Write new HDD clone on SSD that was used to clone other HDD previously
Hi !
I cloned the HDD of a "new" computer, that was meant to replace my old one, to a brand new SSD so that "new" computer would be as fast as it could be. Everything with cloning went well, but new computer not to my liking, so I want to clone HDD of old computer to the same SSD to speed up old computer so I can keep using it and give new computer to a friend
Anything to do to SD before recloning ? Format, partition,...?
Will True image just overwrite what's on SSD and I have nothing to worry about or do I have to do something first ?
Thank you for your help !


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I didn't think there would be a risk for the "source" disk when making a clone of it as I associate that with making a COPY of it, like any copy of a file, folder,...
Could you explain what can go wrong and why ? When Acronis gives detailed steps to clone your HDD, they never mention having to make a backup before.
thank you !
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Sebastien, the key risk to the source disk when cloning is when the clone is started from within Windows rather than using the recommended Acronis bootable Rescue media to do this completely outside of Windows. The other risk is of user errors when selecting the source and target drives.
It is recommended that a full disk backup of the source drive should be made before attempting the clone operation so that if anything goes wrong there is a route to get back to your starting point. I have personally dealt with one user recently in these forums who started a clone from within Windows and now has a completely unbootable system where it looks like the only method of recovery will be a full Windows OS install from scratch.
There are a number of good KB documents on the subject of cloning that you should read before going ahead with this type of action.
56634: Acronis True Image: Cloning Disks
1540: Difference between Backup and Disk Clone
45831: Acronis Software: Unbootable System after Cloning Operation
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Thank you very much Steve !
I'm doing the cloning from bootable disc, so should be ok, but I'll go read the articles you mentionned nonetheless.
Thank you, happy holidays !
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On another note, cloning is "on the fly" and it is possible to clone in the wrong direction. The user guide recommends backing up before cloning as a precaution - just in case. Others have also attempted to boot the system with both the source and new clone installed at the same time.. resulting in corrupted bootloaders on both drives because the firmware could not differentiate between both drives and overwrote both of them.
Before any MAJOR changes - whether that be in the OS, or attempting to clone or change hard drives, a backup is always recommended as a precaution - it's your only safety net in case something should go wrong - and things do go wrong for a number of reasons that vary from system to system.
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