Members Anderton Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 So...suppose I just copy my entire C: drive over to another hard drive. Wouldn't I just be able to swap the other hard drive for the C: drive if it failed? What's the advantage to using something like Ghost to make the clone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lee Flier Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 Just file copying doesn't copy the boot sector, registry, partition info, etc. That's why you need an "image copy" of the drive rather than just copying the files. Ghost and other software like it can make a complete image clone of the drive. If it's not your OS or boot drive, then copying works fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members franknputer Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 Copying the contents of the drive isn't enough to make it bootable. There are things that won't be copied by Windows that way, which are required to boot from the disk. Once again, let me recommend Partition Commander 10 for its disk-copying utility, as well as a host of other utilities. Alternatively, you can buy just Copy Commander for $35. I've used it countless times, and it's pulled my butt out of the fire more than once. Best advantage is that you don't have to install it, unlike Ghost - the CD itself is bootable. You just connect the disks, boot from the CD, & tell it to copy - you can also resize partitions & stuff, if you have more than one on a disk. Really, a great program. (They should be paying me for this... ) :thu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spokenward Posted January 29, 2007 Members Share Posted January 29, 2007 A number of copy protection schemes generate a "key" based on identifiable machine characteristics. I kind of assumed that the physical disk was one of those characteristics. Do these partition management programs preserve or disturb the keys that were generated after a legal install? I have always been a little gunshy to test it, since they tend to be revenue generating apps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members philbo Posted January 30, 2007 Members Share Posted January 30, 2007 Another option is Partitioin Magic - - it has a partition copy command. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus Lozada Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 Ok... let's assume you clone your hard disk. Just swap it for the new one in case it fails. What happens with the software licences? The iLok ones may work fine, yes. What about those others like Ableton's Live or Sony's ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphajerk Posted January 30, 2007 Members Share Posted January 30, 2007 i would assume they all would work fine, it should know otherwise.... only one way to find out though. and yes, image is WAY different than simple copy... and for your boot disc, its image only. something i badly have to do right now since i am running out of space on my C: and need to lose the Vista partition on it to regain the full 80GB, anyone recommend a good partition killer app that wont hink up the boot drive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted January 30, 2007 Share Posted January 30, 2007 I've actually experienced both - plug-ins that ported over and worked fine, and others that failed to operate properly / required re-installation / re-authorization after restoring from a Ghost image on a new HDD. As far as hardware keying, I've gotten zapped by that one on several occasions with Win XP on my systems. Since I build my own DAWs, and I am doing updates and hardware swap-out upgrades every 6-18 months or so, my hardware changes a lot. And that definitely triggers the copy protection. If you get hit with a virus and restore from a backup, or do a reboot after a hardware swap - even a C drive swap / Ghost restore due to a HDD failure, and you'll probably be fine... but after enough changes over a period of time, or enough all at once, it triggers the prompt and you'll have to call Microsoft and explain all that to them. To their credit, they've always given me the authorization... and all my copies of Wi XP are legit and legal... but it does feel a bit uncomfortable being on the string like that. But normally if you explain that you're not like the average user of XP (who buys it for their home computer systm that they'll keep unmodded for the next four years) and why you got zapped, they're good about getting you reauthorized. Just have your legit serial number handy when you call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MorePaul Posted January 31, 2007 Members Share Posted January 31, 2007 I've actually experienced both - plug-ins that ported over and worked fine, and others that failed to operate properly / required re-installation / re-authorization after restoring from a Ghost image on a new HDD. Hi from Paris (loving every minute...but man, for the amt these guys cycle they sure ride some crazy bikes...I mean even froma "it'smy beater" perspective) anyway..Phil, did you do a default image or did you do a sector image? sometimes folks try to hide info in leftover space in clusters (that are safe from, but not addressed by the file system) and these won't get properly translated by a defualt "through the FS" image An quicky question to ask yourself is "did the fragmentation state image?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members steveg Posted February 1, 2007 Members Share Posted February 1, 2007 Craig, The rest of the time when I am not being a musician, I am an expert in computer system design and recovery strategies. A PC operating system volume has many elements that are not captured in the process of copying the visible file system to an alternate drive. You mentioned Ghost, which is an old favorite tool in this area. Ghost is the ideal tool for what you are describing, but it is based on the assumption that you undergo a backup and restore process (not too bad these days with fast DVD drives, but still extra time and effort). Another method is to have software that actively mirrors the C Drive to another physical disk. There are a few on the market. My personal favorite is slightly different, called First Defense. It creates a hidden copy of your system drive that you can instantly revert in the event of any kind of software problem, i.e. you applied a bad patch, mistakenly deleted something, got a virus etc. This can be store right on the system drive, or, on another volume. If this is a serious need you have, send me a PM and I will be happy to provide you personal support on implementing a solution. This offer is for Craig only, but anyone else who consistently creates great articles and books on subjects I love for 20+ years is entitled as well !! http://img3.harmony-central.com/acapella/ubb/wink.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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