Just thinking out loud...

Tom Dunne

Right, I've been trying to fix a laptop for a friend for quite some time now, and I'm tearing out what little hair I have left.

I won't bore you with the details, but I've finally discovered that the hard-drive is buggered. Even though it boots into Windows Vista, it freezes every so often, and you can hear the faint sound of a bad sector being continually re-read.

So, I tried making an image copy using Norton Ghost, even it won't read the drive (and that's with the "Ignore bad sectors" option chosen).

As there are no recovery CD's with the machine, only a recovery partition, I wonder if I Ghost the recovery partition to a new hard-drive, boot from the recovery partition, then use that to re-install Windows on the new hard-drive, will that work?

Any other ideas I could try?

Voodu Child

You could clone the recovery partition alright. It won't work as simple as that, you'd need to configure it correctly so that it'll boot off it properly; sometimes they use proprietary bootloaders and whatnot. Which may or may not be tricky depending on how techy you are..

You've got a legit Vista licence, so if all else fails you could get hold of a full Vista install disc off someone and use that. It would probably be simpler.

petes

As said it can be difficult with proprietary bootloaders. I'd go with reinstalling vista from cd/dvd.

I installed XP on a Compaq laptop not so long ago but it wasn't having any of it (Vista laptop). It wiped the bootloader so couldn't use Shift and F11 at startup to start the recover. Turns out all I had to do was make the recovery partition as active and it booted off that.

Tom Dunne

voodoo_child wrote: »

You've got a legit Vista licence, so if all else fails you could get hold of a full Vista install disc off someone and use that. It would probably be simpler.

I suppose it would, but I don't think there is a Vista license key on a sticker on the bottom of the laptop.

So if I went to install Vista from a CD/DVD, wouldn't it ask me for a key?

Voodu Child

You say you can get into the Vista environment (in a hit and miss fashion)? Maybe you can retrieve the key that way? Ive not had to do it, but it's possible, either by digging around or using a utility.

Tom Dunne

voodoo_child wrote: »

You say you can get into the Vista environment (in a hit and miss fashion)? Maybe you can retrieve the key that way? Ive not had to do it, but it's possible, either by digging around or using a utility.

You know what? Just checking my own Vista laptop here in front of me, and lo and behold, there's the product ID in Control Panel -> System.

Excellent. Thanks for that, I can get in to Vista on the bogey laptop, so I can dig out the key from there and re-install once I procure a Vista CD/DVD.

Thanks for the help.

ronkmonster

the product id is not the key you enter to activate vista/xp

you need [SIZE=+2]Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder

http://magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/[/SIZE]

AlmightyCushion

Rock xp will get the product key as well, I think rock xp will get the product key for office as well.

Do you not have an option to burn off recovery disks?

Tom Dunne

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

Do you not have an option to burn off recovery disks?

The laptop is too unstable.

It can boot up, start something, then all of a sudden, hang for 10 minutes.

I have sourced some recovery disks, so will hopefully get to it in the next few days.

trout

Recover the Vista product key, so you have a plan B.

I would then try Spinrite to see if the hard drive can be salvaged, or maintained long enough to get all the data off.
It's commercial software, but worth every penny imo -> http://www.grc.com/spinrite.htm

Depending on the brand, there may be specific diagnostic and maintenance tools available. Download and burn to CD, so you don't stress the dodgy hard disk.

I have no time for dodgy hard disks ... you can buy a 500 Gb laptop drive for peanuts now.

I would recover the Vista key, recover any data, then swap out the hard disk.

Capt'n Midnight

if it can get into windows then use ntbackup to make a copy of the drive , unlike ghost it will try to carry on if it hits bad sectors
of course if you have Vista home you can't do this :mad::mad::mad::mad:


with a linux disk you could try to clone using ddrescue


if you post the model maybe some has / can make recovery disks ?