Restore To Another Hdd ?

[fatgaz]

hi peeps, i have a hp pavilion desktop and the hard drive is on its way out making clicks and other noises :( now there is a restore partition and i was wondering if i was to get another hdd and connect it to my computer could i do a "reset back to factory setting" and install to the new hdd and then i could get rid of the old one which is playing up, already backed up pics music etc so thats ok, hope you understand what i would like to do thanking you in advance for any replies

gary

[VHG]

The best thing to do is to get an external hard drive, then use a software program to take an "image" of all the partitions on your current hard disk and store this image on the external hard drive.

Then take the old hard disk out of the desktop and put a new one in its place. The new hard disk you put in does NOT need to be the same size as the one you took out.

Then use the same software program to restore from the image on your external hard drive to the new hard drive. While doing the restore you can adjust the sizes of the partitions to make them fit the new hard disk if it is larger.

There is a free program available to make this image called Macrium Reflect Free Edition.

I use it all the time and I have backup images of all my home computers stored on my external hard drives.

You can download it from here

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

Some other people suggest EaseUS to do the same thing but I have never used it

http://www.easeus.com/

[VHG]

The other thing you could do with Macrium Reflect is to "clone" the current disk to the new disk.

So you need to somehow connect the new hard disk to the desktop computer, either put it inside the case, or put it in a external hard drive "caddy".

Then run the Macrium Reflect program and select the "clone" option.

This will then make an exact copy of your current hard disk on to the new hard disk.

Then disconnect or remove your old hard and replace it with the new hard disk.

If the clone has worked correctly then the computer should be able to boot from the new hard disk without you having to do anything else.

Note I have never used the Clone option in Macrium Reflect but assume it should work OK.

[fatgaz]

cheers VHG i understand what your saying and will try that i was just wondering if i could have restored to another drive just saves doing all that image copying

[fatgaz]

just seen your second post an that seems like a better opt will give the cloning a go ty

[VHG]

Note you may need to make a Macrium Reflect Rescue Disk.

Obviously when using Macrium Reflect there will be times when you cant run Macrium Reflect from within Windows, for example if you are doing a restore from an image on your external hard drive and Windows is not installed yet on your new hard disk.

So you need to create a Macrium Reflect Rescue Disk (fairly easy to do) and then when doing the restore put this in your CD/DVD drive and "boot" your computer from this rescue disk.

This will start a "mini" version of Windows called Windows PE, then start up the Macrium Reflect program.

You can then do the image restore from there.

This may sound complex but it is not.

The Macrium Reflect has some very good help on its web site, see here

http://www.macrium.com/help.aspx

[bhg481]

When you're happy that your new system is working don't forget to destroy the old drive.
If you open it up you can sandpaper the platters. The kidney-shaped magnets which move the heads are the strongest ones you will ever come across - worth keeping.

[fatgaz]

ty for your quick response and advice VHG

[bhg481]

VHG - your recommendation sounds good. I'm thinking of replacing my laptop disk with a larger one - I think I'll use your system.