JMG wrote:
I completely understand. Its the same as diagnosing a patient over the phone.
Personally I think it's even worse than that - unlike a patient, we can't ask a disk drive where the pain is etc.
JMG wrote:
If I were to risk it all, what cloning software is recommended these days?
That depends who you ask - different people make different recommendations based on their own experiences & skills, and we don't know what is most appropriate to you and your expectations / requirements. I've done a quick scan through some of my earlier replies to similar questions, and you can read them below.
internal-500gb-maxtor-with-loads-bad-sectors-what-t23110.htmldata-recovery-from-toshiba-mk1059gsm-t22183.htmlhelp-with-hitachi-deskstar-hdt722525dlat80-ide-t22211.htmlIf you search & read previous replies from other forum members, they have recommended other software like DMDE, HDClone, Media Tools Pro etc. There are many possible options and they all have risks, especially for the inexperienced. There are also several different options for the next stages, after you've got a clone of the "problem" disk (either onto another raw disk, or into an image file in a filesystem). In any case, you're going to need lots of empty disk space, so organise that before you start.
JMG wrote:
I have an ancient copy of Norton Ghost 15.0 somewhere.
That's not a good option (no control over bad block behaviour, no log file etc.).
JMG wrote:
Interesting I see you both are from the UK. I used to live in Nottinghamshire before moving to the US almost 12 years ago.
I believe
pcimage is in Peterborough and I'm near London. I've done my fair share of flying to & from the USA for business. Coming back to the UK each time, the jet lag is getting worse as I get older.