Re: Hard disk copying/cloning




"Neil" <n.hall@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >> I've got a laptop with a hard disk that I need to clone to
> >> another (although smaller) hard disk. I need to do this via
> >> CDRWs because I can't daisy chain the disks.
> >>
> >> Is there an easy and cheap way to do this? I'm only likely
> >> to do it once so don't wish to purchase expensive backup
> >> tools.
>
> It's a Dell Latitude c810. The source disk is 10Gb in a single
> partition with about 3.8 Gb of data and OS files (although I
> could take some apps off to reduce this). I'm not sure about
> hidden OEM partitions. OS is Win 2k Professional.
> The laptop has a CD burner a floppy disk drive and a lan
> connection but can't be booted (as far as I'm aware) from
> USB drive or flash disk.
>
> Target disk is 6Gb.
>
> I have a desktop on a network with plenty of spare hard disk
> space if this can be used in any way to hold backup files
> temporarily.


Okay, bear in mind that "cheap" and "easy" don't always go together, but
here's a few ideas, using some or all of the following parts:

** a 2.5"-to-3.5" adapter to connect a laptop HDD to a desktop IDE cable.
This looks like this:
http://www.dalco.com/ProductsList2.aspx?Category_ID=3704&selection=3
and can be found at Fry's or other electronics parts suppliers that carry
cables and connectors.

** the Universal TCP/IP Network Bootdisk (www.netbootdisk.com), a freeware
boot floppy for connecting to a network from DOS.

** Savepart (www.partition-saving.com), a freeware partition imaging
program.

** BootIt-NG (www.bootitng.com), a shareware program that is a combo boot
manager, partition resizer, and partition imager. It can be tested for free
and is fully functional, not crippleware (and you might even decide it's
nifty enough to keep it after you've seen what it can do). You won't be
using it's boot manager function, so after you make the boot floppy and boot
from it, press [Cancel] to avoid installing the boot manager part of the
program and proceed to the partition tools.

Be aware that Savepart and BootIt-NG both have a bit of a learning curve.
Both are non-Windows programs, so they don't make any changes or involve
installation to your desktop or laptop. I don't recall offhand whether
current versions can save image files on a NTFS partition--if they can, you
can cut out a few steps below. (I've long kept a logical partition, ~8GB or
so, on my desktop specifically for this purpose.)

BTW, regardless of which plan you choose, first defrag the source disk.
Cloning/imaging works best when the partition isn't badly fragmented.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
So here's one plan:

(1) boot from netbootdisk floppy and see if you can connect to your LAN. If
so, map a network drive so you have a drive letter to work with.

(2) use Savepart to create an image of laptop's W2K partition on network
drive.

(3) shut down, swap HDDs.

(4) boot from netbootdisk again, use Savepart to restore image from network
drive to new HDD.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Another plan:

(1) use BootIt-NG to resize the old 10GB partition to about 6GB, and create
a FAT32 logical partition from the remaining space.

(2) run Savepart from floppy, make an image of the W2K partition and save it
on the FAT32 partition. Have the program split the image into 650MB chunks
as it's being created. (Note: you can also use BootIt-NG for imaging, but
keep in mind that it cannot restore to a partition smaller than the
original, so you'd need to first resize the original partition to be the
same size or smaller than the target.)

(3) boot back into W2K and burn the chunks of the image file onto CD.

(4) shut down, swap HDDs.

(5) boot from floppy again, restore from CD.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Another plan:

(1) if necessary, boot desktop from BootIt-NG floppy and repartition desktop
HDD to make a small FAT32 partition if you don't have one. (I'm not sure if
this step is still necessary with current versions.)

(2) unplug any devices connected to the desktop's secondary IDE cable.

(3) using the cable adapter, connect the laptop source HDD to the desktop's
secondary IDE cable. (It's possible to use the slave connector on the
primary IDE cable, though you'd have to add a master/slave jumper to the
laptop HDD.)

(4) boot from floppy and use BootIt-NG or Savepart to create an image of the
laptop's W2K partition, saving it on the desktop drive.

(5) shut down, swap laptop HDDs.

(6) boot from floppy again and restore image from desktop drive to new HDD.

(7) remove laptop HDD and put back in laptop, reconnect desktop devices to
IDE cable.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Another plan:

(1) unplug devices connected to the desktop's primary IDE cable.

(3) using two cable adapters, connect both the laptop source HDD and target
HDD to the desktop's primary IDE cable. Don't forget to add a slave jumper
to the pins on one of them.

(4) boot from floppy and use Savepart to copy the source partition directly
to the destination. MAKE SURE YOU COPY IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!

(5) remove laptop HDD and put in laptop, reconnect desktop devices to IDE
cable.



.

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