System restore following new HDD install

H

Halsim

New Member
On a Lenovo X60 tablet running Vista Business, I have maintained a full backup system image on a large external drive (USB connection). I'm planning to upgrade to a larger HDD. Lenovo provided no recovery or Windows disks, and the new HDD I install will not have the recovery features Lenovo placed on the original disk.

Question: with the new HDD installed, and no OS on it, how do I boot to a place from which I can access the system image on the external drive? (I've combed the Net, but most recovery articles I find assume I'm starting with an OS, perhaps damaged, installed.) Hope question is clear, thanks for attention. Hal S.
 

My Computer

System One

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Emachine ET 1161-05
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 LE-1640
    Motherboard
    eMachines MCP61PM-GM (Socket AM2 )
    Memory
    2.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 387MHz (6-6-6-18)
    Graphics card(s)
    Acer E181H (1280x768@60Hz) 128MB GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 (
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name Acer E181H on NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
    Screen Resolution
    1280x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    ST316081 5AS SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    MCP61PM-GM 9000 NVIDIA Chipset Model MCP61 Chipset Revisio
    Case
    Tower
    Cooling
    Fan Speed 1247 RPM
    Mouse
    PS/2 Compatible Mouse
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    http://www.speedtest.net/result/1538974261.png
Typically, software that does backups includes a file on the backup drive that permits the restoration. If you have the backup drive as one of the startup drives in the BIOS, you should be able to access it when you try to boot. Some software has you prepare a special disc with linux on it which permits you to boot into linux, locate your backup and do the restoration.

I don't know if the Windows backup feature includes such a feature.

Which software are you using to do the backup?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Vista Home Premium 64 bit SP2
    Manufacturer/Model
    Cyberpower
    CPU
    Intel Quad CPU Q6700 2.67 GHZ
    Motherboard
    NVIDIA 780i
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI GTX 560 TI Twin Frozr
    Sound Card
    Sound Blaster SB Audigy
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2436
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    Samsung HD 105SI WDC WD20
    Case
    Apevia XJupiter
    Cooling
    air
    Mouse
    Logitech MX 600
    Keyboard
    Logitech MX 3200
    Internet Speed
    30 Mbps
Many thanks Dog and Wither. I'm using Vista Backup and Restore, the "Complete backup and restore image" feature, to a USB connected external drive "G.". I don't know if the external drive I'm using for the backup is in the BIOS queue. Is there something I can adjust in the BIOS to solve this? Can the external drive be used to boot? Thanks, Hal S.
 

My Computer

System One

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Emachine ET 1161-05
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 LE-1640
    Motherboard
    eMachines MCP61PM-GM (Socket AM2 )
    Memory
    2.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 387MHz (6-6-6-18)
    Graphics card(s)
    Acer E181H (1280x768@60Hz) 128MB GeForce 6150SE nForce 430 (
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name Acer E181H on NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
    Screen Resolution
    1280x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    ST316081 5AS SCSI Disk Device
    PSU
    MCP61PM-GM 9000 NVIDIA Chipset Model MCP61 Chipset Revisio
    Case
    Tower
    Cooling
    Fan Speed 1247 RPM
    Mouse
    PS/2 Compatible Mouse
    Keyboard
    Standard PS/2 Keyboard
    Internet Speed
    http://www.speedtest.net/result/1538974261.png
Just to try to answer a couple of the questions-

I don't think that a USB connected drive would be available in the BIOS. I don't know enough about the UEFI that new boards use to say that for them. It would be available if you connected it to your mobo using a SATA cable.

In regards to the Vista backup and restore, I think you should look at the Windows help file. I don't know if that backup creates a bootable disc or what the instructions are for doing the restore.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Operating System
    Vista Home Premium 64 bit SP2
    Manufacturer/Model
    Cyberpower
    CPU
    Intel Quad CPU Q6700 2.67 GHZ
    Motherboard
    NVIDIA 780i
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    MSI GTX 560 TI Twin Frozr
    Sound Card
    Sound Blaster SB Audigy
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VG2436
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080p
    Hard Drives
    Samsung HD 105SI WDC WD20
    Case
    Apevia XJupiter
    Cooling
    air
    Mouse
    Logitech MX 600
    Keyboard
    Logitech MX 3200
    Internet Speed
    30 Mbps
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