to a larger hard drive.

I've never done this before and i'm kinda hesitant to do it. What is the best program to do this ?

And if I do this, will I be able to take out my existing hard drive and put in the new one and have it act exactly like the old one?

Are there any problems with windows license issues, or any similarly related issues ?

11/28/2010 6:40:41 PM

http://www.xxclone.com/

11/28/2010 8:45:09 PM

just a 1 time/periodic/manual mirror or constant/automatic mirror/backup? I know some HDD manufacturers have programs you can download for free to do the former. WD for sure.

11/28/2010 9:25:22 PM

^^ 32 bit only

11/28/2010 11:26:12 PM

http://clonezilla.org/clonezilla-live/

11/29/2010 2:31:22 AM

^ based on the OP, does that really make sense?

11/29/2010 8:15:44 AM

wwwebsurfer said:

Quote :

"^^ 32 bit only "

what's the matter, you rockin' a 286 or some shit

11/29/2010 8:23:25 AM

FTK Imager

11/29/2010 8:24:39 AM

Acronis True Image. Works like a charm, and you can run it from within the windows installation you want to clone.

or

I think Acronis has a free/trialware program to do exactly what you're asking, without all the extra features, but I can't think of it at the moment.

11/29/2010 9:18:49 AM

how the fuck has noone recommended GHOST? it's cheap for a license, easy to pirate if you're broke, and about as easy to use as a toaster oven.

11/29/2010 11:10:20 AM

^ i was wondering the same thing about Acronis

I used to use Ghost at home, but I prefer Acronis now because you can run it from within windows, and the GUI etc is nice. Haven't tried Ghost in a while though, so maybe they've caught up.

11/29/2010 11:21:00 AM

I believe ghost has a version you can run from windows, and a version you can still load on a floppy that looks pretty vintage.

Clonezilla is like using a hammer to kill a fly.


and to answer the OP's question about Windows Licensing:

Cloning your hard drive wont trip reactivation. As long as you haven't changed the other hardware, you'll be fine.


just be careful which drive you choose as the source, and which you choose as the destination. A common noob mistake is to copy the blank drive. The software may or may not shield you from making this error. If the drive is unformatted, ghost wont let you use it as a source, but if you've pre-formatted it then ghost will let you shoot yourself in the face.

[Edited on November 29, 2010 at 11:29 AM. Reason : moar]

11/29/2010 11:23:02 AM