Coyping one H/D to another H/D

[leon]

Hi Guys, some suggestions on copying a hard drive to a new hard drive.

I am desperate to copy my existing hard drive from my xp machine to a new one which would be an exact copy of all my programs files and folders.is this possible easy to do, or can it be done by someone more experienced than myself in this sort of thing.

You may ask why, but i am content with the content of this hard drive, and it dose everything that i do.

I have a friend who is a computer repaired and service person, so would it be better if i just passed it on to him.

However any suggestion would be much appreciated.

Leon

[Astro_Bot]

Assuming you can plug-in the new drive (e.g. via USB) to the old computer, it can be done for the cost of burning a CD-ROM - clone the drive. See post #5 in this thread. BTW, the new drive needs to be at least as big as the old one.

There is some risk, so if you're not comfortable with downloading and burning a Linux OS, then booting it from CD and using the command line to issue commands, then you'd better get your friend to do it.

[leon]

Many thanks for that, I read your post, maybe i had better talk to my mate about this

Leon

[acropolite (Phil)]

I suggest you don't Leon, whatever software problems you had with your old Install will be carried over as well.

Just copy your data and do a fresh install of the OS and all your applications. If you're using the new HDD on different hardware then your old install will have wrong drivers and config for the new hardware anyway.

One last point, if your new machine is any of the current motherboards it's unlikely that XP will even run on that platform, I recently built an XP machine using the only new MB I could find that supported XP, even then I had to chase up obscure drivers, took over 16 hours to get the damn thing running.

[icytailmark (Mark)]

leon it would be worthwhile getting an IT expert to do this for you. Its not so easy to do if you dont know much about computers.

[coldknights (Cathy)]

Hi Leon ,
Have you seen this item to clone with.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Triple-Do...3728dcd&_uhb=1

[leon]

Thanks guys, your probably right, I get some dumb ideas sometimes, thanks anyway.

Leon

[Astro_Bot]

I missed the bit about it being a new machine. Don't clone drives for a new machine - most often, it fails dismally.

[noeyedeer (Matt)]

acronis true image ..best iso imagine software I've used ..(7 years ago lol)

(step 2) make an image of your hd you'd like to use (iso) and extract .iso to new hd

warning ::::: as others have said new computer bad idea .. unless you know what you're doing

step 1) iso the original setup .. format and do whatever you want and see what works
matt

laptops (specially hp and acer) are bad for that but desktops are more forgiving. the core is the os .. and that will usually pick up most peripherals. iso's can be read like a zip file using a clone drive so you can copy whatever over if need be etc.. again your friend may know better and fix you up. but that's what I'd do

[noeyedeer (Matt)]

Originally Posted by coldknights

Hi Leon ,
Have you seen this item to clone with.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Triple-Do...3728dcd&_uhb=1

that is more like a hdd dock to clone hard drives for backup not usable in Leon's application or intention ...
matt

[noeyedeer (Matt)]

honstly Leon let ya friend do it ... that stuff can get messy, specially with .ini configs and stuff.. but like I said it can be done if you or your friend can do it. .. lots of copying and pasting etc
matt

[Shano592 (Shane)]

Leon, save yourself the grief (plus a lost day or 2, plus all of the heart attack moments), and hand it off to your mate.

There are plenty of cloners out there, like Ghost or Acronis, but you really want to be comfortable with what you are doing.

If it is to a new machine, then you add a lot of new unknowns, such as drivers for new motherboards, add-on cards etc, that your old OS wasn't aware of.

In your shoes, I would just backup the important stuff, and start fresh with the new one, and restore your important data onto the new system. Then reinstall all of the important software.

Also, with a clean install you get a smooth running system, without all of the junk files and part-time apps that may have been installed over the years.

[mithrandir (Andrew)]

Also Leon, newer versions of Windows will not install over XP. Even upgrade versions want to blow the existing disk contents away and start afresh.

[jenchris (Jennifer)]

Though I wouldn't recommend cloning your disk, I would suggest you back up the new installation once you have it running to your satisfaction.
I made a backup clone with Macrium Reflect - and I had to use it when the HDD failed.
It worked absolutely perfectly and I was up and running with a new HDD in about an hour and a half.

[leon]

Hi guys thank you all for your kind suggestions, I saw my friend today and took in the Computer.

We have decided to do a complete upgrade, two new H/D's, a new installation, and if the Mother Board is Ok we will retain that, however if the new installations shows problems here, we will replace that as well, plus 8 Gig of ram.

So I expect it will turn out a pretty fast machine with plenty of storage as well.

This friend of mine has a computer business, and builds all the machines for his customers, you may have heard of it, Red Hill Technology, in Ballarat.

Looking forward to its delivery.

Leon

[Shano592 (Shane)]

Don't forget backups!

The best rule of thumb is this...

What can you not afford to lose? Back it up daily, to different daily folders. At the start of each day, delete the corresponding day from the week before, to save space. That way, you still have a week's worth of backups.

And don't backup to the same drive that you are backing up! If it fails, you lose everything. External usb3.0 drive is your best bet.

I used to play the computer techie game in the deep dark past, and the amount of lost data was incredible. People just don't think it happens regularly enough that they will be affected, until it happens. Then face meets palm.

[leon]

Good advice Shane, thank you, will certainly follow your suggestions.

Leon