Cloning HD using B&R 10 FREEBIE - mission impossible ???

I'm trying to "clone" existing HD to new one using B&R 10 (free) but am very confused.
(1) Paragon's knowledge base distinguishes between 'backup' and 'copy'. Apparently 'copy' includes cloning but 'backup' is intended to be used only with subsequent restore. KB also warns that "copy partition or HDD functionality is no more available in Drive Backup 9.0 Personal Edition" which may also mean it is no more avail in B&R 10 FREEBIE either.
(2) Paragon provides a user manual for B&R 10 SUITE but NOT the freebie product. The user manual for 10 SUITE includes 'copy' description but there is no apparent 'copy' function in the freebie (only backup).
(3) while attempting to BACKUP the entire existing C: hd to an identical hd i selected: basic HD 0, 1st track, MBR, local disk * (Dell utility partition), local disk C: but an err msg "specify where to find next archive volume" resulted.

So my questions are:
(a) can a HD be cloned with B&R 10 FREEBIE ? If not, is B&R 10 SUITE or Hard Drive Mgr product needed for cloning/copy ?
(b) assuming cloning is not supported in freebie, how can the HD be properly BACKED-UP to another internal HD without causing the err msg (abt location of next archive volume) ?
(c) which parameter(s) in (3) above were wrong for HD backup ?
(d) is best use of B&R 10 FREE for backing up to external USB drive ?

Any other suggestions for providing protection using Paragon products will be GREATLY appreciated. Thanx.

Bewildered Bob
Palm Bay, FL

 

Hello Bob,

Primarily B&R 10 Free is for backing up and archiving your data. To make an exact clone, is to take one step further and restore that backup archive to your destination hard drive. I believe if you're receiving "specify where to find next archive volume" is in error. Are you restoring from the Linux/Dos recovery CD?

If the two internal hard drives are within the same machine, you can backup and restore in Windows and I would recommend doing that than using the recovery CD.

 

An exact clone is a sector-by-sector copy, which is different to restoring an image.

 

Hello Paragon_Tommy: thanx for the quick reply. Obviously i did not realize that "cloning" is a TWO STEP operation (even tho both source & target HDs are identical).

The backup failed with the err msg abt looking for the next volume so apparently there is something else i don't understand abt backing up. Were the wrong parms entered when i began the backup?

Only Win XP was used for this test - no Linux or DOS.

Is Paragon Hard Disk Manager (or B&R Suite) a better choice with more options than B&R Free ?

Bewildered Bob
Palm Bay, FL

 

Hello Robin: does B&R 10 FREE support "sector-by-sector copy" (cloning) or is a different product needed ?

Thanx.
Bewildered Bob

 

I am not familiar with B&R Free. There are several free tools to clone a disk, including EASEUS Disk Copy and Partition Wizard Home Edition.

 

It is really semantics.

An image will contain a copy ( clone ) of the used sectors on the drive.

If you restore that to another HD - you will have a clone of the used sectors on the other HD - which is what you need - the o/s and all files are exactly replicated.

It is also possible, as Robin pointed out, to clone all the sectors on the HD, not just the used ones - that is a sector by sector clone.

Sector by sector clone is useful if , e.g. you want to take the HD away for forensics - to recover deleted files , for example.

Disk Copy is not included in the B&R10 Free - however, by restoring a Paragon image - you will have what you need for a bootable HD with the o/s and all your programs and files on it.

 

SIW2: THANX for the clarification - it helps a lot !!

You wrote: "Disk Copy is not included in the B&R10 Free - however, by restoring a Paragon image - you will have what you need for a bootable HD with the o/s and all your programs and files on it." That is exactly what i am attempting BUT the original backup failed for some obscure reason (see prior post abt locating next volume for backup) - possibly because i tried to backup both the Dell 'utility partition' as well as the C: partition and MBR to an identical NEW internal HD. To successfully clone the existing HD would you suggest backing it up to EXTERNAL USB and restoring to the new drive (D) ? If i understand correctly this will result in the equivalent of a "cloning copy" (which is not included in B&R 10 Free). The new HD can then be re-mounted, re-booted and used as C:

Best wishes,
Bewildered Bob
Palm Bay, FL

 

Not sure what happened during your original backup attempt.

Yes, restoring an image to a new HD (including the mbr) should result in what you want.

If you have 2 HD's with the same Disk Signature, Windows will change the Disk Signature on one of them

A solution to this if offered by Alan Adams