Acronis 2011 - Cloning, what specific risks to the Source HDD?
Hi,
System Info:
- Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium
- Tower Desktop PC and Laptop PC.
- Arconis 2011 Plus Pack
I've been cloning about once every 4 weeks for a couple of years without any issues but have been reading some of the knowledge base and other articles about cloning risks related to the Source HDD during the process.
Since I haven't encountered any problems in a couple of years with Acronis (and a couple of uses with "Clonezilla") cloning I was curious about the risks to the Source HDD.
It's my understanding that the cloning process reads the Source HDD, not writes to it in any way. Assuming no power interruptions or user errors during the cloning process, I'm interested in understanding the risks to the Source HDD when cloning with Acronis, or any other cloning tool.
Here's what I do when I clone on my Desktop Tower PC with the Acronis CD:
- Shut down the PC.
- Remove the Source HDD (I have 2 hot-swap Sata Racks installed in my Tower)
- Remove any other HDD's installed to the PC to eliminate user error during all subsequent steps when selecting my Target HDD. This also simplifies the select process with Acronis.
- Boot up with "Gparted", a freeware CD HDD Utility tool.
- Format the Target HDD with "Gparted".
I do this to eliminate a user error when selecting the Source and Target HDD's when I'm preparing the cloning process within Acronis since it's easy to differentiate the 2 HDD's when one HDD contains no data prior to starting the cloning process.
I also like to do the formatting (and cloning) from outside of Windows to eliminate any possible Windows conflicts and to remain outside of Windows when preparing to clone and during the cloning process.
- Shut down PC. Remove the "Gparted" CD and install the Acronis CD.
- Boot up PC with the Acronis CD, set up the cloning process with the Source HDD in my 2nd HDD slot and the Target HDD in the 1st slot (the same location as my Source HDD during everyday PC use).
- Clone, and shut down the PC.
- Remove the Source HDD. Boot up on the Target HDD. Test the Target HDD by launching various apps, email, browser, etc.
- Shut down PC.
- Remove Target HDD. Install Source HDD in its original slot.
- Boot up PC. Resume everyday PC use.
- Shelf the Target HDD as my safety spare until the next cloning in 4 weeks.
I clone my Laptop similarly, with the Source HDD installed in a Sata/USB Enclosure and the Target HDD installed in the Laptop.
Since I've been cloning with this method for a couple of years with no issues, what is the risk to the Source HDD, assuming no power interruptions during the process and no user errors during the setup steps?
The main thing I'm puzzled about regarding potential risks is that the Source HDD is not being written to, only read, during a cloning process.