Question as to which process is best for my situation.
I have just downloaded ATI2016 to create an exact copy/clone of my system, currently running Win7, on a second identical HDD in preparation to upgrade to Win10. My first HDD contains two partitions (C: and D:) and the second HDD (K:) is empty. I want to be able to have both systems (7&10) bootable, just in case (of anything!) My delema is should I use the "Copy" or "Clone" proceedure! Any advice and/or tips would be greatly appreciated!


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Thank you for your rapid and knowlegeable reply to my post. I suspect/hope that you realize I am not exactly tech savvy, and with that said, I'd like to ask for your patience and understanding and provide some clarification on a few points.
I have done a "backup" of the 1st 2TB HDD (C&D) to the 2nd 2TB HDD (K). (fyi: 1st HDD, partitioned - C:=931GB w/69GB used and D:=931GB w/108GB used, 2nd HDD, K:=1.81TB w/0.49TB used). I don't have a third HDD to use.
The choices you stated, "clone with Acronis, or take a full disk image with Acronis." The Clone Disk option is listed in the Tools but I'm afraid I don't see what you mean by/with "take a full disk image with Acronis."
I'm having trouble with your "If you clone the original" paragraph. I get the switching drives part but what are you refering to with "with your offline bootable recovery media"?
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Waynbow,
Unfortunately, if you only have the two disk drives (C&D and K) then you cannot use the full disk image that you have made and stored on the K disk as this cannot be both the source and target for a backup and restore operation, or target for a clone without wiping out that backup image.
If you don't have a spare external USB disk drive of around 200 - 250GB to store the full disk backup size of your main OS boot drive (69GB + 108GB used for your C and D partitions), then you will need to just do a clone and hope that all goes well without having the safety net of having a full disk backup to fall back upon.
To perform the clone operation, please see KB document: 56634: Acronis True Image 2016: Cloning Disks which will take you through the correct steps that need to be taken, and includes a video tutorial of the process.
As Bobbo advised previously, please do not attempt the clone from within Windows (even though Acronis offers this option) - you should use the Acronis bootable Rescue Media created on CD/DVD or USB stick, and boot from this rescue media to perform the clone.
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Waynbow, I also provided a detailed answer to your PM - hope that explains things. The referenced videos should also help explain the offline recovery media a little better so you can see how it works in action.
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