Upgrading a laptop HD to a large size

Here's the scenario, and I'm a bit confused over the simplest way to do
this:

I've got a laptop with a 80GB internal 2.5" HD that I'd like to replace with
a much larger internal 2.5" drive (perhaps 250 GB). The problem is how to
simply do this AND retain all the software already installed on the original
drive in its exact form (either by cloning or imaging it).

I've got Acronis True Image, which can be used for either cloning or imaging
it, and I also have an external, USB connected, HD enclosure and 3.5" drive,
which can be used for temporarily storing the clone (or image) backup.

My confusion lies over how to easily do all this.

I'm assuming I need to first either clone (or image) the internal 80GB drive
over to the HD enclosure drive, and then remove the internal 80GB drive and
stick in the new blank drive.

And then boot up Acronis on a bootable pen drive, and then either clone the
external HD enclosure drive contents back to the new internal drive OR
choose to restore an image backup saved on that enclosure drive (which might
be even simpler, come to think of it).

This is a bit messy and could be problematic, no? Am I missing anything
here? Thanks in advance.

On 12/10/2013 9:30 PM, Bill in Co wrote:
Here's the scenario, and I'm a bit confused over the simplest way to do
this:

I've got a laptop with a 80GB internal 2.5" HD that I'd like to replace with
a much larger internal 2.5" drive (perhaps 250 GB). The problem is how to
simply do this AND retain all the software already installed on the original
drive in its exact form (either by cloning or imaging it).

I've got Acronis True Image, which can be used for either cloning or imaging
it, and I also have an external, USB connected, HD enclosure and 3.5" drive,
which can be used for temporarily storing the clone (or image) backup.

My confusion lies over how to easily do all this.

I'm assuming I need to first either clone (or image) the internal 80GB drive
over to the HD enclosure drive, and then remove the internal 80GB drive and
stick in the new blank drive.

And then boot up Acronis on a bootable pen drive, and then either clone the
external HD enclosure drive contents back to the new internal drive OR
choose to restore an image backup saved on that enclosure drive (which might
be even simpler, come to think of it).

This is a bit messy and could be problematic, no? Am I missing anything
here? Thanks in advance.




Bill:

I would do this by temporarily installing the new 2.5" drive in the
external USB enclosure then *clone* the existing 80 Gig drive to it.
Most cloning programs will let you move a small drive to a larger one
with no problems. When you are done remove the new 2.5" drive from the
external USB inclosure and install it in the laptop. I did a similar
upgrade a while back using this technique.

John
--
\\\||///
------------------o000----(o)(o)----000o----------------
----------------------------()--------------------------
'' Madness takes its toll - Please have exact change. ''

John Dulak - 40.4888ºN,79.899ºW - http://tinyurl.com/3lvoh2n

John Dulak wrote:
On 12/10/2013 9:30 PM, Bill in Co wrote:
Here's the scenario, and I'm a bit confused over the simplest way to do
this:

I've got a laptop with a 80GB internal 2.5" HD that I'd like to replace
with
a much larger internal 2.5" drive (perhaps 250 GB). The problem is how
to
simply do this AND retain all the software already installed on the
original
drive in its exact form (either by cloning or imaging it).

I've got Acronis True Image, which can be used for either cloning or
imaging
it, and I also have an external, USB connected, HD enclosure and 3.5"
drive,
which can be used for temporarily storing the clone (or image) backup.

My confusion lies over how to easily do all this.

I'm assuming I need to first either clone (or image) the internal 80GB
drive
over to the HD enclosure drive, and then remove the internal 80GB drive
and
stick in the new blank drive.

And then boot up Acronis on a bootable pen drive, and then either clone
the
external HD enclosure drive contents back to the new internal drive OR
choose to restore an image backup saved on that enclosure drive (which
might
be even simpler, come to think of it).

This is a bit messy and could be problematic, no? Am I missing anything
here? Thanks in advance.




Bill:

I would do this by temporarily installing the new 2.5" drive in the
external USB enclosure then *clone* the existing 80 Gig drive to it.
Most cloning programs will let you move a small drive to a larger one
with no problems. When you are done remove the new 2.5" drive from the
external USB inclosure and install it in the laptop. I did a similar
upgrade a while back using this technique.

John

Sounds like a great idea, if my Vantec NextStar3 enclosure will readily
connect to a tiny 2.5 inch drive, but I didn't think the connectors would
physically match. The connectors on the 2.5 inch laptop drive are really
small. I guess I'll have to check into this.

Bill in Co wrote:
John Dulak wrote:
On 12/10/2013 9:30 PM, Bill in Co wrote:
Here's the scenario, and I'm a bit confused over the simplest way to do
this:

I've got a laptop with a 80GB internal 2.5" HD that I'd like to replace
with
a much larger internal 2.5" drive (perhaps 250 GB). The problem is how
to
simply do this AND retain all the software already installed on the
original
drive in its exact form (either by cloning or imaging it).

I've got Acronis True Image, which can be used for either cloning or
imaging
it, and I also have an external, USB connected, HD enclosure and 3.5"
drive,
which can be used for temporarily storing the clone (or image) backup.

My confusion lies over how to easily do all this.

I'm assuming I need to first either clone (or image) the internal 80GB
drive
over to the HD enclosure drive, and then remove the internal 80GB drive
and
stick in the new blank drive.

And then boot up Acronis on a bootable pen drive, and then either clone
the
external HD enclosure drive contents back to the new internal drive OR
choose to restore an image backup saved on that enclosure drive (which
might
be even simpler, come to think of it).

This is a bit messy and could be problematic, no? Am I missing anything
here? Thanks in advance.



Bill:

I would do this by temporarily installing the new 2.5" drive in the
external USB enclosure then *clone* the existing 80 Gig drive to it.
Most cloning programs will let you move a small drive to a larger one
with no problems. When you are done remove the new 2.5" drive from the
external USB inclosure and install it in the laptop. I did a similar
upgrade a while back using this technique.

John

Sounds like a great idea, if my Vantec NextStar3 enclosure will readily
connect to a tiny 2.5 inch drive, but I didn't think the connectors would
physically match. The connectors on the 2.5 inch laptop drive are really
small. I guess I'll have to check into this.


The NexStar3 comes in at least three flavors. If you had
the 3.5" one with 40 pin IDE, you could use an adapter
like this, to convert to the 44 pin pattern for a 2.5" drive.
Then, you need to check the length difference between a
2.5" and a 3.5" drive, to see if this adapter can fit.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA20A0Y40701

Your NexStar looks like it may have a metal "tray" area,
with a plate on the end that would limit the maximum length.

http://images.highspeedbackbone.net/...V13-3210-f.JPG

2.5" drives come in SATA and 44 pin IDE. 3.5" drives
come in SATA and 40 pin IDE. There are a few permutations
possible, in terms of adaptations. I've only covered
one possible case.

*******

Software operating in its "cloning" role, will typically
offer to resize the thing for you. You could try Macrium
Reflect Free, if you can't find anything else. It does
clones (direct copy) and backups (image file).

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx (bottom left corner)

Don't forget to disconnect the original drive, before
booting the clone. The clone should boot by itself, before
you consider connecting the other drive up to it again.

Paul

Bill in Co wrote:
Here's the scenario, and I'm a bit confused over the simplest way to
do this:

I've got a laptop with a 80GB internal 2.5" HD that I'd like to
replace with a much larger internal 2.5" drive (perhaps 250 GB). The
problem is how to simply do this AND retain all the software already
installed on the original drive in its exact form (either by cloning
or imaging it).
I've got Acronis True Image, which can be used for either cloning or
imaging it, and I also have an external, USB connected, HD enclosure
and 3.5" drive, which can be used for temporarily storing the clone
(or image) backup.
My confusion lies over how to easily do all this.

I'm assuming I need to first either clone (or image) the internal
80GB drive over to the HD enclosure drive, and then remove the
internal 80GB drive and stick in the new blank drive.

And then boot up Acronis on a bootable pen drive, and then either
clone the external HD enclosure drive contents back to the new
internal drive OR choose to restore an image backup saved on that
enclosure drive (which might be even simpler, come to think of it).

This is a bit messy and could be problematic, no? Am I missing
anything here? Thanks in advance.

Just make an image using Acronis of the entire drive on your USB drive, Boot the
Acronis bootable drive (USB or CD) with the new drive installed, and restore the
image to the new drive. No big deal.

Bob F wrote:
Bill in Co wrote:
Here's the scenario, and I'm a bit confused over the simplest way to
do this:

I've got a laptop with a 80GB internal 2.5" HD that I'd like to
replace with a much larger internal 2.5" drive (perhaps 250 GB). The
problem is how to simply do this AND retain all the software already
installed on the original drive in its exact form (either by cloning
or imaging it).
I've got Acronis True Image, which can be used for either cloning or
imaging it, and I also have an external, USB connected, HD enclosure
and 3.5" drive, which can be used for temporarily storing the clone
(or image) backup.
My confusion lies over how to easily do all this.

I'm assuming I need to first either clone (or image) the internal
80GB drive over to the HD enclosure drive, and then remove the
internal 80GB drive and stick in the new blank drive.

And then boot up Acronis on a bootable pen drive, and then either
clone the external HD enclosure drive contents back to the new
internal drive OR choose to restore an image backup saved on that
enclosure drive (which might be even simpler, come to think of it).

This is a bit messy and could be problematic, no? Am I missing
anything here? Thanks in advance.

Just make an image using Acronis of the entire drive on your USB drive,
Boot
the Acronis bootable drive (USB or CD) with the new drive installed, and
restore the image to the new drive. No big deal.

Yeah, this may be the simplest approach. I'm not sure if I need to somehow
prep (format) the new HD before I install it or not, but I guess not. (?)
Maybe the partition restoration process will automatically take care of
that, but I'm not sure.

Bill in Co wrote:


Yeah, this may be the simplest approach. I'm not sure if I need to somehow
prep (format) the new HD before I install it or not, but I guess not. (?)
Maybe the partition restoration process will automatically take care of
that, but I'm not sure.


Don't worry, they'll take care of you.

They don't make you run off and use DiskPart or something.

Good restoration software will:

1) Identify all the drives by model number.
2) Show you what partitions are on there.
3) Prompt for approval, before blowing them away.
4) In cases where a "surgical replacement" is required,
you can select a partition to be overwritten.
When the partition is the wrong size, the software
will resize the stored partition on the fly.
As long as there is enough room for
all the files to be stored on the target, it'll run.

Paul

From: "Bill in Co"

Here's the scenario, and I'm a bit confused over the simplest way to do this:

I've got a laptop with a 80GB internal 2.5" HD that I'd like to replace with a much
larger internal 2.5" drive (perhaps 250 GB). The problem is how to simply do this AND
retain all the software already installed on the original drive in its exact form
(either by cloning or imaging it).

I've got Acronis True Image, which can be used for either cloning or imaging it, and I
also have an external, USB connected, HD enclosure and 3.5" drive, which can be used for
temporarily storing the clone (or image) backup.

My confusion lies over how to easily do all this.

I'm assuming I need to first either clone (or image) the internal 80GB drive over to the
HD enclosure drive, and then remove the internal 80GB drive and stick in the new blank
drive.

And then boot up Acronis on a bootable pen drive, and then either clone the external HD
enclosure drive contents back to the new internal drive OR choose to restore an image
backup saved on that enclosure drive (which might be even simpler, come to think of it).

This is a bit messy and could be problematic, no? Am I missing anything here? Thanks
in advance.

Using an extenal USB,m Firewire or ESTATA hard diskm clone the system to an image on the
external hard disk.
Replace the 80GB with a new drive.
Restore the image you made to to new drive.

Simple !

I use Symantec Ghost but a program like CloneZilla will do it.


--
Dave
Multi-AV Scanning Tool - http://multi-av.thespykiller.co.uk
http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp

On 12/10/2013 10:28 PM, Bill in Co wrote:


Sounds like a great idea, if my Vantec NextStar3 enclosure will readily
connect to a tiny 2.5 inch drive, but I didn't think the connectors would
physically match. The connectors on the 2.5 inch laptop drive are really
small. I guess I'll have to check into this.



Bill:

The *SATA* connectors on 2.5" and 3.5" drives are identical. if the
drives in question are IDE (PATA) there are cheap adapters to convert.
Since this is just a temporary setup I would not worry too much about
physical mounting the smaller drive. just get one screw into it.

John


--
\\\||///
------------------o000----(o)(o)----000o----------------
----------------------------()--------------------------
'' Madness takes its toll - Please have exact change. ''

John Dulak - 40.4888ºN,79.899ºW - http://tinyurl.com/3lvoh2n

Assuming that the drives have the same interface I would install the new
one in the laptop, the old one in the external enclosure, boot off the
Acronis (CD or bootable flash) and use the utility program to clone from
old to new. No need for an intermediate media. Think I had to make & use
an Acronis recovery CD for one in the past where there was an issue with
controllers.

David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Bill in Co"

I've got Acronis True Image,


I use Symantec Ghost but a program like CloneZilla will do it.

You don't think Acronis will do it?

Bob F wrote:
David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Bill in Co"

I've got Acronis True Image,


I use Symantec Ghost but a program like CloneZilla will do it.

You don't think Acronis will do it?

I think all of them will. He's probably just suggesting some alternatives.

From: "Bob F"

David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Bill in Co"

I've got Acronis True Image,


I use Symantec Ghost but a program like CloneZilla will do it.

You don't think Acronis will do it?


No. I "know" it will.

As Bill in Co indicated, I am "suggesting some alternatives". There is a myriad of
software for cloning. One just needs to get aquainted with one or two and you them to
their *BEST* adbantage.


--
Dave
Multi-AV Scanning Tool - http://multi-av.thespykiller.co.uk
http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp

edfair wrote:
Assuming that the drives have the same interface I would install the
new one in the laptop, the old one in the external enclosure, boot
off the Acronis (CD or bootable flash) and use the utility program to
clone from old to new. No need for an intermediate media. Think I had
to make & use an Acronis recovery CD for one in the past where there
was an issue with controllers.

Hey! That intermediate media is a current backup, which he should be doing
anyway in my book.

In message , David H. Lipman
writes:
From: "Bill in Co"

Here's the scenario, and I'm a bit confused over the simplest way to do this:

I've got a laptop with a 80GB internal 2.5" HD that I'd like to
replace with a much
larger internal 2.5" drive (perhaps 250 GB). The problem is how to
simply do this AND
retain all the software already installed on the original drive in
its exact form
(either by cloning or imaging it).

I've got Acronis True Image, which can be used for either cloning or
imaging it, and I
also have an external, USB connected, HD enclosure and 3.5" drive,
which can be used for
temporarily storing the clone (or image) backup.
[]
(A)
Using an extenal USB,m Firewire or ESTATA hard diskm clone the system
to an image on the
external hard disk.
Replace the 80GB with a new drive.
(B)
Restore the image you made to to new drive.

Simple !

I use Symantec Ghost but a program like CloneZilla will do it.


Whichever (Ghost, CloneZilla, Acronis, Macrium [which ones are free by
the way?]), I presume both (A) and (B) have to be done while booted to
whichever, rather than from the running Windows XP system. (Obviously
(B) does as the XP disc isn't now there to boot from.) Or can (A) be
done from the OS being cloned/imaged/whatever?

Does the new drive need partitioning/formatting/whatever first? If not,
will the final system look like (in Bill's case) an 80G drive/partition,
and the rest of the new drive then have to be set up? (Or is that the
difference between a clone and an image, which two terms - along with
"backup" - tend to be jumbled these days?)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Veni, Vidi, Vera (I came, I saw, we'll meet again) - Mik from S+AS Limited
), 1998