Copying Hard drives

[Geek Boy]

I have a problem.

My dad's computer is a 6.4GB hdd..It's full

My computer had a 13.6Gb hdd ....it's full

I'm getting a new hdd for x-mas..I hope it's a 40GB+ 7,200 RPM..

And then I put my hdd in my dad's computer.

sounds easy BUT I want to copy a bit by bit copy of my hdd to the new hdd,then format mine,then have a bit by bit copy of my dad's hdd to my old hdd then format my dad's old hdd.

So, do any body know or have a good software that does this??

Thanks

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Doug Bunker

QCT rocks!!

[Geek Boy]

oh, and is there a DOS command line that could do this?? or do I need software??

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Doug Bunker

QCT rocks!!

[Overmars]

You can try disk imaging software for this. Something like Image Cast 3 from Innovative, or Ghost from Norton work really well.

We used Image Cast 3 to install windows 2k on the computers in the CSUN computer lab. It performed alot better than Norton, using the same benchmarks.

But both are pretty easy to use and have a graphic user interface also. I just prefer the Image Cast just for its sheer speed.

marc

[toonzwile]

Originally posted by Geek Boy:
I have a problem.

My dad's computer is a 6.4GB hdd..It's full

My computer had a 13.6Gb hdd ....it's full

I'm getting a new hdd for x-mas..I hope it's a 40GB+ 7,200 RPM..

And then I put my hdd in my dad's computer.

sounds easy BUT I want to copy a bit by bit copy of my hdd to the new hdd,then format mine,then have a bit by bit copy of my dad's hdd to my old hdd then format my dad's old hdd.

So, do any body know or have a good software that does this??

Thanks

Why cant u just put the new HD in ur computer, partition it as needed, and then format it... then go inside Windows, select all contents of the drive, and drag over to the new drive... its the easiest way. either that or dl a copy of PowerQuest's DiskCopy... either way presents less ordeal than using old DOS commands.



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"I have slept many nights in places, with faces distorted
I have eaten the flesh and blood of air but still, I am here!
Though I shall never forget yesterday or today or tomorrow
And all the sorrow, from the blood shed that left many dead
I want you to know are you my flow and when I speak
Know I wept"
--- Unknown poet, Albanian or Serbian

[Down8]

toonz you have the funniest ideas.

There are certain things that are hidden, even if you wanted to see them from Windows, you can't. You can't just copy the contents over.

I own Ghost, but I've never used it [will when I get a 40gig]. I hear it's good. Never heard of the others, but anything like this should be fine.

-bZj

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.sig: coming soon to a post near you!

[IL96]

I've used ghost, it's pretty good for migrating data and making image archives. Works in DOS, and can copy 6Gig in about 30 minutes depending on your drive speed.
Other utility that i've heard of: EZ Drive (same concept)

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Two unsolved questions of humanity: Where does the dust come from, and Where do the money go to.

[alienrash]

Ghost or PartitionMagic. PM - When you go to create a new partition on a drive you can specify that the new partition be a copy of an old partition.

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Blueskies Blackdeath

[SkyDog]

I *strongly* recommend using Norton Ghost, PowerQuest DriveImage, ImageCast, or another hard drive imaging/copying utilily.

If you don't want to use any software, you can try using the xcopy command, but it doesn't always work properly. Install the new hard drive, partition it, and format it. Make sure NO programs are running in the background, and then open a DOS prompt within Windows and type the line below (assuming your existing drive is C: and the new one is D .

xcopy32 c:\*.* d:\*.* /s/c/h/e/r/k

(You might want to do this in Safe Mode to help ensure no programs are running. If a program is running and using a file, that file probably won't be copied.)

When you remove the old drive and set up the new one as your primary hard drive, you might need to run FDISK and set the active partition. You might also need to "sys" the drive by booting to a Windows boot floppy and typing "SYS C:" MAKE SURE IT'S THE EXACT SAME VERSION OF WINDOWS ON THE FLOPPY!

The Xcopy stuff above only applies to Windows 95/98. If you use Windows NT or 2000, forget I even mentioned it & use Ghost or something similar.



[This message has been edited by SkyDog (edited December 05, 2000).]

[op4_camper]

use ghost its easy and fast moved 13 gig from my ibm desk star to two 30 gig on raid using ghost. no formating or fdisk needed took 3 min. fits on a floppy and easy to use dos programe. even w/mouse support haha.

[Geek Boy]

Hey this is Doug....I'mat school right now, so I'm breaking every school rule hehehe

I would like to know where I get the programs like at Best Buy or download on the we (URL please) and also I would like freeware or shareware cause all I'm going to do is use it for this once..

or

I could get Partition Magic so I can move, make, resize partition w/o deleting them...

I think I'll do that

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Doug Bunker

QCT rocks!!

[Phoenix]

Originally posted by Geek Boy:
Hey this is Doug....I'mat school right now, so I'm breaking every school rule hehehe

I would like to know where I get the programs like at Best Buy or download on the we (URL please) and also I would like freeware or shareware cause all I'm going to do is use it for this once..

or

I could get Partition Magic so I can move, make, resize partition w/o deleting them...

I think I'll do that

Partiton Magic's Drive Image Pro is great, I used it to make images of about 50 computers this summer. I doubt that you can find any of these for free, your best bet would be to check at a store like Best Buy.


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"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

[Dectek]

Power Quest has a trial download of Drive Image. It worked great for me.

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I thought I was wrong once...But I was mistaken

[slipgun]

Originally posted by IL96:
I've used ghost, it's pretty good for migrating data and making image archives. Works in DOS, and can copy 6Gig in about 30 minutes depending on your drive speed.
Other utility that i've heard of: EZ Drive (same concept)

Um... isn't EZ drive a utility made by WD? I mean, it's there for free on the WD site and it says "for WD HD's only"

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My name is Bin Laden and I'm a crazy terrorist who wants to destroy the USA

[Overmars]

You can get a demo version of Image Cast 3 at www.ics-iq.com. I think it has all the needed functionality to get the job done.

marc