I have used the HDD raw copy tool to recover a backup of my old XP system. The backup was good but would not copy to another disk without some programs failing. The raw copy has given me some additional backup drives while I try to workout why a file copy that has worked for years is now failing. Great solution. What I have found is at the end of the copy the program causes XP to crash and take a system dump. A reboot is required. The target drive is identical to the source drive - same make, model, size but only a different serial number. Why is this happening?

John

Windows doesn't like simple copies. there is a lot happening in a windows system in regards to file properties/security and permissions. MUCH better to re-install windows and associated programs and data fresh. and if at all possible get rid of XP. Unless you have an extremely good reason to keep it, and the PC will NEVER be connected to any network, USB device, or even within soundwave distance of any other device connected to the internet...get rid of it.

it is possible you have raw copied a damaged installation. think of it like having a picture with a Sharpie mark on it, and then you photocopy it expecting it to copy only the picture but the mark is still there.

If you really want to get into the weeds of why, you need to look at the hardware - is it all ok? are the capacitors on the mainboard gone? Any issue with RAM, VGA card not faulty? Drivers all up to date? any file corruption, is windows patched properly? Any conflicts or buggy patches? Are the HDDs all good? have you looked in eventlog (eventvwr.exe) for why it has crashed?

IMHO a lot of work tracking something down akin to trying to find out the exact source of the cold you picked up... - just fix it and move on

Thanks for your response. I have checked the following:
1. Are the capacitors on the mainboard gone - main board good, now running W7
2. Any issue with RAM, VGA card not faulty? . All good. Now running W7
3. Drivers all up to date? - The latest for XP
4. Any file corruption? - None
5. Is windows patched properly? - The latest XP updates applied long ago
6. Any conflicts or buggy patches? - The latest XP updates applied long ago
7. Are the HDDs all good? - No errors reported an a scan.
8. Have you looked in eventlog (eventvwr.exe) for why it has crashed? - No entries in the log.

The reason I need a sector copy is to archive 20 years of work on the existing XP system so I have a backup of all my development and support systems as I move to W7. Some of the old systems are sector dependent, so a file copy does not work.

I found a product called Acronis Full Disk-Image Backup that backs up the entire disk giving a bootable copy. The evaluation version is a full function version with 30 days free use. A free version is available on the Western Digital website. Acronis made two complete disk copies using the same disk drives that gave problems before, so I know the drives are good. These are now archived and the production disk is mounted on the PC as a second drive while I install W7. This works well - I can reboot back into XP if required and have access to all the old data from W7.

Thanks for your help