Can I clone my system drive?
I have the folowing (Windows 7, 64bit):
256Gb SSD with all software on it.
500Gb HDD with all public folders + user docs (My docs, pictures, video etc)
750Gb HDD with 250Gb partion (currently identical to SSD) and 500Gb partition used as a backup for user files.
Can I use any Acronis product to periodically clone the SSD to the 250Gb partition on the HDD so that if the SSD fails I can just redirect the boot order and everything will boot up and work?
I have read that I can make a compacted image of the SSD and restore that image but that is not the question - if the SSD fails I want to be able to boot in the original state rather than have to find some other way of starting the computer and then some way to run software to restore an image.
You could possibly do a clone of the SSD to the 750GB drive, but even if your are successful, Windows may have problems booting correctly because of seeing two active boot partitions in the same system and will assign different drive letters to your cloned drive once you boot into Windows after cloning, therefore negating the possiblity to just change the boot order in the bios.
I currently have 2 active boot partitions and can boot either from the SSD or the Windows partition on the 750Gb drive just by enter the BIOS and setting the relevant disk in the boot options. The issue is that online info says that if I clone the SSD to the 750Gb drive it will destroy the partition and hence delete all my backup files in the 500Gb partition. What I am asking is if it is possible to clone the SSD to a partition and not lose what is in the other partition without going through two steps - firstly creating a compreesed image of the SSD and then restoring that image to the relevant partition on the 750Gb drive.
You may want to take a look at Acronis Disk Director, as it has the ability to copy, move, re-size, etc, partitions from one drive to another as opposed to cloning a hard drive from one to the other.
Hi Lorne,
To ensure maximum protection, your desired outcome will likely involve two or more steps any way you look at it. Like flashing a BIOS, there is always a certain level of risk when cloning a drive. This is why we recommend performing regular "Disk Mode" back-ups which does not put a boot drive at risk, and provides the ability to restore the disk's data and partition structure to another piece of hardware should that disk fail.
As James points out, DD supports dual boot environments and might be an option for you. He also makes a strong case as for why not to rely on the BIOS to select the partition or disk you want to boot from. We aren't saying this doesn't work, it's just not a reliable way to ensure your data is safeguarded.