Cloning a drive.

Had to give up in my attempt to clone my dual boot XP/Linspire HD.
As partitions were changed it needed a reinatall of MBR.
I have got rid of the dual boot system.
Can I now without complications do a simple clone of Linspire (Linux) to another HD and will I find that the cloned HD, boots and functions exactly as the original HD.
The wiring at rear of computer is 'tight' and difficult to release, to pull out the computer and open to change the HD, do not want to go to all that trouble 'again' to no avail.
Help/advice appreciated.

 

You only need to pull out your computer once more to fit it with a removable hard drive rack. From there on in a drive in a drawer (caddy) can be popped in and out as easily as blowing your nose !
Easily exchangable hard drives opens up many possibilities. With one or more extra drawers you can have a risk proof backup procedure and several different operating systems to trial or use with no need for dual boots etc. They have the advantage of being cheap. I have found rack/drawer assemblies for as little as £4 per unit here in the UK, I did not check the postage but spread over several units it would not add a lot.

Xpilot

 

Hello kenb,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

We are sorry for the delayed response.

Please note that you will be able to clone the Linux based system to another hard drive when booted from Acronis True Image bootable CD. Please also note that after you cloned the hard drive files are not placed to the exact same sectors they were residing on the original hard drive which "confuses" Linux loaders such as GRUB or Lilo. Therefore, you will need to re-activate Linux loader. Please have a look at this post about how to re-activate GRUB and this thread about re-activation of Lilo .

Thank you.
--
Aleksandr Isakov

 

My Response:
After emails to you. Your replies gave totally misleading information.
e.g. 'If the partitions are changed, you may need to reinstall the MBR'.
Having made two attempts to clone using the manual and then the automatic
method, on both occasions the partitions ARE CHANGED, there is NO CHOICE in the matter. This makes a nonsense of your statement 'IF the Partitions etc.
Your product information is not true and accurate and a support request question met with the misinformation as described.
<snip> Having seen your software advertising and having emailed you with these questions,and with your subsequent replies, it is was a dismal experience and a waste of my time and money.

edited to remove off-topic comment - Detox