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Resolved Question

how to create a EXACT clone of a hard drive?

Dec 26, 2011 9:50AM PST

I have norton ghost and tried to make a clone of my hard drive. Well i bought all of the same EXACT hardware for a second machine to ensure the two would match. I made a copy with Norton Ghost 2003. I installed the harddrive and windows 98 boots up and everything seems ok except for the main program that i needed to boot. It tries to load and then suddently goes to a black screen. I've tried putting the origional hard drive into the new hardware to see if i could dupliate hte problem and no, the program loads fine in both systems. Its only my copy hard drive which will not boot the program (again everything else loads). I even bought the same hard drive to ensure conformity. At this point i'm somewhat confused as what to try next. Somehow Norton must NOT be making an EXACT copy of the hard drive's contents. Any suggestions?

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hiii98 has chosen the best answer to their question. View answer

Best Answer

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I use CLONEZILLA
Dec 26, 2011 10:04AM PST

But there are some apps that lock to the machine. You didn't reveal this application so I can't guess if it used my favorite lock. That is the network card's MAC address.
Bob

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answer
Dec 26, 2011 11:30AM PST

i tested the origional hard drive on both the origional motherboard and the new (exact same model mobo) and it worked on both. Only the clone drive will not work on either.

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There are too many other ways to lock up apps.
Dec 26, 2011 11:35AM PST

It's a sign to me that you don't want to name that app.

Another lock required the drive serial numbers to match.
Bob

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Dec 26, 2011 12:15PM PST

how do you make the drive serial numbers match and where is that data stored on the drive? The app would be a non commonly recognized app. Where can i learn more about this? I was thinking along the same lines.

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You don't.
Dec 26, 2011 12:24PM PST

The serial number is not changeable by folk other than the drive maker.

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Dec 26, 2011 12:17PM PST

and at this point its become an academic obessive hobby of mine, that is drivng me slowly insane. I've spend alot of time and money cloning every part of this system, thats why i was shocked to still see it not boot.... but then again i'm somewhat of a newbie at cloning. Please tell me more about these locks

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Sorry but if you can't share.
Dec 26, 2011 12:25PM PST

Then I have to unsubscribe from this discussion. It's like a dinosaur that wandered into a tar pit and there is no reason to become a victim of an obsession.
Bob

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Answer
answer
Dec 26, 2011 11:29AM PST

it shouldnt matter i tried the origional hard drive on both motherboards and it booted just fine on both.