Clarification on "Cloning" with True Image

Hi folks,

I'm new to True Image, and have what's probably a silly question, but here goes...

I've just added a new HD to my system, and want to do some experimentation with configuration changes and adding some software that has, in the past, caused coruption on my system before the new disk becomes the storage disk it's intended to be. I was assuming I could use TI cloning to simply copy my existing system drive onto the new disk, and be left with two "same" disks, and that either of them could be used as my boot disk depending on the boot order I set in the BIOS. However, everything I read in the manual, and the notes on the screen as I start the process, use the word "move" rather than "copy" when referring to the data on the original disk. The "auto" option also indicates that I have to remove the original hard disk once the data "moving" is compelete (says this in the description when you select "auto"). So, I'm a little confused. I guess my real question is, if I use the manual clone method and tell it to "keep data" on the old disk, will the original disk be left completely un-altered, and will I end up with two hard drives that can be used as the primary boot disk at will, depending on the boot order set in BIOS? Most importantly, is there any reason why the original disk cannot continue to play it's role as the primary or even only drive in the system? this is important since it will continue to be the primary disk, and the whole exercise here is to use the new disk as a crash test dummy before putting it to use as a storage drive.

Thanks,
Brian

 

You can acomplish the same thing just by imaging your current system drive and saving that to revert back to.
But to answer your question, if you have 2 identical system discs connected and boot to Windows, you will automatically get a multi-boot setup, with 2 identical entries in the boot manager. Hiding one of the drives will prevent this, and I think that Acronis gives you that option. (someone correct me if I'm wrong)

Using the new drive as storage, and saving your image there would be a good option. You can also do incremental images and this gives you the choice of restoring to any of those time points.

 

Hi, zigboo

Welcome to Wilders and Acronis Forums.

Yes all will be left unaltered, in the BIOS it will be best to make sure the HDD you will not be using is not set to auto detect. [turned off, will not be seen by the one in use]

No there is no reason.

I have never seen that option.


Take care,
TheQuest

 

Hi,

You actually touched on my end-state goal for the new drive. When I say "storage", the intent of the new disk is to allow me to create and maintain an ongoing backup of the original drive, along with providing some sorely needed space for games/music etc. The problem right now is that I have nowhere to create an image other than on the new drive, so that's why I was looking at the cloning for now until I finish experimenting with the other software that has given me issues in the past without risking my original drive. I suppose I could image the original drive onto the new drive, fiddle directly with the old drive, then restore from the new drive afterwards, but there's always the risk that the image won't restore or something, so I though that since I had a shiny new drive there, I could clone the old one, hide it in CMOS and go to town risk free on the clone, then just wipe the clone when done. I actually wasn't planning on leaving the old drive in the boot list during the "toying with death by installing new software phase".

Thanks,
Brian

 

TheQuest,

Thanks, that's exactly what I was hoping to hear. I figured that's how it would work, but the wording was scaring me since "move" and "copy" are, well, different.

Thanks again,
Brian

 

Hi, zigboo

Glad to help calm you.

Take Care,
TheQuest

 

Hello zigboo,

I'm glad that your questions were answered. Thanks TheQuest and rdgrimes for their help.

However, I would also like to add the following:

- We recommend you to unplug one of the hard drives right after the disk cloning process was finished (your PC will automatically shut down), since keeping the both source and destination hard drives connected might cause some boot problems.

- You can find all the necessary information on what happens when you select the automatic option or when you are cloning in the manual mode in chapter 7 of Acronis True Image 8.0 User's Guide.

If you have any further questions please feel free to ask.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov