[REQUEST] Ensuring OS integrity after cloning from a failing HDD - Data Recovery

[Romaniac]

@britechguy and @Sky-Knight - great points about re-installing the latest feature update or doing an in-place reinstall and keeping apps. Those are great options.

Do the feature updates run even if they have been installed already? As in, re-install without throwing up something like "this is already the latest version of Windows" or something like that...?

Do any wonky things happen with programs though or do things work as they should the vast majority of the times?


The more I think about these options, the more I think I have under-utilized them.

 

[Romaniac]

Personally, I'm of the mentality that unless the drive cloned 100% without error, it is always better to start with a fresh install and restore the data from backup.

Right; I can have a failed drive and ddrescue will image/clone with absolutely 0 errors.

Sometimes I did have a few kb of errors; I remember once I had like 2 mb or something. I thought that was a lot! Considering this is just ddrescue cloning and no DS or PC3K. The drive cloned and booted but I think I did need to do some fixing.

 

[Sky-Knight]

@Romaniac If you have Windows 10 installation media, of at least the same version that's installed, it will simply replace the Windows installation via the same upgrade process as a feature update.

You cannot use this process to downgrade a feature version, you can only stay where you are or move forward.

Any software that doesn't survive this process wouldn't have survived the next feature update anyway. And since we get those twice a year, I'm just glad I see the issue while the unit is on my bench instead of cropping up later seemingly at random.

 

[Larry Sabo]

You cannot use this process to downgrade a feature version, you can only stay where you are or move forward.

I seem to remember fixing an intractable Windows problem by "upgrading" 1909 with 1903, but maybe I'm mis-remembering.

 

[Sky-Knight]

I seem to remember fixing an intractable Windows problem by "upgrading" 1909 with 1903, but maybe I'm mis-remembering.

That might have actually happened. But there was almost no difference between 1903 and 1909... just like 2003 to 20H2...

Those updates are basically reboots to iterate a version number.

But of course that also begs the question of how such a downgrade fixed anything.

 

[HFultzjr]

HDD Duplicators - Hard Drive Cloning/Copying | StarTech.com

Our standalone, eSATA, and USB Drive Duplicators provide comprehensive hard drive copying, saving time by providing immediate access to drive contents without having to mount the drive in a computer chassis or install into an enclosure

www.startech.com

Of the list of models in the above site, the one we bought a couple of is the SATDUP11IMG
The one above it in the page, doesn't store images, but it's almost twice a fast...may end up buying that one too.

Thank you very much for the info.

 

[seashore]

@sprinterca Find a local technician.

@Kitten Kong