I get asked a lot how to “clone” a hard drive, so here’s how. This scenario assumes you want to replace a current HDD in your system with a new one.
- Get yourself a SATA/IDE to USB adapter, like this one. It makes this so much easier.
- Get yourself a copy of Acronis True Image Home 2012.
- Install Acronis True Image Home 2012; reboot.
- Plug the new hard drive (the one you want to clone to) into the USB adapter, and connect the adapter to one of your PC’s USB ports.
- Make sure your PC recognizes the hard drive attached via USB.
- Fire up True Image, then click the “Tools & Utilities” tab. Click “Clone Disk.” The program walks you through the next steps. You may have to reboot to complete the cloning process.
- When the cloning process is complete, power down your PC, then remove the old hard drive and put the new hard drive in its place.
- Turn your computer back on.
- Optional: If you replaced a drive that contains Windows (assuming Vista or 7), your computer may not boot properly. Never fear! Just pop in your Windows disc, and choose startup repair. It should automatically fix the problem.
And that’s all there is to it. I know this isn’t the free route, but it’s the most painless. I’ll look into posting a free solution if people are interested.
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thanks for your article really helped me
Another option is Drive Image XML
http://www.runtime.org
I’m not affiliated with them, I just use the product.