Thinkpad T60p: Hard drive replacement & copying

[MLB]

Hi everyone, I'm hoping to get a checklist of items to replace my laptop hard drive and copy it's exact contents to a new drive. Here's my current config:
a. T60P, 4GB RAM
b. Hitachi, 100GB, 7200RPM, SATA drive (approximately 8 years old)
c. Windows 7 Pro

The hard drive is working, but I want to install a larger and newer drive.

Here's my questions:
1. Will my T60P support a 500GB or 750GB drive - I'll plan to use a 7200RPM, SATA drive, 8MB or higher cache
a. Do you have any specific drive recommendations
2. What are the steps I should take to copy the entire contents of the existing drive to the new drive (OS, Apps, etc)
a. In the discussion threads, there seems to be a coupla ways to do this and it's a bit confusing
b. Purchase and use an external bay for the new drive and copy T60p drive contents onto it, or install new drive in T60P, etc

NOTES:
1. I have read the FAQ's and done multiple searches. I found your recommendations on Norton Ghost or Acronis TrueImage. Apparently, they both work to make an exact image of the old drive onto the new hard drive ?

Thank you ahead of time for your assistance as that is very much appreciated !
Maurice Brines
Concord NC

[theterminator93]

Shouldn't have any issues with a large hard disk; I've got a 750 GB Western Digital Scorpio in my T61p. My T60 has a 250 GB WD Blue in it.

When I clone hard disks I use a Win7 PE disc with an older version of Ghost slipped into it. I've got a USB to SATA/IDE adapter I plug the new drive into, then I boot to the PE disc to launch Ghost to clone the drive. Because my Ghost predates both Vista and 7, I need to run a command after to make the new drive bootable. I've got an .iso of this PE disc I can provide, as well as a quick step-by-step if you would like to go that route.

I've also used Acronis to clone disks and make images, however I prefer the progress detail of Ghost to Acronis.

[dr_st]

Hello and welcome to the forums.

1. Yes, it will.

2. Both methods are possible. You can buy an external USB enclosure, or an Ultrabay caddy (that goes in the place of the optical drive), or just use a SATA to USB adapter cable to connect the second drive.

It has been noted that sometimes when the old drive is internal, and the new drive is external, there can be issues with the clone not being bootable. Hence the recommendation to swap the drives - put the new drive in the internal bay, and connect the old drive via Ultrabay/USB. This is said to be a safer method. Personally, I did it the other way around, and it worked. So it may be an issue with specific cloning software.

I used Acronis True Image and highly recommend it. Ghost should also work, as should Clonezilla (which is free), but I have no first hand experience with either of them.

[MisterB]

You should be able to install a drive up to 2tb with no problems. Anything bigger will require a GPT partition scheme which wasn't standard on the T60s or Windows until Windows 8. Xp doesn't support GPT at all.

The fastest way to clone a drive is with an ultrabay 2nd hdd adapter. Speeds will be at least twice as fast as USB and there usually won't be boot problems. There are many programs that can clone a drive. The one I use is Aomei Backupper.

[rkawakami]

It has been noted that sometimes when the old drive is internal, and the old drive is external, there can be issues with the clone not being bootable.

I think what dr_st wanted to say is that if the OLD drive is internal and the NEW (bigger) drive is external. I personally use Ghost 2003 (probably like theterminator93) and almost exclusively clone from the old internal drive to the new Ultrabay-mounted drive and have never had any problems that I can recall. The one thing to watch out for when doing any cloning operation is to make sure you do NOT boot the system with BOTH drives attached. It's a good way to possibly ruin the setup on both drives. With the DOS version of Ghost that I use, it's easy to do since after the clone is finished you are given a chance to shut down the system.

[theterminator93]

I use Ghost 2005.

For Windows 7 clones - when I finish the drive clone, I shut down and install the new HDD. Then I boot back into the Win PE environment and run bcdboot d:\windows (after verifying the system partition driver in diskpart) to allow Windows 7 to boot normally.

The hardest part is making sure you're cloning the old drive to the new drive, especially when they're the same capacity...

[rkawakami]

My W7 Ghost clones are finishing by running a W7 System Repair Disk and letting it fix the non-booting installation.

[dr_st]

I think what dr_st wanted to say is that if the OLD drive is internal and the NEW (bigger) drive is external.

D'oh. Thanks for catching that. Corrected.

The one thing to watch out for when doing any cloning operation is to make sure you do NOT boot the system with BOTH drives attached. It's a good way to possibly ruin the setup on both drives.

Oh, yeah. Had that happen once. It does not ruin anything per se, but it does confuse Windows to a point that later it may refuse to boot from the new drive (I believe the old one will work just fine, as long as it has not been physically moved). It is correctable, but a hassle, so if it happens, it may be best to just re-clone. Here's my story on it: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=105728

Of course, if it does screw up so that neither of the drives are bootable, you are in a pickle, and then you need to do manual repairs, as you mentioned.

[farmall]

Cloning an old install also clones any problems with that old install. I usually use hard disk replacement as an opportunity for a clean installation of OS and applications.

[zern]

I have used TruImage Home successfully to clone and backup hard drives. HDD to HDD and HDD to SSD. On both Windows XP and Windows 7.

You'll love the extra space!

[Shredder11]

I just want to add that for cloning mechanical old SATA drives to SSD I use Paragon Migrate OS to SSD, as this automatically handles all the other critical settings that SSD needs. For all other kinds of backups etc I use Acronis Backup & Recovery but ONLY from the recovery boot disc; installing their software to your drive means it is almost impossible to remove if you need to (see their forums going back a few years with this unfixed problem). Also I second the advice earlier in this thread to use the Ultrabay when cloning.

[Headrush]

I second what Shredder11 said. I use the 'Migrate OS' built inside Paragon Hard Disk Manager, it makes the whole job really easy. Not sure if this feature is within the free version but you can get 30 days free trial with the full version. It's so easy to use that I regularly clone my OS's to spare drives I have lying around for peace of mind..

[MLB]

Hey, thank you for all your replies....you're super helpful !

I just ordered:
1. One 1TB, 7200rpm, 32mb cache, SATA drive
2. Optical HDD caddy

I see the cost for Acronis True Image 2015 is $50 for ONE PC, ONE time. $100 for the unlimited, ONE PC version. I also see the Acronis True Image 2015 on eBay for $43 for the unlimited, ONE PC version.

Once, I've installed the software (I assume on the "old" drive), I'll remove my "old" HDD and put it in the HDD caddy and install the "new" HDD in the laptop bay, boot from the "old" drive and start the Acronis clone utility.

A. Before I do anything tho, don't I need to put the new drive in the HDD caddy and format it first ?
B. After performing the clone operation, I understand I need to "shut down", remove the old drive from the HDD caddy and reinstall my CD/DVD burner ?
C. After starting my first boot up, with the new cloned drive, all should work normally from there (assuming the clone process worked properly) ?
D. Would downloading the Acronis "trial version" allow me to do the exact hard drive clone of my "old" HDD on my laptop ?
E. Am I forgetting anything ? Beer, holding my mouth right during the clone process, etc !

Thank you mates !

P.S. I see some of you are from England.....fantastic ! I was born in Taplow Bucks, Buckinghamshire....my Dad was in service, married my mum there.

[Shredder11]

Lovely place Buckinghamshire. Most of my family are either Southerners or Scots, so not sure how some of us ended up in Yorkshire!

[MLB]

Hey guys, any guidance from my March 14th entry.....ur comments are very appreciated mates !

[MisterB]

I don't use Acronis so I can't give you any advice specific to that program. It has a reputation for bloated installs and most users recommend the boot media instead of installing it.

Since you have the Ultrabay adapter, an external USB stick or Optical drive is the best option to boot directly to the clone software. I make sure the new disk is set up with an MBR but no partitions and then do a disk clone. No need to format, you are copying formatted partitions to an empty disk. After it is done, I make sure the cloned system partition is set active on the new disk. This can be done with Window's built in Disk Manager if the clone software doesn't have that option. Boot Windows on the old disk with the Ultrabay adapter removed and insert it after Windows is booted to check if this is necessary. You don't want to boot with both old and new disks in the computer at the same time. If it all looks good, turn everything off, remove the battery and swap the disks. In most cases it boots. If it doesn't, don't despair. In Vista and 7, it is often necessary to use a Rescue disk to reset the BCD so it knows where to boot from. There are other things that could go wrong but it would be best if you just tried it and posted what happened so I and others could advise on a specific problem. I've done lots of cloning operations and most times it works the first time or just requires a minor fix to get working.

[MLB]

Hey thanx very much MisterB ! The new drive should be in the next day or two, so I hope to get started on this...this weekend and will absolutely pop you guys the results.....Once again, I very much treasure the assistance you are all providing me !

Per your comments, one question comes to mind....I have made a backup of my system and also created a restore point. I assume I need to also create a "system repair disk" now before I start the clone procedure ?

[MisterB]

Yes, you definitely want the repair disk. The most common boot issue in Windows 7 clones I've done is needing to update the BCD which the repair disk will do automatically.

[MLB]

Done.....Thanx again MisterB...very appreciated ! BTW, I downloaded the trial version of Acronis True Image, but after reading the users manual, I noticed it said you cannot "clone" a drive with the trial version. Went ahead and also ordered the full version of Acronis True Image 2015...got it off ebay for $50 (new) for 3 devices. Now all I need is for the hard drive I have ordered to arrive.

I'll keep youse guys posted mates...thanx !

[91011]

There's an unread PM from Thursday in your mailbox.