Getting a New Hard Drive - Cloning Question

[SuperUsr2]

I have no clue where to put this, so I'll try here.

What is the simplest way to "clone" my current hard drive into a new one? Is it possible to use Rescue and Recovery to transfer data into a new HDD? I have a 2.5" USB Case so I don't need to worry about getting a new one.

I have an X60 with a hard drive I want to upgrade. I have Windows Vista and Ubuntu installed in it. I will probably remove the Ubuntu installation to make this process a bit simpler.

The current partition of my HDD looks to be:
Thinkpad Recovery Stuff | Windows | Linux

If I can't use rescue and recovery, does anyone have any good free/gnu/open source software I can use to help me clone my old HDD to new HDD? I still would like to keep the Thinkpad Recovery stuff in the disk.

Thanks

[richk]

I cannot give you a complete answer, but I have used R&R many times and it works fine, I just haven't used it ito recover with the Vista partition layout. I have used Acronis under XP and Vista, but when I did it recently under Vista, it made a mess. It ran, but seemed to trash the MBR on the new drive AND THE OLD DRIVE. I was able to repair both drives as follows: I put the drive I was repairing into the primary bay, and boot from a RETAIL Vista disk. It gave me an option to repair and then fixed things up automatically.

[mgo]

I have no clue where to put this, so I'll try here.

What is the simplest way to "clone" my current hard drive into a new one? Is it possible to use Rescue and Recovery to transfer data into a new HDD? I have a 2.5" USB Case so I don't need to worry about getting a new one.

I have an X60 with a hard drive I want to upgrade. I have Windows Vista and Ubuntu installed in it. I will probably remove the Ubuntu installation to make this process a bit simpler.

The current partition of my HDD looks to be:
Thinkpad Recovery Stuff | Windows | Linux

If I can't use rescue and recovery, does anyone have any good free/gnu/open source software I can use to help me clone my old HDD to new HDD? I still would like to keep the Thinkpad Recovery stuff in the disk.

Thanks

Some hard drives come with cloning software. A USB plastic holder and software are included in those kits. I tried one with success in Vista.

I normally use Acronis version 10 for cloning to a drive in my Ultra Bay. This works well for me, also.