GHOST Laptops & Windows XP

[MMCS]

We use Ghost when replacing hard drives on desktops with Windows XP and it works well.
However when we try to use ghost on Laptops with Windows XP the Laptop will not boot. (Operating System not Found)
Here are the steps we take:
Remove the drive from the Laptop install it in a PC.
Place a new formatted drive in the PC as well.
We then Ghost the drive & put the new drive in the Laptop.
We then boot the Laptop & get (Operating System not Found)
We have tried Fix boot/FixMBR & XP 1st & 2nd Repair

What is going on?

 

[Shakie]

The hardware is too different when on the PC to go back into the laptop, when you ghost a drive you aren't ghosting just the drive, you are also gathering system info. I think that is causing the conflict.

What I would do is leave the HDD in the laptop and ghost the drive while in the laptop, save the image to a network location or if possible, burn it to a DVD. You should then be able to install the image into other laptops with the same hardware.

 

[MMCS]

I will give that a try this week but why does it only happen to Laptops?

We are not ghosting from inside Windows

 

[TheMajor]

It should work without a problem. Did you boot the new drive while it was still in your PC?

Maybe u should try copying the partition with PartitionMagic.

 

[ShoobieRat]

If you're doing HDD imaging with a desktop image, trying to put it on a laptop HDD...yer gonna have boku problems.

You need to setup a latop by hand, first, then use THAT HDD to create your image for the rest of your laptops (and only your laptops).