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Dell All-in-One Printer 944 Problem (Resolved)

Dell Printer

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#106
Channeal

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Hi Phillpower2,

 

I do not really understand the article you gave me the link to..... but I guess the general message is that we cannot do what was planned. You only mention the problem with Acronis..... would this have been the same if I had used Macrium Reflect, do you think?

 

You really have absolutely no need to apologise to me: you cannot know everything, any more than I can. I am actually not even the tiniest bit upset about this..... it was an interesting process, even if it has failed! I believe that most things in life happen to teach us something... and I have definitely learned an awful lot on my long journey here! :)

 

The good thing is that my computer is no worse off than when we started trying to do this..... and at least I did not succeed in blowing the computer up! And..... amazingly... the printer is still working too (I might have been a bit upset if the cloning process had stopped that working!)

 

Once again, thank you so much for all the time and effort you have spent helping me.

 

Chris


Edited by Channeal, 07 June 2014 - 10:16 AM.

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#107
phillpower2

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Hello Channeal,

 

Thank you for understanding  :thumbsup:

 

I provided the MS link/information as it may explain why the clone is not as straightforward as planned, as you are aware I do not use Acronis and recommend Macrium Reflect, this because I am familiar with it, if for example I used MR for the present task it would be done the following way, back up the contents of the C: drive to the external USB HDD, format the smaller D: drive, disable or disconnect the C: drive, restore your back up from the USB HDD to the smaller D: drive, confirm that all went well and then re-enable/reconnect the larger HDD, format it and use as a data only storage device, demonstration videos here and here

 

PS I have looked at the BIOS. Drive 0 is turned on, but Drive 1 is turned off. What effect does that have and is it relevant to my current problems?

 

Sorry but I overlooked this, is it possible that the Drive 0 has to be turned off first before Drive 1 can be enabled as the boot device as in you can only have one HDD selected as a boot device.


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#108
Channeal

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Hello Phillpower2,

 

 

Sorry but I overlooked this, is it possible that the Drive 0 has to be turned off first before Drive 1 can be enabled as the boot device as in you can only have one HDD selected as a boot device.

 

I tried this earlier today, but unfortunately it did not work. :(

 

I am uncertain at the moment where to go to from here. Yesterday, I just wanted to abandon any plans of doing this altogether..... today, I am more uncertain. I looked at Macrium to see what it would entail: it looks more complicated than Acronis and I feel I would probably have to ask you loads of questions :(. Maybe I really should just give up!

 

It probably isn't a good idea to make any decisions at the moment though, as I am not well: I have had a virus for 3 weeks which has now got worse, so am on the dreaded antibiotics. My head is thumping so much right now that concentrating on anything at all is very difficult.

 

Can I ask one or two quick questions about Macrium, please, before I have to go and rest my head again? 

 

I do not understand why you are talking about backing up to the external drive first and then restoring via bootable CD, rather than cloning straight from one disc to the other. (I am thinking that I possibly could, after all, have used the Acronis bootable CD to restore the Acronis Back-up image from there). If I backed everything up and then restored it all, surely I would have the same problem we discussed before concerning the fact that having backed up the whole of the larger present Drive C, it would not then all fit onto the smaller Drive D. What I mean is, I am not sure if there would be room on the external hard drive for storing all the data files currently on there (the ones I removed from Drive C) as well as the full Macrium back-up of everything now remaining on Drive C.

 

I notice here that it says that 'In order to clone a disk, you must ensure that your system has the target/destination disk installed on the system.' I am confused now - in light of the info in the BIOS - about whether the disk is 'installed' on here or not!

 

Finally, are you as sure as you can be that the same problems I had with Acronis and Dell not liking each other very much will not apply to Macrium too?

 

I have actually downloaded Macrium just to take a look at it. I don't actually mind the thought of doing all the extra work..... but am still very unsure. I guess I need to look at eveything again when I am finally better though......

 

Bye for now,

Chris.


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#109
phillpower2

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Hello Channeal,

 

Sorry to hear that you are still under the weather  :(

 

Take as long as you need away from this  :thumbsup:

 

I do not understand why you are talking about backing up to the external drive first and then restoring via bootable CD, rather than cloning straight from one disc to the other. (I am thinking that I possibly could, after all, have used the Acronis bootable CD to restore the Acronis Back-up image from there). If I backed everything up and then restored it all, surely I would have the same problem we discussed before concerning the fact that having backed up the whole of the larger present Drive C, it would not then all fit onto the smaller Drive D. What I mean is, I am not sure if there would be room on the external hard drive for storing all the data files currently on there (the ones I removed from Drive C) as well as the full Macrium back-up of everything now remaining on Drive C.

 

 

The steps that I provided were intended to show how I would undertake the task myself, a better explanation than I can provide here note that it says that the Pro or Server version may be required to make the clone bootable, this often the case with a new or empty HDD.

 

Please note that any back up/system recovery software is best kept on a separate source such as an external HDD or disk, this was why I was pleased when you initially backed up everything up to your external HDD - me incorrectly assuming that you had created a system image of the bootable C: drive  :unsure: 

 

I am confused now - in light of the info in the BIOS - about whether the disk is 'installed' on here or not!

 

 

Your Disk Management shows that the drive is installed, it is just that it is detected as a storage device as opposed to a boot device.

 

Finally, are you as sure as you can be that the same problems I had with Acronis and Dell not liking each other very much will not apply to Macrium too?

 

 

I can only say good things about Macrium Reflect and based on only having positive results, Dell (and other brand names) require drivers to be installed in a set order or you will encounter problems, again this would be more prevalent on a new or empty HDD.

 

I have actually downloaded Macrium just to take a look at it. I don't actually mind the thought of doing all the extra work..... but am still very unsure. I guess I need to look at eveything again when I am finally better though......

 

 

Of course and if it helps any you may find simply creating a Dell System Restore disk or thumb drive easier, it is certainly less work, see here

 

Get well soon and please only reply when you are well enough.


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#110
Channeal

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Hello again Phillpower2,

 

I am quite a bit better now, thank you :) I have had a nice rest.... though not particularly a rest from the cloning problems, as I have still grabbed quite a few opportunities to search the internet and try to decide what to do next. My curiosity/interest has been awakened by the failed cloning operation and I therefore am not ready to give up quite yet and would like to carry on a little longer..... although this does, of course, depend on whether you are willing to go on helping me. I am afraid you have already been lumbered with me for quite a considerable amount of time! :)

 

I re-read your link about sysprep. Even reading this now that I am a bit better, I could not really understand a great deal of it...... and setting the sysprep tool up sounds highly complicated to me too. From searching elsewhere, it seems as if the issue for cloning is related to the possible creation of duplicate users. Is that correct? I am uncertain about whether the fact that you gave me the link to the sysprep page means that you think it might be involved in the reason why my cloned files will not boot. Not sure.... but I kinda get the impression that if it was this causing my problem, then it would surely have prevented the clone from completing at all, rather than stopping the disk booting after the clone had to all intents and purposes completed successfully. But maybe not..... (I am going to leave this alone for now, but in case I need to come back to this later I just now found some further info here.)

I have tried to find out more about the Acronis/Dell problem..... but without an enormous amount of success really. Am a bit unsure again, but are you saying that the reason the two do not combine together well may be somehow to do with the drivers and the fact that the Dell ones have to be added in a certain order? I have not managed to find much about that online, although I have stumbled upon the fact that Dell computers run into problems with cloning etc when the special Dell Diagnostic/Utility Partition is still present, as this apparently cannot be either copied or cloned. I do not think this partition is present on my computer now though.

I was very interested in your suggestion about creating a Dell System Restore disk. I have researched this now..... but it appears that this cannot be done with Windows XP. The Dell page I read does however refer XP users on to a program called 'Easy Recovery Essentials'. This rang an immediate bell with me because, whilst searching the internet looking for information about cloning problems, I stumbled upon somebody else who was recommending this program. It has a facility to: 'Find and fix boot errors automatically with Automated Repair'. Do you have any knowledge of this program? I am quite tempted to buy the basic version which costs $19.75.

What is the next step from here? Well, for me what to try next is a no-brainer: I want to try doing a straightforward clone as I did before, but using Macrium this time. From looking at the trial version which I downloaded a few days ago, it does not look any more complicated than Acronis, but I want to see for myself if there is actually any difference in the way it deals with the clone. I am quite prepared for it to fail again; that will not be in any way a problem. I guess when things go wrong, it just makes me more determined to try to get answers! I think the most I am hoping for is that it might somehow give me a more definitive message about why the clone has not/will not work.

 

Bye for now,

Chris.


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#111
phillpower2

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Hello Channeal,

 

Glad to hear that you are on the mend  :)

 

I still feel that cloning the present C: drive to the external HDD using Macrium Reflect is the best and safest option, you would be able to confirm that the clone has worked by changing the boot sequence to USB device first, restarting the computer and if it boots up ok you know that you can then use the same clone on the smaller D: drive, I will provide the steps in a numbered layout for you to follow.

 

Sysprep is more complicated than using Macrium Reflect which as long as you have the free storage space available will cost you only your time, please do not purchase anything it is not necessary. 

 

Macrium tutorial here


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#112
Channeal

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Hello Phillpower2,
 
Thank you for your message.
 

 
I still feel that cloning the present C: drive to the external HDD using Macrium Reflect is the best and safest option, you would be able to confirm that the clone has worked by changing the boot sequence to USB device first, restarting the computer and if it boots up ok you know that you can then use the same clone on the smaller D: drive, I will provide the steps in a numbered layout for you to follow.

 
I hear what you say now about what you want me to do. Sorry... it had never actually fully registered with me that you particularly wanted me to put the clone on the external drive first, or that there would be any advantage to doing so....... probably because we had our wires crossed previously about the reason I originally put the Acronis files on there. It would be great if you could provide the steps in a numbered layout..... so thank you in advance for that.
 
I was initially concerned about the amount of space that will be needed on the external drive. My data files are on there at present (currently their only location, since they were removed from the current C Drive) and these total approx. 93.56 GB and the drive capacity is 232.88 GB, so I am guessing that there will be enough room to store both the data files and the clone files..... but please would you confirm that this will be the case and that it will be okay to keep the data files there, or whether I should move them back to Drive C first (I do not want to lose those data files!).
 
I am thinking that if I did move the data files back to Drive C, they would then be cloned with the other files - which would make the cloned files too big for the present Drive D. Am I correct? If so, I guess they will have to stay where they are!
 

 
please do not purchase anything it is not necessary

 
I hear you on this.... I won't purchase a thing! :)
 
Bye for now,
Chris.

PS have been thinking this over since posting the above message. Surely the external drive will need to be clear before the clone, just as drive D had to be cleared by formatting? And so, the problem of what to do with the data files still exists.......

Edited by Channeal, 11 June 2014 - 06:12 PM.

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#113
phillpower2

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Hello Channeal,

 

I may not be around much until Saturday morning is that ok.

 

Just briefly as I have to dash, with the HDDs you have the following would be your ideal arrangement and what we are attempting to eventually achieve (however we do it)

 

Small C: drive with the OS and Dell utilities/printer software etc on it. Larger D: drive with data only on it. External HDD with a clone of the C: drive on it + all your most important data backed up to it.


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#114
Channeal

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Hello Phillpower2,

 

I may not be around much until Saturday morning is that ok.

Yes, of course.... I have been out most of the day today myself anyway. I have always been surprised how quickly you (and Godawgs before you) reply to messages - but if you do ever take a time to reply, I just assume that you are busy. There is usually no hurry at all.... unless I am in danger of doing something terrible to the computer (which, with me, I guess could always happen! :))

I have been attempting to understand the various step that will now be needed to do the clone. I was really unclear on a couple of things (like what to do with those data files), so I have made a list of the steps that I think will need to be followed. I am almost certain that I have got at least some of it wrong, but hopefully if I give you my list it might make it easier for you to point out my errors.

1)Transfer data files back to drive C again.

2)Clone drive C to the previously cleared external drive and check if it boots.

3)If the files on the external drive are bootable, drive C can then be cloned again to a formatted drive D. However, as there will not be enough room on Drive D to clone everything including all the data files (which were put back on there in step 1), I assume that these files will have to be removed again before this second clone is carried out (those files will be very well-travelled by the time all this is finished!)

4)Attempt to swap the drive letters (hopefully this step will work this time!!!!)

I am only going to be at home for short spells during the daytime at the weekend, but if you do read this on Saturday could you please confirm whether I have it right about needing to transfer my data files back to drive C? It takes such a long time to move these darned things and I would like to maybe start transferring them on either Saturday or Sunday evening.

Thanks a lot,
Chris


Edited by Channeal, 12 June 2014 - 12:55 PM.

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#115
phillpower2

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Hello Channeal,

 

You have the general idea and once I put the list up for you it can be printed and used as a tick sheet as you go.

 

Please note that there is no need to back up all of the contents of the external HDD only enough space will be needed for the clone to be done + some extra to allow for file swapping etc.


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#116
Channeal

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Hi Phillpower2,

 

Okay, that's great...... and I will wait until you are able to give me your list before I do any switching of data files.

 

There is absolutely no hurry, especially as the weather here is so good at the moment - far too good to be spending a lot of time indoors doing computer stuff! I am off for a walk by the beach soon :)

 

Chris.

 

PS I just reread your message..... I think you are actuallly saying that my data files will be okay left on the external drive. That is really good news!


Edited by Channeal, 13 June 2014 - 03:48 AM.

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#117
phillpower2

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Hello Channeal,

 

As discussed please find the following guidance;

 

1: If not done already create individual folders on the external HDD to store specific themes in as in a music folder, video folder, photos folder etc.

2: Copy approximately 100GB of data from the external HDD to the smaller formatted D: drive, make a note of which folders you have copied.

3: Confirm that the data has been copied successfully by viewing various files/folders etc, when you are 100% happy that the copying was successful delete the exact same files on the external HDD to free up some space, cross reference with the list that you created in step 2 to ensure like for like data back up.

4: Clone the contents of the C: drive to the external HDD.

5: Restart the computer to access the BIOS and change the boot sequence so that the USB HDD is the first boot device.

6: Restart the computer to ensure that it boots up successfully from the USB HDD.

7: Only when step 6 has been confirmed and again only when you are 100% happy that all is well format the larger C: drive.

8: Copy your previously saved data from the smaller D: drive to the larger C: drive, confirm the copying has been successful by accessing various files/folders.

9: Once step 8 has been confirmed as being successful format the smaller D: drive.

10: Clone the cloned (huh) contents from the USB HDD to the smaller D: drive, Windows will hopefully now allocate the drive letter C: to the device if XP is detected, this can be checked in step 11.

11: Restart the computer to access the BIOS, change the boot sequence to HDD first, CD/DVD drive second and USB device third, confirm that the computer boots from the internal HDD.

12: When all of the above has been confirmed as successful, check that the boot drive has been allocated the drive letter C: and the new larger data only HDD an alternative letter (K:) is good, if all is as it should be you can copy whatever data you like between the new larger internal data only HDD and your external USB HDD.

 

I hope that the above is explanatory enough but please do ask if you have any questions whatsoever, I will be around at some point today.


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#118
Channeal

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Hello Phillpower2,

Thanks very much for your message and for your list of instructions. Sorry, have been out all day at an event in a village where I couldn't even look at my emails as there was no signal. Am busy tomorrow also, so will probably not get around to doing most of the stuff on your list until some time next week.... maybe Tuesday, but not sure yet.

However, as I was a bit bored after I got home (am already tired of the sound so much football on TV lol), I decided to try to do the first 3 steps on your list tonight. No. 1 was easy, as it was almost done already. I also formatted the smaller drive D again and that went okay as well. But I got no further than No. 2 before running into problems....

You know, I am really so stupid (but then, you probably reached that conclusion for yourself a long time ago!) I was trying to work out which data to copy to Drive D from the external drive..... so, there I was trying to add up values of files to move over and getting myself pretty confused. And at one point, I panicked because I thought I must somehow have deleted some of my important data! Only ever so slowly did it dawn on me that something wasn't tying up....

These are the files I have on the external hard drive: -

My Documents   9.55 GB
My Music          19.20 GB
My Pictures      64.90 GB

Those files add up to a total of 93.65 GB. So, I do not have enough files there to delete 100 GB.... unless you want me to move over everything on there (and you didn't give me the impression that you wanted that). Then, I asked myself if you had put GB instead of MB..... but I decided that you were probably not likely to ask me to delete 100 MB. Only after a long period of confusion did it suddenly dawn on me that you are possibly thinking that I still have everything on the external drive that was there on the screenshot I posted in message #92. Since then, I have deleted all my Acronis files and replaced them with my data files only. I also finally bullied/cajoled my daughter into moving her stuff for the time being (she had some Acronis files too and they were taking up a lot of room).

Anyway, below are screenshots showing the current state of the external drive. Am really sorry if I failed to give you this info before.... as I said above, I am really stupid!

 

Please let me know again whether I still need to move anything from the external drive over to Drive D and, if so, how much.

 

disks.JPG

 

reflect.JPG

 

I am actually quite looking forward to attempting to do the clone again.... it will be very interesting to see how it goes this time.

 

Gotta go now and get away from the noise of the football!

 

Chris.

 

 

 

 

 

 


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#119
phillpower2

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Hello Channeal,

 

First off don't be hard on yourself, this is something new to you and so not a run of the mill task.

 

You have done well thus far and have freed up more than enough space on the external HDD so you are good to go, you do this whenever you are ready (preferably when the house is empty and no football on  :) ) the advanced steps that you have made means that you can now clone the C: drive to the USB HDD so continue from step 4 but now omit steps 8 and 9 as your previous work makes the steps unnecessary.

 

I am also busy with work but will be around at some point every day.


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#120
Channeal

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Hello Phillpower2,

 

 

First off don't be hard on yourself, this is something new to you and so not a run of the mill task.

 

Thank you :) I do get frustrated with myself: I have far too many 'senior moments' these days!

 

I wanted to ask one quick question, as I was just reading over the Macrium page on how to 'How to Clone a Disk' again. I am not sure if the issue of whether to resize will come up. I am a tiny bit paranoid about not messing up the external hard drive because of it currently being the only place my data is stored on - and I do not want to end up taking up too much space, in the light of what you told me previously about how the whole drive could be messed up if too much is put on there...... so just wanted to check about whether I will have to make any adjustments in the 'Cloned Partition Properties'.

 

I am still hoping to do the cloning tomorrow..... I am trying to persude my husband to go to a cricket match that he normally likes to go to in another town, so I can have a bit of peace and quiet in which to do this!!!! :)

 

 

I am also busy with work but will be around at some point every day.

 

Yes, I can well imagine that you are probably extremely busy. I am really hoping that I can get this done without having to ask too many questions........

 

Thanks again for all your help,

Chris.


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