Easiest way to clone one disk to another

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arlab
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Easiest way to clone one disk to another

#1 Post by arlab » Tue Jul 28, 2009 2:04 am

I want to replace my 200GB disk for a 500GB disk.

In my 200GB disk I have the Rescue & Recovery partition installed, as well as Windows Vista, drivers and all my files.
Is there a way to clone the partition, the Vista installation and the files to the new 500GB disk?

Basically, I would want to clone the 200GB disk so that, when I replaced it for the 500GB disk (after cloning it), I wouldn't notice any difference (except for having more space).

Also, would I have to correct my MBR?



Edit: I'm talking about a T61p (although the model of the Thinkpad probably isn't important).
T61p T7800 2.6 GHz, Vista Ultimate x64, 15.4 WUXGA, NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M (256MB), 4 GB SDRAM, 200GB 7200rpm, Intel Turbo Memory 1GB, Intel 4965AGN, Bluetooth.

ZaZ
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Re: Easiest way to clone one disk to another

#2 Post by ZaZ » Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:48 am

Have you tried True Image? It works great for what I use it for, though I've never done the whole disc. If you have a Seagate drive you can get a free download of DiscWizard from Seagate's webiste. it's a limited version of True Image.
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emeraldgirl08
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Re: Easiest way to clone one disk to another

#3 Post by emeraldgirl08 » Tue Jul 28, 2009 8:26 am

One that might be of use is GParted.

It can do Windows (NTFS) partitions. I've cloned, resized, added bootable flags to, and took Windows out shopping with this free program :)

Don't be skittish b/c of the Linux tags! It's Windows-friendly and has a graphical interface (GUI) that makes it noob friendly!

Read the link for more info.
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PhilD
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Re: Easiest way to clone one disk to another

#4 Post by PhilD » Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:33 pm

Acronis Trueimage 2009 is not only painless (cloning or image/restore), but will not require you to repair the Vista MBR. earlier versions of Trueimage will work too but will require that you repair the MBR after cloning/restoring Vista.

dsvochak
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Re: Easiest way to clone one disk to another

#5 Post by dsvochak » Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:06 am

earlier versions of Trueimage will work too but will require that you repair the MBR after cloning/restoring Vista.
I've not been required to repair MBR after cloning/restoring either Vista or Win 7 using TI 10.
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mklym
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Re: Easiest way to clone one disk to another

#6 Post by mklym » Sat Aug 01, 2009 7:06 pm

I have clone a few drives to larger capacity ones. This is what I use:

http://www.apricorn.com/product_detail. ... eg&id=1023

I ordered the optional power adapter and have had no problems I have done PATA and SATA drives. On one laptop (non-IBM) I cloned a 36GB SSD to a 320GB 7200.4 SATA.

It is not free, but very easy to use. Hope that helps.
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