Hay Hud, If you are able to get it up and running, definitely get any desired files and pictures off first. One trick that MAY help a failed drive is to put it in a freezer(in a zip lock bag) and freezing it before trying again.I did that to my MIL's failed drive once and got more stuff off it. What OS are you using? Personally, I wouldn't worry about cloning the drive at this point...If the computer was new enough/worth repairing, I would get a new hard drive and reinstall the OS, basically going back to 'new'. I have been using Acronis (True Image) for quite a while to make cloned drives. It works good and is fairly easy to use. good luck -jim |