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mitchsc · Nov 8, 2013, 05:59 PM

Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit.

There is a cloning program I've used for several years called EZ Gig 4 by Apricorn. It allows you to burn a bootable CD, which is what I need to use.

I just learned that the version I've been using causes a slight problem with the Boot Sector of the clone, which can be fixed using Windows System Repair CD.

I contacted Apricorn Tech Support and they sent me a new release that has addressed this Boot Sector corruption. I burned the new Boot CD and found that I had no keyboard or mouse activity when I booted with it. My keyboard and mouse are wired USB. I tried plugging the keyboard and mouse into my USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports, but that made no difference.

According to the manufacturer, They have not heard of a single case of this happening, and have no solutions to offer.

I tested this same bootable CD on my wife's PC, which is nearly identical to mine, and the mouse and keyboard work fine, as does the cloning software.

I have no idea if there is anything I can do to get this working, and would appreciate any help.

I'm sure that there are some other free cloning programs out there, but I really like this one because it's fast, very simple to use, creates a boot CD, and overwrites any partitions on the destination drive, so no prep is needed.

Thanks...

cdad · Nov 8, 2013, 06:33 PM

Are you writing system files to the CD when your making it bootable? It sounds like for some reason its not installing your usb drivers.

mitchsc · Nov 8, 2013, 06:41 PM

Hi cdad.

Sorry but I don't understand your question. The executable file with the clone program on it has an option to either run in Windows, or burn a bootable CD of the clone program once the .exe file is opened.

I'm selecting burn a bootable CD. My keyboard and mouse work fine on their last version, but not on the new one.

Appzalien · Nov 25, 2013, 06:58 AM

There are so many possibilities. If I were you I would just keep using the older version for now. Perhaps when they included USB 3.0 on the new version it broke something to do with USB 2.0. It could also be a bad burn that is failing to make an uncorrupted disk. Does your burn program have a verification option. If after creating the disk it fails verification things will not work correctly. Maybe you can try burning the iso, or exe to boot disk, on another machine.

mitchsc · Nov 25, 2013, 08:04 AM

A bad burn would be fantastic.

But since the same CD works fine on my wife's PC, could it still be a bad burn and not work on my PC?

Appzalien · Nov 25, 2013, 09:31 AM

No, but it could be a bad read if your optical drive needs cleaning or is failing. Does your wife's PC have USB keyboard and mouse or PS/2?

mitchsc · Nov 25, 2013, 10:55 AM

Both machines are < 1 yr old. USB on both.

My optical drive has almost no mileage on it, but to be sure, I swapped it out. Same problem.

Someone told me that I can add the ISO of this file to WinPE to get the missing drivers (or whatever is needed). I looked into how that's done, and it appears to be a bit over my head. Do you know if there is a WinPE "wizard" of some sort that would do this without using complex command prompts?

I was also told that Macrium Reflect (Free) has a WinPE creator that has a function to add an external ISO file, but I have no idea about how. (I created a Macrium Reflect WinPE CD using their wizard, and it was a piece of cake).

Appzalien · Nov 25, 2013, 11:21 AM

Maybe you can extract the actual EZ program from the exe file you downloaded to add to the WinPE creator or from the iso itself. To extract from iso files I use ultraiso, its not free but a trial would be good enough to do what you need. I have also been able to extract stuff from exe files using 7zip. Believe it or not some exe files will open and extract just like a rar file when using 7zip. If you can use the creator to add your clone program, that might work. Why the heck can't you use the old version?
Once Windows is running and all drivers are started USB HID (human digital interface) device will work. But for them to work from boot without windows, the drivers must be activated by the boot disk. Since it works on one PC and not the other the only thing I can think of is a bios setting for HID devices. But that would not explain why the old one works and the new one does not.

mitchsc · Nov 25, 2013, 11:27 AM

The old version has a bug that has, at times, corrupted the boot sector following a clone. Supposedly fixed in the new version.

Maybe I should throw in the towel and just use Macrium. Looks like a good, straightforward program, and their Boot CD works.

Appzalien · Nov 25, 2013, 11:28 AM

Have you got an older PS/2 keyboard and mouse lying around?

mitchsc · Nov 25, 2013, 11:31 AM

I do. But no PS/2 inputs, or adapters.

Appzalien · Nov 25, 2013, 11:34 AM

Five free and reliable cloning tools - TechRepublic

Macrium is listed here as well as a few others, all free.

sorry I couldn't be more help, I like Acronis myself and buy a new version every 3 or 4 years.

I also look for motherboards with at least one PS/2 (I build my own) so I don't take up too many usb ports with keyboard and or mouse.

mitchsc · Nov 25, 2013, 01:52 PM

Thanks for all your help Appzalien...

BTW: I tired Clonzilla. You have to be more techie than I am to use it :-)