Can I add a hard disk to cloned disk for single disk restore?
Okay, so that is a strange subject, but I didn't know a better way to make it a single line.
Here's what I'm trying to do. I have a Windows Vista machine with two hard disks that I want to replace with a single larger hard disk.
My installed equipment now:
Disk 0: 160 GB IDE disk with a single partition (E: 152.67 GB).
It contains only data, photos, and install programs.
Disk 1: 500 GB SATA disk in 3 partitions (B: 100 GB, C: 350.57 GB, D: 15.19 GB)
It has a bad boot sector causing the boot partition to need a Startup Repair frequently.
The replacement disk
1.5 TB brand new SATA disk
I was going to do a clone of Disk 1 and then add the contents of Disk 0 to it, but there won't be a 4th partition to add to if I do the clone. Once I do whatever process works best, I need to boot from the new disk and empty the old disks for destruction or reuse.
Any better ideas than the one I had?
Also available is an external USB 2TB drive that I lack confidence in since I already had to repair the partition and I didn't have anything on it yet. I will be doing regular backups to another device that I haven't installed yet.


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I would have responded sooner, but I didn't get a notification of your reply so many days ago.
Your response confused me a little. Disk1 is the boot disk. Removing that means the computer will not boot. I think what you said matches what I was going to do, but with different disk identifiers.
This is what I think I should do. I've changed the disk names for clarity. Please tell me if it is a good plan.
1. Disconnect DataDisk and replace with new blank 1.5TB disk.
2. Boot to SystemDisk (or should I boot to the Acronis disk?)
Did you say I should do a backup first and THEN a clone? I don't understand the reasoning for that. I suppose I coud use the external 2TB drive, but that seems overly complicated for me with all the boot and drive switching going on.
3. Clone SystemDisk to 1.5TB disk.
4. Switch drives in bios so that Windows boots from 1.5TB disk. Verify that all is well.
5. Remove SystemDisk and reinstall DataDisk.
6. Add a partition to 1.5TB disk (I assume you meant EaseUS Partition Manager. Won't Windows Computer Management be able to do the same thing?)
7. Copy all files from DataDisk to new partition on 1.5TB disk.
After setting up backup system, I can erase & redeploy DataDisk and erase & destroy the malfunctioning SystemDisk.
Side question: Since SystemDisk keeps requiring the partition to be repaired, would reformatting it create a new partition area that won't be affected by a bad sector? Or should I just destroy it and be thankful I saved everything?
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Sorry yes, I got confused between the 2 disks
>1. Disconnect DataDisk and replace with new blank 1.5TB disk.
>2. Boot to System Disk to verify the system boots correctly without Disk0.
>2b. Do a backup first and THEN a clone. You can try with a backup, but a clone operation is always risky since both the source and the destination disks are at the same time in the same. A user error or power/hardware issue would threaten both disks. Your call. I'd take the time and take the additional insurance of a backup.
>3. Boot on the Acronis Recovery CD and then Clone SystemDisk to 1.5TB disk.
>4a. First, remove the SystemDisk, then switch drives in bios so that Windows boots from 1.5TB disk. Verify that all is well. DO NOT reboot with both the source and cloned disk completed in the system at the same time.
>5. Reinstall DataDisk.
>6. Add a partition to 1.5TB disk (I assume you meant EaseUS Partition Manager. Windows Computer Management might be able to do the same thing, or not, depending on the placement of your partitions. If you have a system or recovery partition as the last partition, you will need a disk management tool to move it around.
>7. Copy all files from DataDisk to new partition on 1.5TB disk.
After setting up backup system, erase or redeploy DataDisk and erase/destroy the malfunctioning SystemDisk
You can try to reuse your System disk by doing the following, using:
- command prompt, DISKPART, List Disk, Select Disk X (where X is the number corresponding to the old SystemDISK - CAUTION), Clean
- windows disk management, create new simple volume on blank disk, reformat
- run chkdsk /r on the new partitions from time to time to make sure the bad blocks are under control by NTFS
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Thank you so much. I have two questions.
The Acronis disk that came with the product says "Bootable DVD". It doesn't say Recovery CD. Are you speaking of this same disk even though it doesn't say it?
Should I boot to this disk to do the Backup (not the clone) or will a regular boot to SystemDisk suffice?
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I never bought the product with a physical DVD, but it is a good guess that the physical DVD on which Acronis is shipped has the same function as the recovery CD that you can produce from the software running on Windows.
Try it anyway. You need to make sure you can boot the computer on it, use your mouse and keyboard, browse your disks, access your backup, ...
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Pat L, I forgot to thank you for your help. I got the system disk replaced and it is working. I haven't cleaned the disk yet. That will be happening soon enough.
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