Cloning a Hard drive

[Dutchjonsey]

Right, last week I decided to make the most of a cheap FM1 mobo/cpu I had from when my PSU exploded in January and I had to get a cheap setup last min, and create a media server out of it. It's all set up, and this morning Murphys law struck in that the Hdd I'm using as the server C drive has started to fail (constant clicking, load times are very slow, the usual). Ive got a couple of other drives around that are of better capacity, so I was wondering which cloning tools people think are the best? I just want to copy across everything from the server drive to the spare one before it fails, so I can shove the new one in there and it wont notice the change. Any tips?

[shaithis]

PartedMagic boot disk will probably do it.

If it's running windows, you could even do an image backup to another drive and then restore by booting off of a windows dvd.

[ehhhhhhh]

PartedMagic boot disk will probably do it.

If it's running windows, you could even do an image backup to another drive and then restore by booting off of a windows dvd.

I have tried to use windows imaging many times,but it never succeeded. In my opinion it's the worst tool to attempt backup/recovery.

[Agent]

Same issues with Windows backup - It often bombs out with something.

Parted magic can do clones, but last time I used it, it was quite limited with them (drives on different sizes and so on). Might have changed since then though. It's by far the best for partition management though.

My current weapon of choice is: http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

[technodean]

Iv'e used EaseUS Todo backup a few times now for cloning c drives, very easy and done within windows. Free and can be downloaded from download.com http://download.cnet.com/EaseUS-Todo...ml?tag=mncol;3

[Dutchjonsey]

Cheers guys, Ill have a look at the ones youve suggested, see which one works ^^

[sam3]

Seagate have a free hard drive cloning program (based on acronis true image) which I've used in the past and it worked great:

http://www.seagate.com/gb/en/support...ds/discwizard/

[Matrix828]

Ive found a nice guide with good explanations on lifehacker.
I cant post links yet (<5 posts) but just add this to the end of the lifehacker com url:
5517688/how-to-upgrade-your-tiny-hard-drive-to-a-spacious-new-one-and-keep-your-data-intact

[Spreadie]

Miray HDClone is an excellent choice, IMO. There is now a free version of it on their site, but I don't know how much it differs from the retail version. Could still be worth a look.

[Siesta]

I used Acronis for cloning HDDs and it worked like a dream. Never had a problem with it. So if it's a Seagate drive and their app is based on Acronis, and free, try that. Otherwise I'd recommend you buy Acronis.

[Dutchjonsey]

I ended up using macrium, worked for me with no issues. Got the server running on a hdd that's not a 5-yr old ex laptop drive, so hopefully this one will last a little longer XD

[joeee353]

If your drive comes with it, I would recommend Acronis, otherwise I would say EaseUS Todo backup, as I have used it in the past and it worked very well, and is free.

[Marcvs]

Or you can always plugin a 2nd drive, install windows too it and copy across your data.

[YoloSwag]

Or you can always plugin a 2nd drive, install windows too it and copy across your data.

Sadly that doesn't work well with programs.

I tried doing that and ended up with a huge headache. I had to do everything all over again.

[watercooled]

Not to mention it would likely be immensely slow vs block level cloning.

[peterb]

Plus the fact that the OP posted his solution 6 months ago!