Hard disk cloning software

[AnthonyAshForever]

hello people,im not sure if this is on the right section,just kindly inform me i really am lol

i just wanted to know what is the best software for cloning an hdd
its either free or not im willing to get any,i tried to search the net but there are too many to choose from so wanted your suggestions if any of you guys are using cloning softwares..

thank you

 

[USAFRet]

Free - Macrium Reflect, Easus ToDo. I have used both.

Of course, a little investigation is needed first.
How big is the new drive?
How much used space is on the current drive?
Why are you doing this?

 

[jimmysmitty]

If you want a good paid for alternative, I have always liked Acronis. Works great and typically supports everything, even Mac based HDDs.

 

[AnthonyAshForever]

@USAFret
thanks,ill check two,im planning to change my hdd and i dont wanna lose any of my settings + important files in programfiles and program data folder,its really hard to dig in just to back up those files,so i decided to try cloning
my current is 250 and partitioned into 2 ( 90 & 130 )
then im gonna clone it into my new 500gb hdd

@jimmysmitty
ill those too,i gotta check the trials first

 

[Alabalcho]

Clonning a drive is all-or-nothing - you will get exact copy of your original drive. You cannont clone just Program Files or Program Data.

 

[AnthonyAshForever]

@Alabalcho - yes sir i know exactly what you mean and thats exactly what i wanted to do coz i dont wanna install another fresh install of an OS + all the apps required,its like i just wanna transfer all my 250gb hdd files+settings into my 500gb hdd

@ALL
another question by the way
my current 250 HDD is partitioned into 2 like this ( 98. - 134 )
if i clone this on a 500gb,do i need to partition the 500GB like ( 98 - 134 - 250 )
or i can just partition the 500 like this ( 100 - 400 )

 

[USAFRet]

@Alabalcho - yes sir i know exactly what you mean and thats exactly what i wanted to do coz i dont wanna install another fresh install of an OS + all the apps required,its like i just wanna transfer all my 250gb hdd files+settings into my 500gb hdd

@ALL
another question by the way
my current 250 HDD is partitioned into 2 like this ( 98. - 134 )
if i clone this on a 500gb,do i need to partition the 500GB like ( 98 - 134 - 250 )
or i can just partition the 500 like this ( 100 - 400 )

Depending on the software, if you migrate the whole disk, it should intelligently partition/resize as needed.
No initial partitioning needed on your part.

It should show you, before you hit the GO button, exactly what the result will be.

 

[guywhotypeslow]

I use Clonezilla (free). It will be able to copy your whole drive, and be able to reallocate the extra space on your larger drive without you needing to do any repartitioning outside of clonezilla. It runs from a bootable disk, so you have to be able make a bootable disk(or usb), or you can buy bootable disks already made, but you have to be sure they will work with your system.

 

[AnthonyAshForever]

alright thank you guys for that infos..
ill try all of those and test it just to be sure..

you guys are awesome

 

[drsantafe]

I've been using Acronis since the company was formed and have had paid subscriptions since 2009. The earlier use was with the free versions that are provided by hard disk makers, like WD. But it seems to me that that they are slipping. I've had real, days long problems getting a good clone and with UEFI usually their Windows based clone fails then you need to use a USB recovery program and then....the cloned image is the one that is bootable and must be removed to boot from the original. I like to clone my SDD to a hard drive and if I use Acronis I have to pull the hard drive to get back to the SDD no matter what settings I use in Bios.

So...I'm going to try and find a better way. I like cloned drives as my fail safe backups and Acronis just doesn't do it anymore.

 

[USAFRet]

I've been using Acronis since the company was formed and have had paid subscriptions since 2009. The earlier use was with the free versions that are provided by hard disk makers, like WD. But it seems to me that that they are slipping. I've had real, days long problems getting a good clone and with UEFI usually their Windows based clone fails then you need to use a USB recovery program and then....the cloned image is the one that is bootable and must be removed to boot from the original. I like to clone my SDD to a hard drive and if I use Acronis I have to pull the hard drive to get back to the SDD no matter what settings I use in Bios.

So...I'm going to try and find a better way. I like cloned drives as my fail safe backups and Acronis just doesn't do it anymore.

Macrium Reflect.