Disk clone option

I have Acronis True Image 9.0, build 2323, installed on a stand alone computer. I use the full back up option to back up the C drive to an external hard drive connected by USB.

I have another external hard drive connected by USB that I would like to use to make a "clone" of my C drive. It is my understanding that the external drive containing the clone can be used in case the C drive fails.

My questions are these : The Help section says something about the old drive has to be "removed" after cloning. This is not correct, is it? I want to be able to continue using the C drive as I normally do.

Thanksl

 

Is this external HD connected by USB a drive that you could install in your computer as Master HD to replace your existing C: drive? If so then you should disconnect it before your computer reboots. Store it in a safe place.
If the external HD cannot be installed as Master then you could have a problem in keeping two C: drives connected to your computer. I may be wrong in this but I think very few computers if any are bootable from an external USB2 HD.

I would say the cloned USB2 external HD would have to be disconnected whether it is bootable or not. Others will chip in if I'm wrong on this.

 

First things first. You have a very old and buggy version of TI. Recommend you download Build 3677 from the Acronis website. Uninstall B2323 and then install the new build.

Normally what the manual says is true. If you clone a new drive, usually to upgrade the size, you have to disconnect the old drive and make the new drive the master or Windows will become confused. If you clone to an external USB drive then you will have to disconnect the external drive before rebooting or again Windows will become confused. See this link for some explanations. http://www.goodells.net/multiboot/partsigs.htm

 

Hello dsmith,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please accept our apologies for the delay with the response.

Please note that as dld and thomasjk said the Clone Disk tool is usually used to upgrade the hard drive (e.g. install a larger disk). The Clone Disk tool migrate/copy the entire contents of one disk drive to another, making the exact copy of Windows operating system on the destination hard drive. Therefore, this means that in most cases the old drive will be removed from the system (or formatted and used as an additional storage device). We recommend that you unplug one of the hard drives right after the disk cloning process has been finished, since keeping both original and cloned hard drives connected might cause different boot or drive letter assignment problems.

I would recommend that you take a look at this FAQ article explaining the difference between Clone Disk and Backup approaches in more detail.

Thank you.
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Aleksandr Isakov