How to clone / image my HD, if I need to change HD on my M4400

I use Symantec Ghost Solution 2.5. I do this via the Boot CD and thus do not need to install any software.

But EASEUS Disk Copy is a good alternative and free.

 

I use Casper Tech Edition - runs off a CD (so no install needed), works with x64 as well as x86, and is easily the fastest cloning software I've used yet.

 

How can you use Vista Ultimate to create image/clone? When i go to System Backup, basically it backs up your data. However, when you install a new drive, you need to install OS first then load your back up. And this back up does not restore all original program setting such as your preference.

With Acronis Trueimage, you do cloning, exact identical A=B, B=A. So it's just like switching HDD.

Let me know if I miss something on Vista backup.

 

From: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/backup.aspx

"Available in Windows Vista Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions, Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore is a comprehensive, image-based backup tool that will help you out of a tight spot if you need to recover your entire system.

While file restore is useful in cases of file loss and data corruption, Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore is most useful for disaster recovery when your PC malfunctions. This feature helps you create complete PC backups, and then in the event of a serious system issue or data loss, Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore can restore your entire PC environment, including the operating system, installed programs, user settings, and data files.

You can restore your PC back to its original state or onto another PC. Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore can be initiated from within Windows Vista or from the Windows Vista installation CD, if the PC is not able to start up normally from the hard disk."

 

Like essami also mentioned...you can do a exact clone of your whole system.

 

Some of my pc has a BIG lentacy when calling right-click menu in windows after i have installed Acronis True Image...

And what is worse, some got blue screen of death while making images....

 

good thread, i wonder if any software would clone the whole drive, not only partition. All you guys are talking here is partition clone, am i right?
i have a dell laptop, as most lappy does, it has a hidden partition(for factory restore). I divided the usable space into 2 partitions , means i have c and d and a hidden partition(in total there are 3, duh)
I use ghost for imaging and all i did was imaging 1 partition after another, never tried to image the whole drive or knowing if there is such thing.

 

I clone the whole HDD of my E6400 using Casper. However, I found I needed to set the HDD to IRRT in the BIOS: Casper threw an error with the BIOS set to AHCI. Acrnsis TrueImage also wouldn't work with that setting.

John

 

What version on Trueimage?

I used Symantec Ghost Solution 2.5 on the M4400 and my old (LOL) E6400 no issues and did not change anything other than the service partition size.

 

Not sure which version of Acronis you have. I have version 11, and it works fine with the AHCI setting. The way I clone is that I create a backup archive of the whole computer on an external hard drive, and I use an Acronis bootable CD to do this. I never install Acronis on the system, so there is no issue with Acronis causing any problem on the system. I do a system recover using the same bootable CD. This way I can have many complete backups of various systems on one external drive.

The Windows Vista backup program is good, but it has a problem: you cannot clone your system to a smaller hard disk. For example, if you have a 250GB HD, and you want to clone it to a 80GB SSD, it won't work even though you may only have used 30 GB out of the 250 GB.