Software ADVICE - How do i make an exact clone of my HDD ?

bilabonic

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Hi All

I want to make a back-up of my main netbook (a cheapy Acer) in case i have a problem in future and i can just 'plug/play) into another one of exact same model.

In Computer it shows -

Acer (C:) 159GB free of 284GB
System Reserved (E:) 70.3MB free of 99.9MB

So i'm using approx 125GB....The HDD is 320GB though ???

Anyone advise.

Cheers
 
lots options macrium reflect another
 
Hi All

I want to make a back-up of my main netbook (a cheapy Acer) in case i have a problem in future and i can just 'plug/play) into another one of exact same model.

In Computer it shows -

Acer (C:) 159GB free of 284GB
System Reserved (E:) 70.3MB free of 99.9MB

So i'm using approx 125GB....The HDD is 320GB though ???

Anyone advise.

Cheers

Hello,
In order to back up your files and folders you'll need an external HDD with a similar size capacity of what you are backing up.
Make sure the folder is in NTFS format so windows can read it when ever you plug it into another device.

You wont be able to copy the windows system partition over has its write/read protected. Plus the copy of windows you are running now is tied to your motherboard which will change everytime its installed on a new system so your copy of windows wouldn't run on another laptop/pc. So even if you did manage to copy it over it wouldn't run anyway, it'll just go into a boot loop.

Just simply plug your external HDD in via USB and transfer the files over manually. You can then easily access them with any Laptop/PC running windows. Depending on your laptop/files it could take a couple of hours so do it overnight or when you are out and about.

Thats the easiest way to to do and the most efficient, you could download a program but you really dont need it.

Hope this helps
 
You wont be able to copy the windows system partition over has its write/read protected.

I have never had a problem with cloning software copying the windows system partition. You are correct in saying that the disc can only be used in the original computer, but a clone is a clone. It is an exact copy.
 
You can download Macrium Reflect for FREE.

The free versions does everything you would need.

It will make an exact clone of your hard drive, all partitions and boot record, on to an external USB drive as an image.

That image can then be mounted as a virtual drive if required, or it can be written back to a hard drive.

If the backup image is less than the size of the drive you are writing it to (IE if you want to swap your 320gb for a 500gb, or change to an SSD etc.) then macrium will expand the imagge to fit, or use the free space as a new partition.

There are many programs that can do the same thing, but macrium free seems to have features that are only in the paid for versions of other programs, so no dodgy hacks or cracks are needed.

I've used it myself for years.

being able to mount the backup image is a great feature.
 
yip always my go to as simply does the job
 
lots options macrium reflect another

Will (any of) these programs clone non-Windows HDD's too? Reason I ask is I have a dying (iOmega) 1TB NAS drive; it still works but the HDD is very tired and slow. I tried popping another SATA drive in its place, but I am guessing there is some boot software on the original HDD as the thing refused to boot with the blank HDD. The HDD isn't meant to be user-replaceable, it's not in a 'bay' as such, I had to remove screws!

ihd.jpg

So while it is still working, I'd like to copy its vital files to a new drive.
 
CloneZilla does all formats as it works at sector level. You can download live CD and USB versions or run it from HIRENS where you can find it in the Linux Recovery Tool (Parted).
 
Will (any of) these programs clone non-Windows HDD's too? Reason I ask is I have a dying (iOmega) 1TB NAS drive; it still works but the HDD is very tired and slow. I tried popping another SATA drive in its place, but I am guessing there is some boot software on the original HDD as the thing refused to boot with the blank HDD. The HDD isn't meant to be user-replaceable, it's not in a 'bay' as such, I had to remove screws!

View attachment 97071

So while it is still working, I'd like to copy its vital files to a new drive.

Macrium will do all formats of hard drive. But some NAS boxes use the hardd drive serial number as a security measure to stop you from having your data stolen/cloned.

The serial number is in the firmware of the drive and does not get cloned by any software.

I've never use an Iomega box before but with my Netgear 4 bay nas it wont boot if you put a drive in that has already been partitioned before.

When I was setting it up I had to put the new drives into my PC first to delete the NTFS partition seagate had formatted them with, then the netgear accepted the drives with no problem.

Also all the NAS elcosures I've come across have their operating system on the motherboards, so nothing required for booting gets put on the hard drive. Again though I havent used an Iomega box.
 
Macrium will do all formats of hard drive. But some NAS boxes use the hardd drive serial number as a security measure to stop you from having your data stolen/cloned.

The serial number is in the firmware of the drive and does not get cloned by any software.

I've never use an Iomega box before but with my Netgear 4 bay nas it wont boot if you put a drive in that has already been partitioned before.

When I was setting it up I had to put the new drives into my PC first to delete the NTFS partition seagate had formatted them with, then the netgear accepted the drives with no problem.

Also all the NAS elcosures I've come across have their operating system on the motherboards, so nothing required for booting gets put on the hard drive. Again though I havent used an Iomega box.

Well that's very useful to know, thank you. I will give that a bash in a day or two once I have finished copying all my data (mostly MP3's) off it. It's taking ages lol! (1 TB at roughly 1MB/second, sometimes less- I did say it was sick!).
 
Thing is though, why would you want to clone the windows files? surely backing up your own files/folders is more important. Its just my opinion but unless you plan on running your laptop from an external HDD then it would be running at a very slow read/write speed.

Backing up windows boot files isn't usually a common pratice but its what ever floats your boat really lol
 
Thing is though, why would you want to clone the windows files? surely backing up your own files/folders is more important. Its just my opinion but unless you plan on running your laptop from an external HDD then it would be running at a very slow read/write speed.

Backing up windows boot files isn't usually a common pratice but its what ever floats your boat really lol

If you are referring to the OP then it's perfectly clear in his post why.

He want to make a backup so he can use it in another laptop the same as his original one.

But if you only backup your files then when you need to use the drive in another laptop you have to go through the process of installing windows and all the drivers. But with older laptops you can't always get drivers and some things don't work. Using your method you would be stuck.

Cloneing the full had drive means you can just put the drive in the new laptop and away you go. Or you can use it in the original laptop if anything happens to the original hard drive.

Also if you use something like macrium reflect it's at least 30 times faster to clone the whole drive as it is to copy 300gb of data onto a USB external drive. If you need some files from the backup macrium will let you mount the backup image with a drive letter and let you browse it aas if you were browsing another drive.

But you dont have to make an image with macrium you can do a 1-to-1 clone of any drive too, and it's still faster than file copying.
 
If you are referring to the OP then it's perfectly clear in his post why.

He want to make a backup so he can use it in another laptop the same as his original one.

But if you only backup your files then when you need to use the drive in another laptop you have to go through the process of installing windows and all the drivers. But with older laptops you can't always get drivers and some things don't work. Using your method you would be stuck.

Cloneing the full had drive means you can just put the drive in the new laptop and away you go. Or you can use it in the original laptop if anything happens to the original hard drive.

Also if you use something like macrium reflect it's at least 30 times faster to clone the whole drive as it is to copy 300gb of data onto a USB external drive. If you need some files from the backup macrium will let you mount the backup image with a drive letter and let you browse it aas if you were browsing another drive.

But you dont have to make an image with macrium you can do a 1-to-1 clone of any drive too, and it's still faster than file copying.

You cant run a fully backed up drive with windows on it in another system. Youll get to the boot logo and it'll crash. So you'll have to re-install windows anyway and you'll lose all your data if you cant split the drive during installation because its full.

Using it on the same laptop, then yea fair enough but i dont think he wanted to clone it for that reason.
 
You cant run a fully backed up drive with windows on it in another system. Youll get to the boot logo and it'll crash. So you'll have to re-install windows anyway and you'll lose all your data if you cant split the drive during installation because its full.

Using it on the same laptop, then yea fair enough but i dont think he wanted to clone it for that reason.

I don't know how you've tried it but I have done it lots of times.

Windows just boots and then tries to get the relevant drivers.

If you read the first post he does say he wants the clone to go into "another one of the exact same model" so essentially the same laptop.
 
I think there is a uilt in option in windows to achieve this. Or you can compress it to an iso version file.
 
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Best way is with Acronis. You can find it all over the torrents. It is a USB bootable on a jump drive and then connect an external USB HDD. Takes about 5-10 mins.
 
Best way is with Acronis. You can find it all over the torrents. It is a USB bootable on a jump drive and then connect an external USB HDD. Takes about 5-10 mins.

So i will need a USB drive plus a same size external HDD as my current one ?

Then if i have a problem with my current laptop, i can just plug the backup usb drive and external cloned drive and boot to it ?
 
So i will need a USB drive plus a same size external HDD as my current one ?

Then if i have a problem with my current laptop, i can just plug the backup usb drive and external cloned drive and boot to it ?
The HDD in the new machine can be the same size or bigger, I think it might be possible to clone to a smaller drive as long as the space wasn't occupied. The free space doesn't get cloned.

I've not tried recently but you need a "universal restore" feature (like in Acronis) to restore to different hardware. Old OS like Windows 98SE would rebuild the HAL if the HDD was stuffed into another machine but modern OS will not. Your image will most likely not work in another machine unless you can get universal restore to work.
 
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