Re: Adding a drive


<me@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:leiav1106h1b92d92mmjg3a0gplm22klcf@xxxxxxxxxx
(SNIP)

All of this is a far cry from my present problem. I am helping a
friend and he's stuck with TI v9 because I persuaded him to buy it.
Acronis support has been silent ever since.

Do you know if TI v9 can clone an image to a hard disk? I have
"restored " an image to a new drive but the capacity is different and
produces the dreaded message "NTLDR is missing". I believe it's
because the heads are different. I understand that "cloning" the
image to the new drive would avoid this probl;em.

Thanks for the good read.

Colin


Colin:
As I previously mentioned, I haven't worked with version 9 of the Acronis
True Image program, only the version 8 program; however, I assume both
versions are identical or near-identical with respect to the basic process
of *directly* cloning the contents of one HD to another HD. My preference in
working with the Acronis program is similar to that of the way I usually
work with the Ghost 2003 program, i.e., I use bootable media to carry out
the disk cloning operation. In the case of the Acronis program one cannot
create a bootable floppy disk to perform the cloning process (as you can
with the Ghost 2003 program) but you can create a bootable CD to carry out
that process. And that is what I use rather than the Acronis GUI. Again, as
in the Ghost 2003 program, it's simply a personal preference of mine to use
this media for reasons of portability & simplicity of operation.

Here are the basic steps to use the ATI8 program to *directly* clone the
contents of one HD to another HD.

But before listing them, let me make the following points...
1. I do not use the program to create disk images on removable media, e.g.,
DVDs
2. I do not make "incremental" backups via the cloning process.
3. Direct disk-to-disk cloning is my sole interest so as to reasonably
maintain a near-failsafe backup system involving my day-to-day working hard
drive. I have no other interest in using a disk imaging program. In so
doing, I prefer to carry out the cloning operation using the bootable CD
(a/k/a "Bootable Rescue Media" as Acronis calls it) that one can easily
create in the ATI program. I find the simplicity, straightforwardness, and
portability aspects of using the bootable CD more to my liking than using
the Acronis GUI. It's simply a personal preference.

I mention the above because I want you (and others who may be interested in
this subject) to understand precisely how I use the program, which may be
different from the way others may employ it, and thus my comments may have
little or no relevance to your present situation or whatever problem you may
be experiencing.
Here are the basic steps I follow to *directly* clone the contents of one HD
to another HD (internal or external).

Creating the Acronis bootable CD:
1. Assuming the Acronis program has already been installed on your computer,
access the program and click on the "Create Bootable Rescue Media" item (or
the appropriate icon in the menu bar).
2. Work through the screens selecting a bootable CD as the "rescue media"
you want to create.

The disk cloning process:
1. Ensure there are no other storage devices connected to the computer other
than the source and destination drives.

a. If both drives (source & destination) are connected, and the computer
is running, insert the Acronis bootable CD you've created in your CD/DVD
drive and restart your computer. If you're cloning to a USB/Firewire
external HD, that device can be connected before restarting your computer.

b. If *only* your working drive (the source disk) is connected at the
time the computer is running, insert the Acronis bootable CD in your CD/DVD
device and shutdown your computer. Disconnect the computer's power cord and
connect the second (destination) drive you'll be cloning to and boot up with
both drives connected.

2. Upon bootup, the Acronis main screen will display. One of the icons will
be "Disk Clone". Double-click on this icon.

3. The "Welcome to the Disk Clone Wizard!" screen will display. Click Next.

4. The "Clone Mode" dialog box will display with two options. Select the
"Automatic" option (it probably will be the default) and click Next.

5. The "Source Hard Disk" screen will display with your two drives listed.
Make *absolutely certain* that your source disk (the drive you'll be cloning
*from*) is highlighted, and thus selected. Click Next.

6. The "Destination Hard Disk" screen will display. Again, make *absolutely
certain* that your destination disk (the drive you'll be cloning to) is
highlighted (selected). Click Next.

7. Assuming your destination disk is not a "virgin" disk, i.e., it contains
data, the "Nonempty Destination Hard Disk" screen will display. Select the
"Delete partitions on the destination hard disk" option and click Next.

8. The "Hard Disk Drives Structure" screen will display reflecting the
"before and after" cloning operation. Again, make absolutely certain that
your source and destination drives are correctly indicated. Click Next.

9. The final screen before the cloning operation takes place will display
summarizing the impending process. Once again, the important thing is to
verify that your source and destination drives are correctly reflected.
Click the Proceed button to begin the cloning operation.

10. Following the cloning operation, remove the bootable CD and shutdown the
computer. DO NOT REBOOT AT THIS TIME!

11. If you're working with internal hard drives, it's a good idea to verify
that the cloning operation was successful and that you now have a bootable
clone. So after shutting down the computer, disconnect its power cord, open
your case and disconnect your source disk. Power up and boot with the cloned
destination disk to ensure that it is indeed bootable and that all is well.

Incidentally, I'm assuming in all this that your motherboard will allow you
to boot to the cloned drive regardless of its position/configuration on the
IDE cable (assuming PATA drives). We have come across some motherboards
which will not permit a boot from any position other than Primary Master. If
so, you'll need to make the necessary reconnects/reconfiguration for your
cloned drive in that situation in order to test that it is bootable.
Presuming it is, shutdown the machine, remove the power cord, and reconnect
your source disk (assuming that's the drive you plan to continue to use as
your day-to-day working drive). It's probably best to disconnect the cloned
disk after you've verified that the cloning operation was successful. See
the note below.

If, on the other hand, you've cloned to a USB/Firewire external hard drive,
no further action is necessary. Remember that the USB/Firewire EHD is *not*
bootable. And, of course, the external drive should ordinarily be
disconnected from the computer following the cloning operation.

NOTE: Reiterating the information in steps 10 & 11 above, following the
cloning operation, shut (power) down the computer; disconnect the source
disk; and make the *initial* boot of the cloned drive while it is the *only*
drive connected at that time. If, on that initial boot *both* drives are
connected, there's a distinct possibility (although not a certainty) that
the cloned drive will not boot at a future time.

After that initial boot of the newly-cloned drive, both drives can be
connected if desired. Generally speaking, the only time both internal drives
will be simultaneously connected following the cloning operation is when you
will want to perform the cloning operation at a later date (subsequent
backups) or you want to re:clone the contents of the cloned HD back to your
day-to-day working HD for restoration purposes.
Anna


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