Re: Copying Bootable Drive in XP

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On Dec 4, 5:51 am, "Anna" <myn...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"RSS" <rsilve...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in
messagenews:1165202338.219328.237800@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hello-

I am trying to copy my main boot drive to another drive so that I
can
have a backup that is bootable and fully functional with the same
software, etc. I have Partition Magic 8.0 and I am not having luck
with the settings and configuration.

I successfully created a partition on the 2nd drive, and performed
the
copy. All the files were there, and it obviously copied fine. But
it's not bootable. There's obviously something else I need to do
either before or after to make this fly, right?

I did some searching in the groups, but I am not finding the answer
that works for me yet. I don't need to use Partition Magic if
there's
something easier or better to use.

Thanks in advance.RSS:

On Dec 3, 7:51 pm, "Anna" <myn...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
We've had extensive experience using Partition Magic over the years,
nearly
exclusively with the objective of manipulating partitions -
shrinking,
merging, extending, etc. As I'm sure you know, by & large it's the
"industry
standard" for those types of operations. But for a variety of reasons
we've
never been really taken with PM's ability to copy partitions where,
in
effect, the ultimate objective is to create a bootable clone. For
that
type
of work we believe a disk imaging program, e.g., Acronis True Image
or
Symantec's Norton Ghost would be the program of choice.

Might you consider using a disk imaging program to meet your
objective?
That
type of program is also ideal for maintaining a comprehensive backup
system
through its disk cloning or disk imaging process.

One of the more popular programs of that type is the Acronis True
Image
program. Their latest version 10 is available for a 15-day trial. You
might
want to give it a try.
(http://www.acronis.com)

BTW, I'm assuming that when you state "I am trying to copy my main
boot
drive to another drive so that I can have a backup that is bootable
and
fully functional with the same software, etc....", you're referring
to
two
HDDs, so that the "destination" HDD would be the recipient of the
clone
of
the primary HDD or the recipient of that drive's disk image.

Incidentally, I recently (11/18/06) posted to this newsgroup some
detailed
step-by-step instructions for using the ATI program. The thread was
"Re:
XP
home backup utility".
You might want to take a look at it.
Anna

"RSS" <rsilve...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1165208389.601199.88260@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I read the posts that are mentioned in this thread. I am trying to use
the Acronis True Image but the problem is that the "source" in my case
is ONE partition of my primary drive. This one partition is the same
size as the "destination" drive. But ATI wants to clone the entire
primary drive, which is much larger than the destination, so obviously
a no-go.

Is there a setting or mode I can use in ATI that will allow me to
clone
the C: partition of the primary drive (75GB out of 200GB total on that
drive) to the 75GB E: slave drive that I have?

Thanks again.

(SNIP)
Bob
"Anna" <myn...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in
messagenews:upo8hb6FHHA.1232@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Bob:
Yes, you're absolutely correct. I hadn't realized that you were dealing
with a multi-partitioned source HDD. It is true that the Acronis
program
(unlike some other disk imaging programs) does have that limitation of
an
"all or nothing" proposition when it comes to its disk cloning
operation.

But let me ask you this. What would be the negative consequences of
cloning the entire contents of your source HDD to the destination
drive?
Is there concern on your part re insufficient disk space on the
destination HDD to accommodate the cloned contents of the *entire*
primary
HDD? What would be the downside of having the cloned contents of *all*
the
other primary HDD partitions residing on the destination HDD?

But, if for one reason or another, you want *only* to clone the
contents
of a single partition of the primary (source) HDD to the destination
HDD,
you can still use the Acronis program for creating a disk image of that
partition or partitions. Acronis does have the capability of creating
disk
images of individual partitions. However, the downside here is that
unlike
the disk clone, the disk image is not bootable. You would need to
invoke
the Acronis recovery process to create a bootable HDD from the disk
image.
Not complicated at all and many users consider using the disk imaging
process in general to be a more effective backup tool than the disk
cloning process. There are advantages to it which I've detailed in the
step-by-step instructions which I previously referred you to in a prior
posting to this newsgroup.
AnnaBob:
Just an addendum to my above comments...

I do see now that since (apparently) the entire contents of your
multi-partitioned primary HDD exceed the disk space of the intended
destination HDD, the disk-to-disk cloning process would not be viable.

Assuming you're not in the market for a larger HDD to accommodate the
entire
contents of your primary HDD, you could consider the disk imaging process
I
mentioned above.
Anna


"RSS" <rsilverst@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1165253329.748891.33650@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Anna-

Thanks for the posts... yes, you're correct - the multipartitioned
drive is 200GB, but my destination drive is only 80GB. I really
*don't* need another hard drive, i.e. a new 200GB drive, so I hesitate
to just keep replacing parts.

I will look at the procedure for creating the image of individual
partition. The other option is to just do a clean install of windows
on the other drive, and then reinstall only the critical software, and
backup all my documents... that might be easier to do.


Bob:
While that latter option you mention may be something for you to consider,
it really won't do anything for future comprehensive backups of your system,
including the operating system, all your programs/applications, all your
user-created data, etc. The ongoing capability of a disk imaging program to
accomplish that on a routine & systematic basis would, it seems to me, be a
far superior course of action for you to undertake at this point and for the
future.
Anna


.

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