Disc cloning software (freeware)

[Luxman]

Hi. First off, I have searched the forums and can't find the information I'm looking for.

Ok, well here is the information I am seeking out:

I would like to make a clone of my C: drive (XP) onto another hdd. The only freeware program that comes close is HDCLONE. The main problem I see with this program is that it resizes the destination drive, and may infact wipe clean the other partitions on the destination hdd (since my destination hdd has 3 drives on it already and I don't want any modification to that setup).

Quite simply, is there any freeware program in existance that runs from a boot disc that can simply clone a drive that doesn't resize the destination or do any other such modifications to the destination hdd.

I'm presuming that I'm asking way too much here, but I'll give it a shot anyhow.

Thanks.

[NooNoo]

Yup wayyy too much.... unless you want to have a go with Ranish

[computron99]

HD Clone is the only one I know of that's free. I went with Acronis Home Edition v11. It was less than $30 USD on NewEgg.

[Luxman]

Yup wayyy too much.... unless you want to have a go with Ranish

Thought I'd be asking way too much. If a program that simple existed as freeware it would be hard to sell anything akin to it. Ranish looks like exactly what I'm looking for, but I'll have to do a little more reading to find out its true potential, and what bugs or other hidden little unexpected nightmares may lurk beneath its surface.

Thanks for the suggestion none the less.

HD Clone is the only one I know of that's free. I went with Acronis Home Edition v11. It was less than $30 USD on NewEgg.

I'm familiar with Acronis, but the problem is that it's a ~135MB (!) installation iso (!), and that's just plain scary. I can't even imagine how many system files are going to be mutilated by that program, and I have little doubt with a massive program that's that invasive, it's not a matter of if, but when, your OS starts getting funky.

That's why I will only use a boot disc type imaging program, and the fact that HDCLONE is only a ~5MB executable itself, it makes you wonder what a ~135MB iso has in store for the operating system. Same reason I wouldn't install bloatware like Symantic (anything).

Thanks for the reply though, it's appreciated.

[slgrieb]

For what it's worth Luxman, True Image has never given me problems cloning a drive. I've found some of the "run from a boot disk" solutions including Drive Image, Ghost, etc. haven't been as reliable. Ultimate boot CD includes tools that might work for you.

You can always try the evaluation version of True Image for free, and I think you'll find it's a tool well worth the cost.

[Luxman]

For what it's worth Luxman, True Image has never given me problems cloning a drive....

I've read only excellent reviews of it. But, I've stated above the reasons I will never use it. I've learnt many years ago the secret to OS happiness is to be very selective in what you install, and the only third party apps I have are tiny ones that may contribute a registry entry or two.

Thank you for the additional information slgrieb.

[Ferrit]

I'm familiar with Acronis, but the problem is that it's a ~135MB (!) installation iso (!), and that's just plain scary. I can't even imagine how many system files are going to be mutilated by that program, and I have little doubt with a massive program that's that invasive, it's not a matter of if, but when, your OS starts getting funky.

That's why I will only use a boot disc type imaging program, and the fact that HDCLONE is only a ~5MB executable itself, it makes you wonder what a ~135MB iso has in store for the operating system. Same reason I wouldn't install bloatware like Symantic (anything).

Thanks for the reply though, it's appreciated.

Ummm you need to try something before you start trashing it by saying it will take down the windows system. Acronis true image is an awesome program and it does an excellent job. The reason it is bigger is because it does a lot more then HDCLONE. which by the way I have used a few times and it has failed to complete the copy.
I beleive as was stated in a number of other threads acronis drive copying software is used by a number of the harddrive manufacturers.

[NooNoo]

Luxman, are you seriously writing off Acronis on the basis of it's installation footprint? Acronis doesn't just image a disk - it has a number of utilities. Before you label it bloatware get a clue and try it out!

[Platypus]

DriveImage XML is produced by a reputable company. I've not used it myself as, like so many, I've had complete success with Acronis TI. I mostly actually use the free Seagate DiskWizard, as all my systems have at least one Seagate drive. Once bootable CD media is made, it's not necessary to have a Windows installation of TI/DW on any system that can boot from CD. However my small laptop does have DW installed, and it causes no problems.

[t34b4g5]

Personally i would download Knoppix STD, burn the .iso to CDR and boot up into knoppix and just perform a quick and painless DD command to image the entire contents of a drive onto a spare hard drive.

If both hard disks are the same size, you can use linux's dd command to copy hard disks. First, setup the old hard disk as primary master and the new one as primary slave. Then, just boot into linux from a knoppix cd and type "dd if=/dev/hda of=/dev/hdb" without the "

[TrekCaptainUSA]

Personally i would download Knoppix STD, burn the .iso to CDR and boot up into knoppix and just perform a quick and painless DD command to image the entire contents of a drive onto a spare hard drive.

You'll find that sometimes doesn't work...

The linux `dd` command, as epic as it is for cloning partitions to other drives, is very very limited when it comes to copying partitions - you need to make sure that you have a partition sitting on the destination drive (and set as `of=`) that is ***exactly the same size*** as the partition you're cloning. Otherwise, you may run into problems.

On the other hand, if you're cloning an entire drive and its partitions to another drive, then the issue is making sure you have the same-sized drive. But it seems the user wants to copy off one or two partitions without wiping others on the destination drive...?