Can I just drop .....

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 9 Dec 2016 5:52 am

the contents of one HD onto another HD ? ..or do I need special cloning software to do this ? .....This would be on a PC ...Can I just drop one HD onto another HD ?..That would be even easier ...Thanks ..JIm

Randy Schneider · Post by **Randy Schneider** » 9 Dec 2016 6:34 am

Cloning software, image backup software, whatever you'd like to call it...

You do need something of the sort to make a 'complete' copy of a hard drive to move to another drive. We use Image for Windows from Terabyte Unlimited. We do image backups of our machines on a regular basis. That has allowed us to replace a hard drive, restore the backup image to the new drive, and go on as if nothing had changed.

Without an image backup of some sort, it's really not possible to 'copy' the entire contents of a drive.

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 9 Dec 2016 8:00 am

Randy,
Thanks for the reply ...I'll check that software out ...Appreciate the advise ....Jim

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 9 Dec 2016 8:16 am

Hi Randy ,
As I add programs or other material to the original drive , can I then add these to the new drive that I am cloning to later on ? Thanks ...Jim

Wiz Feinberg · Post by **Wiz Feinberg** » 9 Dec 2016 8:19 am

You have to use software to clone your existing drive onto a blank drive. I use Acronis True Image to do this.

A lot of new hard and solid state drives (SSD) include a license key for Acronis or another brand of cloning/imaging software. I got a free copy of Acronis 2015 with my new Crucial SSD, which I used to clone my Dell Latitude laptop's hard drive.

A word of warning: If your existing hard drive contains bad sectors and other file errors and you clone it, the new drive will also contain the same errors. It is safer to install an imaging program, like the aforementioned Acronis True Image and save an image to disk, or to an external drive, and restore it onto a new drive. That image contains the data, but not the common disk errors (unless data files themselves are corrupted).

It's a good idea to run an error check and defragment your hard drive before imaging or cloning it for duplication.

Randy Schneider · Post by **Randy Schneider** » 9 Dec 2016 8:28 am

Jim,

As Wiz mentioned, there are other programs out there to perform the cloning function.

In answer to your question, the 'cloned' drive would be an exact copy of the original. If you install software to the original, certainly you can then install the same software to the 'clone'. Or you can 're-clone' the original later on, if that's what you're asking.

If you plan on changing hard drives back and forth in the same machine, though, the Windows licensing process may get a little angry with you (assuming this is a Windows machine) -- I'm not sure. It should be cool with one drive swap, as in replacing a defective drive, but I don't know how it would handle swapping cloned drives back and forth. I've only swapped drives to replace defective ones.

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 9 Dec 2016 9:59 am

Guys,
I"m actually cloning a drive that has nothing but samples on it ...There is no Windows application on this drive ....It's a secondary drive that only has samples on it ....

I will be cloning the other drive however , that DOES have Window's 7 Pro on it ....This particular HD will NOT be shared with any other computer ....

Wiz,
As far as Acronis software is concerned , I have read from many users that they lost a LOT of programs using it ...I will go back to the threads on the Samples forum and find out what exactly happened ..

Randy ,
Does ALL the cloning software operate in the same fashion ? ...If I use Acronis and have a problem with it , will I have the same problem if I use "Image for Windows " ?

Does "Image for Windows" come with a license to use it or do I have to purchase the license seperately ? ...It's kinda confusing on the site ....Thanks to both of you guys ....Jim

John Booth · Post by **John Booth** » 9 Dec 2016 10:08 am

Files? - Yes
Operating System? - Not that simple
JB

Randy Schneider · Post by **Randy Schneider** » 9 Dec 2016 10:27 am

Jim,

I can't speak for the other imaging packages -- I've been using IFW for years and never had a problem with it.

As for the IFW licensing -- what you purchase from them is a license key that allows you to download and use the current product version and all upgrades in the current major version (at least that's the way it has worked in the past). They just moved to version 3.xx, so if you were to buy it now, I believe you would have license to download and use all V3 upgrades/versions.

They do have a free 30-day trial so you can download it and try it out before you buy.

Also, if you have a drive that does NOT have an operating system on it -- just data files -- the files should be able to be simply copied from one drive to another without the use of cloning software. As John said, the operating system complicates matters.

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 9 Dec 2016 10:55 am

Guys,
Thanks for the info ....That makes complete sense now ....OS ...more to it than just drag and drop .....

Just files I should be able to drag and drop ....That works for me ....

A lot of the samples I have were "download only" , so I need to have those backed up on another drive ....

The OS I have on a disc so that doesn't really need to be saved on another drive ....

I'll have to do these transfer's manually , but that's OK ... So am I to believe that I can drag and drop everything EXCEPT the OS ? .....THanks again guys ..Jim

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 9 Dec 2016 11:00 am

NO. You can't copy (drag and drop) PROGRAMS. The programs MUST be installed.

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 9 Dec 2016 3:43 pm

Gotcha !!....Thanks Jack ....Jim