Best tool for cloning a PC

zaax

Copy and paste are the best tools, as the new machine will not exectly the same as the old one.

Heedtheadvice

Sorry Zaax, but you cannot clone a disk using copy and paste!

Also sorry Carrot but for disaster recovery how if you start with new installs do you recover all your settings and your data?

The idea of a clone is that you can replicate everything easily or image used partitions. Those can then include os (single or multiple ones), programs, settings, data, boot sectors, virtual machines....enable an easy install of a new ssd, clone a master to 'production' identical machines and more.

AndyPix

Frozen_up_north wrote: »

Acronis True Image is a program, like any other, that runs on your computer.

Yes exactly - It runs on your computer - NOT on windows 10.
When you run TrueImage, you are loading it instead of windows,
Windows doesnt get a look in here .. And Acronis doesnt care what you have on the disk . It is all just data to it ..

Frozen_up_north wrote: »

I guess you can run it only stand alone, but that misses the full functionality of the software..

No - That is the whole point of imaging software

GunJack

I think that FuN s talking about having installed Acronis to run from within windows and use it's incremental backup features, rather than a full-on bootCD and imaging the hdd...

well, that's what it sounds like to me

Peter999_2

I personally like the free Paragon software here :

https://backstage.paragon-software.com/free/br-free/

I've been using it a few years and find it good.

I build the PC from fresh and take a backup when it is how I like it.

Anything I add after the backup I write it to a text file. After a few months I restore from the backup, make the changes that I kept in the text file and re-create the backup.

I find that this keeps my laptop/PCs very fast and doesn't take that long to do. I hasten to add that I keep a different image for each device - I don't try and use the same image for all devices.

AndyPix

GunJack wrote: »

I think that FuN s talking about having installed Acronis to run from within windows and use it's incremental backup features, rather than a full-on bootCD and imaging the hdd...

well, that's what it sounds like to me

Yeah, i agree .. It didnt occur to me that people may be using it like that ..


In any case, he would be posting in the wrong thread because this one is about cloning pc's, not backing up


So back to the OP, if cloning your machine is actually what you intending to do, just boot from the TruImange CD and clone your machine. What version of windows you have (If any atall) doesnt matter in the slightest

AndyPix

zaax wrote: »

Copy and paste are the best tools, as the new machine will not exectly the same as the old one.

:doh: ....

justaquestion

Well I just bought acronis true image 2018, terrible GUI to use compared to 2010 version I had, went back to it on windows 7.
I use ATI 18 on windows 10.

Macrium reflect free is just as good

warehouse

Nice amount of chat on this thread which I've found interesting so thanks.

We have a trade show early next year where I'll be looking after multiple systems, and once they're set up I want to have backup images of each one as a just in case.

The re-install of Windows isn't a possibility once the show starts but even if it was, the updates kill it every time, (did they ever release SP2 for Windows 7)?

I think the issue here might be my "oldish" version of True Image, so I'll try Reflect early next week. Many thanks folks.

GunJack

warehouse wrote: »

The re-install of Windows isn't a possibility once the show starts but even if it was, the updates kill it every time, (did they ever release SP2 for Windows 7)?

not as such, but post-SP1 rolled-up updates are available from MS

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/3185278/september-2016-update-rollup-for-windows-7-sp1-and-windows-server-2008

as a starting point...