Looking to clone HDD, Software Recommendations?

[boggie1688]

Hi everyone,

Im doing my first HDD clone and I've never had any experience with the software. I just need some recommendations on good apps to clone my add.

Can anyone help me out?

[anon]

Norton Ghost is easy to use, and can be a lifesaver. Newer versions may have too many unneeded features, though.

I have also always heard good things about Acronis.

[shadowww]

Download Hiren's Boot CD 9.9 and All Other Versions - HTTP Download There is nice set of tools for just that (among other system administrating ones)

[anonftw]

Download Hiren's Boot CD 9.9 and All Other Versions - HTTP Download There is nice set of tools for just that (among other system administrating ones)

I've used Acronis True Image off of this and it's excellent.

[boggie1688]

I've used Hirens boot, but my laptop is an ultra portable. No cd drive :(. Can it boot of a usb stick? Also will the cloning software detect a hard drive via usb in an enclosure?

[moojuice]

Sorry maybe a bit off topic, but I got a question about Cloning, because i tried it once but didn't end up doing it. If for example i had a 100gb HDD and i wanted to clone it, does that mean i would need to find 100gb space? It compresses data doesn't it? Back when i tried it, i only tried to back up 4gb so never thought of what would i do if i had something bigger to clone?

[anon]

boggie1688, check this:
Hiren's BootCD From USB Flash Drive (Pen Drive) - www.hiren.info

moojuice, they compress images, at least Ghost does. It also "adapts" them to the HDD's size automatically.

[starforce]

casper xp no1
ghost no2
acronis no3 why 3 bugs
Welcome to Future Systems Solutions

[boggie1688]

Thanks for that link anon, I'll use it sometime in the future.

As for now, I found out that acronis has a free 15 day trial. So I just downloaded that and plan to use it later today when the hard drive is delivered.

thanks for everyones help.

[moojuice]

moojuice, they compress images, at least Ghost does. It also "adapts" them to the HDD's size automatically.

hmm, so does it always compress the same size? and do you know how much it compresses or does it all depend on the type of data (but that sounds kinda stupid)

[boggie1688]

Let me just say Acronis is a pain in the ass, after nearly 6 hours of trying to figure out why it won't clone I've given up. I'll try out the Caper software.

---------- Post added at 05:33 ---------- Previous post was at 04:44 ----------

Wow Casper worked like a charm. No need to reboot, nothing...just right away starts to clone. Thanks for the recommendation, and I'll be recommending this software as well. SCREW ACRONIS!

[anon]

moojuice, I don't know which algorithm Ghost uses, but a 75GB hard drive (with lots of free space, of course) fits on less than 3GB.

boggie1688, I forgot to say, you can also install Acronis, burn its bootable CD, uninstall it, and use that CD to make and recover your backups. You can even copy it for your friends, who won't even need a serial number!

[8a0vhx802]

I personally use Acronis and I'm pretty happy with it. The bootcd method posted previously also works great in recovering an unbootable Windows system.

[anon]

Talking about unbootable Windows systems... if you're getting an error message about the SYSTEM file being damaged, booting from Symantec's Recovery Disk can solve it. I really don't know what it does, but as long as C: is reachable, it will fix your registry and revive your install most of the time.

[start]

I use Acronis True Image few years and its really good software