Re: Ghost/Clone Hard Drive?


"Anna" <myname@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:eKkrSSGDKHA.5092@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"jobypolansky" <jobypolansky.3vs67b@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message...
news:jobypolansky.3vs67b@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I assisted a friend in cloning a Vista HDD from a 80GB disk to a 250
solid state disk. I used Spotmau Clone Genius but while the clone did
the job correctly, swapping out the hard drives - the new drive was not
bootable.
(SNIP)


"Gene E. Bloch" <not-me@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message ...
As I understand it, lots of cloning programs tend to make the new disk
not
bootable, since two bootable drives in one computer could be a problem.
If
you tell the program to make the new drive bootable, it often makes the
old
one unbootable, for the same reason.
--
Gene E. Bloch letters0x40blochg0x2Ecom


"whs" <guest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message...
This is all very interesting for me. I ran into exactly the same
problem trying to clone Vista from my HDD to an OCZ SSD using Norton
Ghost. There was always something wrong with the boot record. But I
never tried to clone it twice (neat trick).
Does anybody have any references that describes this problem (and
solution) in more detail.
--
whs


"Gene E. Bloch" <not-me@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message...
You might try looking into the PDF manuals for cloning programs, such
as Casper ('Online Store | Future Systems Solutions'
(http://www.fssdev.com/shop/default.aspx#)), and maybe partitioning
software, which, IIRC, faces the same conundrum.
--
Gene E. Bloch letters0x40blochg0x2Ecom


Gene E. Bloch;1097392 wrote:
Thanks Gene. I will have a closer look.> --
whs


jobypolansky, whs, & Gene...
I would strongly second Gene's suggestion to take a look at the Casper 5
disk-cloning program. We have been using that program for about the past
two years or so and have found it a superb program for backing up &
restoring one's system. While we have used the program primarily in a
Windows XP environment and have had limited personal experience with the
Vista OS, we're aware of many Vista users who have informed us that the
program works just as well with that OS as with the XP OS.

As I'm sure you know, like any disk-cloning program, the program is a
comprehensive backup program in that it creates what amounts to a precise
copy of one's day-to-day working HDD, i.e., the "source" disk. As such the
user has available to him or her a complete copy of one's system including
the OS, all programs & applications, all personal data - in short,
*everything* that's on the source HDD. So when the day comes when the
system requires restoration because of a failed HDD or a unbootable,
dysfunctional OS, the user has the wherewithal immediately at hand to
restore his or her system with little fuss or an inordinate expenditure of
time.

It's difficult for me to imagine a better backup system for the great
majority of PC users than having a
precise copy of their day-to-day working HDD at hand. A copy where *all*
the data on their "source" HDD is instantly available. A copy that needs
no restoration or recovery process of any kind in order to access its data
instantly. A copy that is completely bootable & functional (should it be
another internally-connected HDD or an eSATA-connected external HDD)
without the need to perform any recovery/restore process.

We've worked with a wide variety of disk-cloning & disk-imaging programs
over the years and have found the Casper 5 program quite superior. The
Casper program is extremely simple to use even for an inexperienced user,
reasonably quick in operation, and quite effective. There's virtually no
learning curve in undertaking the disk-cloning process as one navigates
through the few easy-to-understand screens with a final mouse-click on the
button on the screen which will trigger the disk-cloning process. After
undertaking one or two disk-cloning operations it should take the user no
more than 15 - 20 seconds or so to get to that point.

But the truly significant advantage of the Casper 5.0 disk cloning program
compared with other disk cloning programs that we're familiar with, e.g.,
Acronis True Image, is its ability to create *incremental* disk clones
following the creation of the original (first) disk clone. Employing what
Casper calls its "SmartClone" technology the program can create subsequent
disk clones of the source HDD usually at a *fraction* of the time it takes
to create a "full" disk clone. This results in a decided incentive for the
user to undertake frequent complete backups of his or her system knowing
that they can create "incremental" disk clones in a relatively short
period of time. Understand that this "incremental disk clone" is a
*complete* clone (copy) of the "source" HDD, *not* merely an incremental
file.

Bear in mind that the recipient of the clone - the "destination" HDD
(internal or external) - would contain the *complete* contents of one's
internal HDD (presumably the boot drive). Since that destination drive
would be a precise copy of the source HDD, its contents would be
immediately
accessible to the user and potentially bootable. Naturally its contents
could be cloned back to a internal HDD should a restoration of the system
be necessary. Again, what better backup system can one have? And again -
because the Casper disk-cloning operation takes a relatively short period
of
time to complete its disk-cloning operations there's a strong incentive
for the user to more frequently keep their backups up-to-date than they
might otherwise do. This is an extroardinary advantage and should not be
minimized.

Again, I want to emphasize that the main advantage of the Casper 5 program
in comparison with other disk-cloning programs is its rather remarkable
ability to *routinely* clone the contents of one HDD to another HDD
(following the initial disk-cloning process) in a fraction of the time it
generally takes for other disk-cloning (as well as disk-imaging) programs
to complete the process. In my experience this is a strong incentive for
the user to back up their systems on a frequent basis - perhaps even once
a day or two or three times a week - knowing that the disk-cloning
operation will take only a few short minutes to complete the process. And
at the end of that process the user will have at hand a "perfect copy" of
their day-to-day working HDD. Again, what better backup system can one
have?

The Casper 5.0 program is also capable of scheduling the disk-cloning
process on a daily, weekly, or other time period selected by the user so
that should the user prefer he or she could arrange for automatic backups
at pre-determined times.

As Gene points out there's a trial version of the Casper 5 program
available at...
http://www.fssdev.com/products/casper/trial/ and although it's somewhat
crippled it should give one a good idea as to how the program works.

The downside to the Casper 5 program as compared with the Acronis and
most other disk-cloning programs is the cost of the program which comes to
$49.95 for the program + $9.95 for the "Casper Startup Disk" (the program
to create the bootable CD containing the Casper program - needed to access
the program in the event of a failed HDD when the user is unable to access
the installed
Casper program). This "Startup Disk" is really an essential piece of the
program; I can't imagine a Casper user not having this media. It's a pity
that this "Startup Disk" is an added-cost option; in our view it should be
provided as part of the overall program and included in the program's
$49.95
cost. We have complained to the developer about this but alas that
additional cost for the "Startup Disk" is still present.

So the cost of the program is more expensive than the others. Be that as
it may, in our view it's still well worth the additional cost considering
its overall effectiveness and the fact that one will be using the program
many, many times over the weeks, months, and years ahead. We've introduced
the
program to many users (including former ATI users) and I can't recall a
single person who regretted his/her purchase. AFAIK, the program is
available only through download from the developer.

One final comment...
Again, while I haven't had a great deal of experience with the Vista OS as
compared with the XP OS, however, from the little experience I've
personally had using Casper 5 with Vista and more importantly, the
feedback I've gotten from Vista users of Casper, I'm comfortable with
recommending this program with Vista.
Anna

been using Casper for quite a while and it does a great job on my Winn2000
and WinXP boxes. However it didn't play well with my Vista or Win 7
machines. Problems with Shadow Copy errors never gave me a clean accurtate
cloned disc. So I use DiscCopy 2.3 for Vista and Win7 and get good results
although it takes longer than if I were using Casper. BTW DiscCopy 2.3 is
free,


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