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Old 05-02-2020, 01:05 PM
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Cloning my Hard Drive

Hi Guys it is my intention to clone my hard Drive on my Desktop.
The machine is in very good order and performs very well and is doing everything that is asked of it.

I have a unit that i bought some time ago which can copy/clone a hard drive by removing the desktops drive and placing it in this unit
then placing another new hard drive in the appropriate location of the same unit, press start and away it goes.

Apparently the entire hard drive is copied and can be stored away for future use if the one in the desktop fails for some reason.

It is an exact copy of the original and will have everything on it that was on the original.

Other than that i also have Paragon Drive Copy software, which can do the job while the Hard Drive is still in the Desktop, but one must purchase either a new hard drive and have it placed inside to computer so the original can be copied/cloned to this drive.

Some suggestions please, what would be the best option.

Take the Hard Drive out and place in the cloning unit or have a second new drive placed into the desktop, and clone to it.

My Desktop drive is 2 TB and the new one needs to be double this from what i have read and researched, so i was thinking of getting a Seagate 4TB 3.5 inch internal HDD, or the equivalent in an external WD 4TB drive.

Some expert opinions would be great. thank you.

Leon
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Old 05-02-2020, 03:29 PM
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multiweb (Marc)
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Put the new empty drive in the base and leave the original drive in the PC. When you're done, take the drive off the PC and put the new one in see if your clone boots and behaves like it should. Then shelf it.
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Old 05-02-2020, 03:51 PM
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Hi Leon - I do this for a living and cloning disks and upgrading to windows 10 has been my bread and butter for the last year.

I alternate between using a software solution with an externally connected USB disk, and a disk duplicator. It depends on the circumstances.

I refuse to do a windows 10 upgrade for a business client unless I do a solid state disk upgrade first. There are 3 of reasons for this

1 - 5 year plus old hard disks are usually corrupted in one way or another, and the migration to a solid state disk often fixes those problems - the disk duplicator I use seems to be very good at extracting hard-to-read data off the disk.

2 - the WIndows 10 upgrade then goes MUCH faster.

3 - The customer is happy because they are getting a much faster and more reliable computer.

If they have large amounts of data on the hard disk (as you would have) I would back that up and use that hard disk as a secondary storage device.

I dont know where you heard that the new disk needs to be bigger. With the software method it can actually be smaller (I do plenty of 1 terabyte to 250GB SSD transfers). You cant do this method with the disk duplicator however - the new disk needs to be the same size or bigger.

So if I were you I would be replacing the main disk with a Samsung EVO 860 500GB (or better if you can afford it, a 1 terabyte). Samsungs disk migration software is the best and can handle partition-related issues better than most software. Do all your "Work-In-Progress" off the new C: drive (the SSD). Use the old disk for archiving.

That's what I do anyway.

I hope that helps you - feel free to ask any questions.

regards, Kelvin
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Old 05-02-2020, 04:51 PM
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Hi Leon,

There are many programs that will do the cloning. I use Carbon Copy Cloner, but im on a Mac.

A couple of suggestions

1. You definitely don't need double the size HDD. The same size HDD is enough. In fact depending on how much data (space is used) is on it, you can go smaller. As long as the new drive is big enough (with a small margin) to accommodate. Easiest thing though is to stick to the same size.

2. The easiest thing would be to clone to a new external disk. The ease and speed of this will depend on the USB in your computer (USB2,3,Thunderbolt etc) and the new HDD/SSD, but it should be possible in virtually any machine sold in the last 10 years.

3. The most important thing IMO, is to create a bootable clone. This means that if your HDD does indeed fail, you just need to plug the backup in to a USB port and boot up as normal. (again virtually all computers in the last 10 years can do this). Then replace the failed drive and clone it from the external and voila you're good to go! and relatively painlessly.

4. Most good cloning software now can make bootable clones but just check to make sure.

Best

Hemi
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Old 05-02-2020, 05:46 PM
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Marc, Kelvin and Hemi, wow that is some good info, thank you very much, I am sure I will be able to do this successfully.
Someone a while ago told me that the new drive had to be larger than the original, I just took their word for it, but now it seems that is not the case.

Marc, just one question what do you mean put the new drive in the base, I expect you mean put it in the bottom of the desktop and not install it where it is suppose to go. is this right.

Thanks again guys

Leon
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Old 05-02-2020, 06:11 PM
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By base I meant what you call the unit, the external dock where you plug the HD.
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Old 05-02-2020, 08:15 PM
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Leon I just did a quick check and you can buy a 960GB Crucial BX500 solid state disk for $135 now !!!

I cant emphasise enough what a huge boost in performance going from a hard disk to a solid state disk would make.

Crucial's cloning software (Acronis) is also very good at making bootable clones to smaller disks. Not quite as robust as Samsungs cloning software but a 1TB Samsung is a bit more at $165.

Then just swap the SSD for your old hard disk, and either put that hard disk in a safe place as a bootable clone, or wipe it and use it as additional storage.

Kelvin
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Old 05-02-2020, 08:30 PM
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Oh, yes of coarse Marc, I should have picked that up thanks, had another read of your reply, got ya

Thanks Kelvin i will have a look at that, looking forward to getting this started.

Leon
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Old 05-02-2020, 08:47 PM
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Hi Kelvin I had a look at that drive you suggested, is that a laptop drive or an external drive, it certainly would not replace the drive in my desktop

Leon
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Old 06-02-2020, 03:04 AM
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Clonezilla

https://www.clonezilla.org/


This tool is a bootable image with which you should boot your PC. It makes an exact copy of your harddisk and that also works when the target HDD /SSD is connected via USB.
I have done that many times.
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Old 06-02-2020, 08:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leon View Post
Hi Kelvin I had a look at that drive you suggested, is that a laptop drive or an external drive, it certainly would not replace the drive in my desktop

Leon
Hi Leon,
The connectors between the drives are exactly the same. The screws are smaller on the SSD (same as DVD drive). SSDs, being so small, can be stuffed in the corner, packed with foam, screwed in, or even quality adhesive velcro'd.

Kelvin's advice is spot on. You will regret that you didn't do this 5 years ago. I have around 12 SSDs in my house. Only the storage box downstairs still has spinners. There is no downside to this process, as you'll soon see.
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Old 06-02-2020, 09:52 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leon View Post
Hi Kelvin I had a look at that drive you suggested, is that a laptop drive or an external drive, it certainly would not replace the drive in my desktop

Leon
As per Andy's advice the connector is the same. I used to worry about trying to mount them properly with adapter plates but i dont worry any more. All I care about is that they dont vibrate against the case or come into contact with a fan. Most commonly now I use Double sided tape.
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Old 06-02-2020, 01:58 PM
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Ok guys now it is getting clearer, thank you for all the help and info.

Leon
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Old 06-02-2020, 02:30 PM
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Kelvin so you are saying that i can attach this unit 960GB Crucial BX500 solid state disk for $135 now !!! to my desk top.

Clone the hard drive from the desk top to it and then take out the original hard drive from the desk top computer and install/tape the new cloned copy and shelf the one i took out of the computer for a spare back up copy. true.

If not that simple, "please explain"

Leon

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Old 06-02-2020, 08:15 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leon View Post
Kelvin so you are saying that i can attach this unit 960GB Crucial BX500 solid state disk for $135 now !!! to my desk top.

Clone the hard drive from the desk top to it and then take out the original hard drive from the desk top computer and install/tape the new cloned copy and shelf the one i took out of the computer for a spare back up copy. true.

If not that simple, "please explain"

Leon


That's exactly it Leon. If you buy the Crucial disk then they will give you instructions to download "Acronis True Image for Crucial" (the Samsung equivalent is called "Samsung Data Migration" )

Where you may come unstuck is if you have more that 1 terabyte of programs and data on your existing disk - because that's not going to fit on a 960GB or 1TB SSD. In which case copy some stuff off to another USB backup disk first to free up some space and get the content under 1 terabyte.

Here's the link to the Scorptec $135 Crucial deal (Scorptec are very good to deal with) - note that the price goes up to $145 after tomorrow.

https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/...CT960BX500SSD1
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Old 07-02-2020, 07:49 AM
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Go on ya Kelvin thanks indeed, my desktop Hard Drive is well under 1 terabyte.

It tells me that it is 1.09 TB free of 1.81 TB so do you think the unit you suggested will do the job, or should i make a bit more room for it.

I have only last week backed up the entire computers data, other than software programs that is to a WD external drive so all pictures and general stuff is in a safe place.

If the original hard drive dies today at least i can still put all that stuff back one a new one, however i would rather a cloned copy of the whole lot so i can keep that if the other one gets fried.

Thanks for your help i will get hold of one of those drives you suggested and go for it, got nothing to loose, and if i have problems i will ask you for some expert advice.

Leon


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