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Using TI to copy OS from Partitioned to Unpartitioned HDD

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I wish to transfer Windows Vista from a partitioned ITB HDD to an 500 GB unpartitioned HDD.  Cloning is probably not feasible as I'm going from a larger to a smaller drive, and I also don't want to copy both partitions.

 Could I use TI to copy only the OS partition over to the new unpartitioned HDD?  Will this drive boot?

Furthermore, could I then turn the two partitions of the old drive into one partition, whilst at the same time saving the data that's on the second partition.

Before I venture into this exercise I would appreciate some feedback from those more experienced with this procedure.

Thank you.

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Assuming TI works properly on your computer, it should be able to do what you want.

You would make an image of the original drive. I would recommend an Entire Disk Image (backup the whole drive). Then restore the Windows partition and the MBR to the 500GB drive. Finally, remove the existing partitions from the old drive and restore the second partition to it, resizing as desired.

Partitioning software (such as Disk Director) can also be used to make the changes to the 1TB drive after you have the 500GB drive setup how you want.

However you do it, make sure you have a good backup image of the drive first. I would also keep the 1TB drive intact (no changes) until you have the 500GB drive booting and running properly on its own.

Thanks for the helpful response MudCrab. 

I have another 1TB drive on a Linux system that can be used to back up the entire image. 

Incidentally, I trust that the MBR will be included when the Windows partition is restored ... or is this a separate procedure?

In any case, I'll start the backup now as it will take many hours over the network.

Cheers,

Ron

The MBR may or may not be restored at the same time as the partition. It depends on the version of TI you're using and the restore type selected. If no bootable MBR code exists on the drive, TI should place a generic version on it. If using TI 2009 or later, I would probably restore the partition and then the MBR (as separate procedures) since you're doing a resize.

MudCrab wrote:

The MBR may or may not be restored at the same time as the partition. It depends on the version of TI you're using and the restore type selected. If no bootable MBR code exists on the drive, TI should place a generic version on it. If using TI 2009 or later, I would probably restore the partition and then the MBR (as separate procedures) since you're doing a resize.

If not doing a resize, is restoring both in one go fine?

Thanks

Ozzy,

Restoring both in one restore "process" is normally fine. The main difference here is that TI 2009 and 2010 will not let you select all partitions and the MBR and allow you to resize any of the partitions. This means that if you have a drive with one partition and you want to restore it with resize, you have to restore the MBR in a separate restore. If you select both of them, TI switches to Disk Mode and won't give you any control over the partition size. Previous versions of TI allowed you to do it all in one restore process.

MudCrab wrote:

The MBR may or may not be restored at the same time as the partition. It depends on the version of TI you're using and the restore type selected. If no bootable MBR code exists on the drive, TI should place a generic version on it. If using TI 2009 or later, I would probably restore the partition and then the MBR (as separate procedures) since you're doing a resize.

I find it confusing that different versions of TI would perform differently for the same function.  In any case, I have TI Home version 11, which was acquired in early 2008.  How does this version perform in so far as restoring the MBR simultaneously with the partition when doing a resize?

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