free application to clone 1 drive to another

[p_l]

+1 for Acronis True Image. Still reliable year after year. I've successfully cloned boot drives and backup drives numerous times, plus backups I've made with it have saved my bacon on more than one occasion.

[Poppa_Meth]

The only difference seen in the video and what I see is that there are a couple of later PE versions to choose from in that step. At the screen where it has Data Base WIM checked https://youtu.be/d9O5Rhv42JE?t=59 it has a path shown which is where I believe is where the compile step is looking for Windows files required. Note that link starts the vidieo at the screen I'm talking about, and it needs to be immediately paused to see what I mean. I think in my case either that path needs to be changed or I need to copy needed files to that folder. I'm unsure what files it needs or how to change the path to the location of needed files. In that step of the video I click next which begins files download and compiling the build during which the error is generated. Any ideas about which files it looks for or how to change the path to their location?

I'm wondering if the free version doesn't include the default WIM file. I know on the version at work, which is paid, it will periodically install updates to the PE environment, indicating it's part of the Macrium program. This also seems true if you look at the file path in the guides as it points to the Macrium program folder.

[bevills1]

+1 for Acronis True Image. Still reliable year after year. I've successfully cloned boot drives and backup drives numerous times, plus backups I've made with it have saved my bacon on more than one occasion.

I've used Seagate Discwizard version 11 which is a limited version of Acronis True Image for several years with no problems, but I've had some unacceptable problems with Discwizard version 13 that's supposed to be for Win7 and later. The restore for that version 13 is done in 2 steps, delete the existing partition and then restore the saved image; version 13 will fail to restore the saved image which results in a blank partition with no files at all. I don't know if this is a problem with other True Image versions, but I'm wary of True Image for that reason.

Poppa_Meth, on my PC, in the path shown in the link it does have some winpe zip files but no winpe.wim. I wonder if it's failing to unzip those files and whether Unzipping them might resolve the problem.

[dphirschler]

Clonezilla. However, I also used Gparted afterwards to expand my partition to the new drive size.

Darryl

[bevills1]

I tried expanding the zip files which still results in error and failure to create the build to make ISO to burn to CD, and I give up on Macrium Reflect. However, I finally realized the image file name EaseUS generates can be changed to desired name simply by clicking the box where the file name appears and overwriting it with file name desired. EaseUS is very easy to use and is about twice as fast as Seagate Discwizard that I had been using for several years.

[p_l]

As a Plan B backup system, I also use EaseUS Todo Backup, and it works fine, too. Always good to have your eggs in different baskets.

[Seeker47]

I can't really speak to those adjunct, proprietary or limited editions of TI.

For the full, regular editions, I did have one issue with a more recent desktop system, where the bootable CD would not engage a connected USB keyboard -- which rendered any attempted usage a non-starter. This was with the 2012 edition of the Media Pack, which had been my reliable 'Go To.' However, when I used the 2015 edition on this rig, there was no problem, and everything proceeded normally. So, some things may change. I think a 2016 edition has since been released.

[bevills1]

This thread is a bit old, but I wanted to give an update in case it may help anyone else who may have had problems with Macrium Reflect. Recently I changed sata mode in bios from IDE to AHCI after I found ACHI drivers for WinXP for my mobo. Without those drivers WinXP will boot only if sata mode is set to IDE, and I dual boot Win10/WinXP.

I decided to give Macrium Reflect another try, and the image compiled to create rescue media with no problem. I don't know is the compile problems were because sata mode needs to be set to AHCI for Macrium Reflect to work properly or perhaps the latest Macrium Reflect version fixed the problem.

I did a test to compare Macrium Reflect and EaseUS Todo Backup. I used EaseUS Todo Backup to create a backup image of a Dell laptop to an external hard drive, and it took 2 hours and 50 minutes to complete. Then I used Macrium Reflect to perform the same task, and it took only 25 minutes to complete. Also the EaseUS Todo Backup image used 90GB of disk space versus 36.5GB of disk space for the Macrium Reflect image. I’m not sure why EaseUS uses so much more space, but I suspect it may be EaseUS must compress free space on the disk as well as the data space while Reflect compresses only the data space. Both programs were run from the rescue media to create the images

[p_l]

Since we're updating this old thread, I've abandoned Acronis True Image in favor of Macrium Reflect, but still occasionally use EaseUS Todo Backup as a plan B.

[veresov]

Acronis screwed the pooch with their first Win10 release, which was full of bugs and total lockups for many, including me. I tried for weeks to get things going. Acronis never even acknowledged the problems. I'm sure they must have lost a lot of previously loyal users.

Are they any better these days?

Macrium Reflect is my solution now too.

[Seeker47]

I still rely heavily on Acronis TI . . . but then I have older hardware and Win-7. If there truly is some continuing issue with Win-10 (which I may very reluctantly have to start using, at least on some rigs), I'll be forced to adopt other solutions. There are a number of them in this category. I mean, Norton Ghost may have been the very first such app on the market, and I believe it is still alive and kicking. Dantz Retrospect had a good reputation for awhile, and may still be around also. EaseUS was the one that was noted for being FREE. I'd heard of Macrium Reflect. The one I used besides Acronis -- also with very good results -- was Shadow Protect (not free), which may have undergone a name change.

[Seeker47]

Acronis screwed the pooch with their first Win10 release, which was full of bugs and total lockups for many, including me. I tried for weeks to get things going. Acronis never even acknowledged the problems. I'm sure they must have lost a lot of previously loyal users.

Are they any better these days? <==

Macrium Reflect is my solution now too.

I think the Acronis TI 2020 edition must be out by now. I'd certainly like to find out whether the issues you referred to got resolved, before I waste any reliance on the product with Win-10 . . . .

The last TI I had was the 2019 edition. I suppose I could run some tests, but generally have too many projects with too little spare time to adequately pursue them.

[budz]

Howzit! I haven't been on this site for years. I just used Macrium Reflect to create a rescue cd & to create image disk for a laptop that only has one nvme slot. Gotta say it was easy and didn't take long to do. Now got a bigger 500 gb nvme drive. Macrium Reflect

[p_l]

Once thing I've noticed about Macrium Reflect is that they often have software updates, like almost every month or two. While this could be a good thing and it means they're constantly perfecting their product, I've learned to be wary of good programs breaking bad. All of a sudden, they'll add in-app spam or pop-ups, add crapware to the installer, or even be taken over by a malevolent entity. There are so many good programs that have gone bad and turned on us over the years.

[Budman1]

This is an old thread, I know, but it brings a question about cloning that I cannot find answered anywhere. I tried cloning with Clonezilla and everything went ok but the new drive was placed offline due to it having the same unique ID. I tried to swap the physical location and suddenly both were online and it was a horrible mess. My question is simple for someone who has done it but...

1. Can the cloned drive be placed back in physical location 0 before you boot and will it boot from there?
2. How do I get the original drive back in the computer to format, test, etc since it still has the same Unique ID( I assume).
3..Can the new drive have its unique ID changed and still boot after the original is removed?

Having them both in before made it impossible to boot and removing/replacing after that in any combination did not seem to work.

If any one knows the answers I would appreciate it. The internet if FULL of how to clone but I can find no information after cloning on how to remove the offline status to boot from the new drive, how to place the new drive online without a conflict, Where the new boot drive has to be physically located.

Thank You

[Seeker47]

This is an old thread, I know, but it brings a question about cloning that I cannot find answered anywhere. I tried cloning with Clonezilla and everything went ok but the new drive was placed offline due to it having the same unique ID. I tried to swap the physical location and suddenly both were online and it was a horrible mess. My question is simple for someone who has done it but...

1. Can the cloned drive be placed back in physical location 0 before you boot and will it boot from there?
2. How do I get the original drive back in the computer to format, test, etc since it still has the same Unique ID( I assume).
3..Can the new drive have its unique ID changed and still boot after the original is removed?

Having them both in before made it impossible to boot and removing/replacing after that in any combination did not seem to work.

If any one knows the answers I would appreciate it. The internet if FULL of how to clone but I can find no information after cloning on how to remove the offline status to boot from the new drive, how to place the new drive online without a conflict, Where the new boot drive has to be physically located.

Thank You

I've done this procedure quite a few times, although not very recently. Further provisos: I was always using older (BIOS or "Legacy" type hardware), no UEFI, no GPT formatting or later such schemes, no RAID arrays etc. Different rules may apply for those. A key point is that I used bootable media (for Acronis or for Shadow Protect, although I'm sure various other products in this imaging category must have such solutions also), which boots up a Linux-type environment outside of and separate from the OS boot partition or entire drive that you wish to clone. That means no inaccessible locked files. More recently, I have heard of some solutions -- Driveimage XML for example -- that claim to be able to do everything from a running Windows (that you sought to clone), which kind of sounds to me like the surgeon operating on himself, but so far I have no personal knowledge of it.

Anyway, what I always did was, either: 1) Put a new HDD inside on the computer's 2nd. HDD SATA controller, temporarily disconnecting a data / storage drive from same if there was one in place, or 2) attaching an external HDD "sled" [*] via USB -- or better yet, eSATA -- containing the fresh drive that will be the "Target." Then, initialize this blank drive with Acronis Disk Director. After that, I would boot up the Acronis TI bootable disc, choose the desired options from a succession of fairly simple Menu screens, and then clone the source drive. You can easily go onto a larger HDD, and partition sizes will be adjusted, either per some automatic formula or per a scheme that you select. Going in the other size direction should be possible, perhaps a little more complicated ? You can clone a whole, multi-partition HDD this way. Once the procedure was completed, I would temporarily remove the Source boot drive -- be sure that everything is labeled, in detail with a sticker, for future reference, and include the "cloned on" date ! -- swap the clone HDD into place, and boot it up for a test. It is now an exact copy. This should work, without a problem, and you can then make any necessary adjustments. But, it is a Big No-No to try to have two identical boot drives online with the same computer at the same time ! Don' Do Dat !

Again, I have to acknowledge that my tried & true process may not be completely up-to-date, particularly as regards latter-day hardware. I recall reading something along the lines of MS with some later editions of Windows injecting some unique identifier shit into your computer BIOS. (?) If that is the case, I couldn't guarantee that everything would "line up" properly with your cloned HDD. I've heard tell of Windows throwing a fit if you simply changed video cards, and then you'd have to contact MS to re-activate your license. (?) Fortunately, I haven't had to deal with anything like that.

Also just read something suggesting that later editions of Acronis TI -- there is at least one new one every year, with added features and the subscription model they have gone over to that I don't like at all -- may be for UEFI mobos only. (?) If that has any validity, a big thumbs-down there . . . . I also have no use for the cloud-based functionality they are pushing, these days. Never had much security confidence in "the cloud." I like to have everything under local control, but that's just me.

[ * Such as this one, which I like a lot: https://plugable.com/products/usb3-sata-uasp1#faq ]

Hope this helps. Let me know if you need some additional detail, or clarity.

[Budman1]

Thank you so much for that information. Do you, or did you ever change unique ID on the source drive? And how could I do that since I cannot put it back in the same pc?
Thank you

[Seeker47]

Thank you so much for that information. Do you, or did you ever change unique ID on the source drive? And how could I do that since I cannot put it back in the same pc?
Thank you

I'm not sure why you might need to do that ? If it goes back into the original machine, as the sole boot drive (with any secondary data / storage drive having its own unique ID), that should pose no problem. Likewise if it goes into other identical or nearly identical rig, as the only boot drive. (That is one reason why I acquired multiples of the older rigs that I use. Shuttle has a lot of proprietary SFF parts, such as mobos and PSUs. These tend to go out of stock after awhile. So, buying these models used-but-in-very-good-condition also provided a good source of spare parts that became hard to find, at a rather favorable price vs. buying these spare parts new when they were still readily available. And three of these rigs, which I have found to be very capable, take up less space than a single tower desktop system.)

[All this presupposes no Windows dirty tricks of an OS serial # being inserted into your rig's CMOS -- if that is even a real thing. I'm not familiar with all the editions of Windows.]

Anyway, I probably have had to change a unique ID a couple times, though I no longer recall why or the details of it. Certainly there are tools that allow you to edit system details like that. One of them would probably be the shareware DFSEE

https://www.dfsee.com/

which I've had a license for for quite some time. However, it is a fairly tech-y tool, with a non-trivial learning curve. A good thing to have in your toolbox, though. Others may have some alternate suggestions. Perhaps Acronis Disk Director (another essential tool, in my view) has some facility for this. Or some of the Linux disk tools ?

[Budman1]

I guess I could try a USB to EIDE adapter since Usb is hot pluggable and windows SHOULD put it offline.

[p_l]

I guess I could try a USB to EIDE adapter since Usb is hot pluggable and windows SHOULD put it offline.

That's what I did.

[Seeker47]

Howzit! I haven't been on this site for years. I just used Macrium Reflect to create a rescue cd & to create image disk for a laptop that only has one nvme slot. Gotta say it was easy and didn't take long to do. Now got a bigger 500 gb nvme drive. Macrium Reflect

I'm trying out Macrium Reflect for the first time -- Version 7. (Had not been aware that they also offer a free version, albeit with lesser capabilities.) Based on just making a couple images, I'd say that it does seem to be notably faster than other imaging programs I've used. Right away, I noticed a couple things: there does not seem to be any checkbox for doing a 'Verify' pass, and the program never inquired about including a 'System Reserved' boot partition, the small one that occurs first on the boot drive. Perhaps that is assumed and included by default ? (I don't know about Windows 10, but prior to 10 it used to be that you could opt to not create a 'System Reserved' partition, and just have the Windows Boot Loader be part of the regular C: Win OS partition. However, Windows installs would default to making that extra "starter" partition ?)

It looked to me like Macrium had simplified procedures from a user perspective. Other than with the scenarios primarily considered in this thread, my attention has turned more to the claimed ability to transfer a fully installed and "App'd" Windows over to different hardware. Accomplishing this feat gets into major driver issues, the HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer), plus likely some other 'gotchas' and hoops that one needs to jump through. When Acronis first provided this feature, they called it "Universal Restore." Other imaging programs developed their own solutions for this and called it something else. I've tried doing this with Acronis, but the final result would only boot up in Safe Mode, which was not very useful. It appears that I would need to take a much deeper dive into their "U. R." documentation, which runs into quite a few pages and gets kinda technical -- at least for me. With a couple other imaging / restore programs I've glanced at, ditto. I'm hoping that the Macrium features for doing this may be more elegant in execution, and with most of the ultra-techie parts smoothed over. That would really seal the deal for me.