Cloning Only One Partition Out of Several

I am using the 15 day trial version in preparation for switching from Norton Ghost to True Image.

The only thing I have found so far that might not work out form me is that I can find no way to clone just one partion out of several on a hard disk to a like sized partition on another hard disk. I can do this freely under Ghost. Is it possible to do it under True Image?

Thank you.

 

TI AFAIK only clones complete disks and is typically only used when replacing an old disk with a new one. You can make an image of a partition and then restore it to a partition on another disk though.

 

Thank you. That is what I figured. I think I can adjust my methods to make that work for me.

Thanks again.

 

Hello jsquareg,

Thank you for your interest in Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please note that Acronis True Image 9.0 Home has ability to clone disk and create backup.

Clone Disk - transfers the entire contents of one disk drive to another;

Backup - creates a special archive file for backup and disaster recovery purposes;

Please take a look at this FAQ article explaining the difference between Clone Disk and Backup approaches in more detail.

Actually, as seekforever mentioned, Clone Disk approach is usually used to upgrade/replace the hard drive (e.g. install a larger disk), while Backup approach is basically dedicated for the complete data backup and disaster recovery purposes.

Since you would like to "clone" just one partition you will be able to create the image of it and store this image to any supported storage device then restore this image to target hard drive.

Moreover, there are several advantages of creating an image over the disk cloning procedure such as: you can create an image without rebooting your PC, image creation can be scheduled for the particular point in time, Acronis True Image allows you to create incremental and differential images, image archive contains only the actual data and so it has a smaller size, images are ordinary files and so they can be stored on any type of the supported media, etc. However, the final choice is always up to your needs.

You can find more information on how to use Acronis True Image 9.0 Home in the respective User's Guide.

Thank you.
--
Aleksandr Isakov

 

I would like to suggest you stop using the term clone disk since it's transfer TI actually does. If you clone you make an identical copy, you don't transfer.

 

A transfer implies a move leaving the source deficient in what was moved. TI does not necessarily do that, it does a copy of the structure and contents. Unfortunately, disk copy in the computer world has the meaning to copy the contents and not necessarily any structure. While some of the terminology may be deficient in an English class it is the accepted terminology in this field.

 

I didn't quite understand you but if you clone something the original should not be modified in any way imo. Therefore I think it's misleading to use clone as term for what TI does.

 

There have been some posts where it was stated the original HD was wiped after the cloning.

However TI's cloning process is not supposed to change anything on the original drive unless you request it to delete after cloning. I believe there is a selection that can be made in the clone wizard that enables deleting the old drive if you wish. I don't use cloning so I don't have direct experience with it; I also would never delete the original until I was sure I was happy with the new one!

 

Hello flekstor,

Thank you for your interest in Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please note that as seekforever mentioned, during cloning process no data on the source drive will be lost because the original disk is only being read (no partitions are changed or resized) until data transfer is completed. Unless you select manual mode for clone and select "Create a new partition layout" or "Destroy data" during the clone procedure. Additional information can be found in the Chapter 7. "Transferring the system to a new disk" in the Acronis True Image 9.0 Home User Guide.

Thank you.
--
Aleksandr Isakov

 

Probably worth making the point that, when restoring the image to a drive with a different partition layout, you need to ensure that you don't also select the MBR/Track 0 option. These two previous threads refer:

<TI-9: Recovery -- MBR and/or XP Problem?> (dated May 2nd 2006)
<Reflections on Build 3567 and MBR> (dated May 4th 2006)

Regards