOS update first also.Good luck!

 

pugmug......I'm starting to feel like a real dummy.Went to the site,downloaded the bios update to my desktop. At the site it said to then copy fron desktop to a DOS bootable floppy. With floppy inserted reboot and run from dos. Ok ....I have a floppy but how do I make it DOS bootable for this operation?


EDIT: Sorry I was looking at the wrong thing. I did the install ok but of course I don't know where to check to verify that it did in fact update. How would I do that? Thanks

EDIT AGAIN: Disregard all of the above. I figured it out & I now have AO6. Still nothing has changed in the boot sequence so it looks like I'll be doing that manually when necessary. At least I know Casper did it's thing ok.

 

pugmug......Everything seems to be working well. I ran Casper again to get up to date & it only took 3 minutes. The peace of mind is well worth the price of the app. If I kill the primary hdd I'm up and running in the time it takes to switch the cables. Thanks again for all your help.....aloha

 

Glad you find Casper useful.I build custom computers for a living,so when people want to boot to a second,third,etc... h/d there is no problem. Dell and other OEM's can be a pain.Have a good day!