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Live system clone

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Hello, I was going to use the program to clone my main OS drive but it wanted me to reboot. Can the software not do the clone of a Windows 7 machine on the fly while Windows is running? 

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No, it cannot. Given the way cloning works, the safest approach is to use the recover media. Before doing the clone, do a full backup of the system partitions.

Unfortunately things can go wrong with cloning, particulatly if initiated from within Windows. Things can also go pear-shaped cloning from recovery media.

The collective wisdom is that it is better to do a backup, and then recover the backup to the new drive, using the recovery media.

Ian

PS I have successfully done clones from Windows, but only when it did not matter if something went wrong.

matrixebiz, many new users are confused by the terms "clone" and "backup. With True Image, a backup can be a full system backup, capturing absolutely everything that a clone would. In my opinion, clone is never needed, as backup can do all it can do plus more and with safety.

I am not a fan of cloning. Cloning is an "all or nothing" process. If something goes wrong, the user may end up with two unbootable drives and loss of data. Backup and recovery is a far safer method, and allows for multiple tries if the user is unfamiliar. Cloning has no advantage over full backup and restore, except a slight time saving at the expense of considerably more risk and complexity.

If you do want to clone, it should be performed only after booting from the ATI bootable Rescue Media. Do not allow the PC to boot to Windows with both drives still connected. But, better and safer would be to create a full disk mode backup and restore it to the new drive. Plus, you can save many full system images to a single external drive, versus only one clone.

Clone should be used only by advanced users who know what they are doing. It is riskier and can result in a loss of data and a failed system. Create a full disk mode backup and restore it, using the bootable Rescue Media, to the target disk, as it's far safer and simpler.