Does Clonezilla remove everything in the old disk when restoring?

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

  1. Posts : 57
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64 and Windows XP Professional SP3 x32 (Dual Boot)
       #1

    Does Clonezilla remove everything in the old disk when restoring?


    My new laptop is arriving tomorrow, but it has a 500 GB hard drive. My current one has a 1 TB hard drive, so naturally, I'd want to swap the hard drive so the 1 TB is in the new laptop (current hard drive only has around 250 GB used). Here's how I'll be going at it:

    1. Backup old laptop's 1 TB (only 1/4th full) hard drive to my external hard drive.
    2. Backup new laptop's 500 GB (will basically be new, except for basic things I install) hard drive to same external hard drive (in different folder of course).
    3. Swap the hard drives in both laptops.

    Once I do step 3, do I need to format both hard drives before restoring the correct images into them, or will Clonezilla do that for me automatically? Just wondering, since it might be a bit of a hassle to temporarily load the Windows 7 boot disk just to quick format the drives. Thanks for the help.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 17,545
    Windows 10 Pro x64 EN-GB
       #2

    I do not know Clonezilla other than for its reputation but as a general rule, all mirroring and imaging software replace the content of target drive when image is restored, removing the old content and replacing it with the image. I believe this is the case with Clonezilla, too, so you should have no issues there.

    However, assuming both laptops have the native pre-installed OEM Windows 7 you will get activation issues as the OEM Windows is meant to be used and run only on original hardware. In any case you will have to reactivate. As you chosen method keeps the machine SID it might be impossible to activate both Windows after the swap.

    I would do this a bit differently. This is my recommendation, other members might tell you about other, maybe better alternatives:
    • Create the mirror images as planned on both laptops. This is just a security measure in case the below does not for some reason work for you
    • Generalize both Windows setups as told in this tutorial. Method One is for your scenario, in step 6 simply swap the HDDs
    • After first boot of both laptops with new HDDs check that all drivers are installed, reinstall missing ones
    • After a reboot after last driver installation try to activate both Windows using the product key from respective COA sticker
    • If automatic activation fails try the phone activation alternative

    Worst case scenario: you need to reinstall Windows on one or both laptops. If this will happen you should have no issues in activating a fresh install with your COA product keys.

    Kari
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 10,796
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bits 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
       #3

    @Kari: Actually he wants swap contents of both harddisks. Also swap harddisks.

    So actually it's just a disk upgrade.... no activation needed.
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 10,796
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bits 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
       #4

    I advise you to do "diskpart clean" (not clean all) after succesfull backup. But check if restore dvd software can see the external!

    Best software to use is Macrium Reflect Free. Use the winpe version. Imaging with free Macrium

    WINPE ISO:
    Here is the link to my Skydrive site.

    Here is an alternate link from FileSwap (courtesy of Gary - Britton30)
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 17,545
    Windows 10 Pro x64 EN-GB
       #5

    Yes, reading it through one more time I can see I misunderstood it first. I understood he wants to use original images on both HDDs after the swap.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 6,330
    Multi-Boot W7_Pro_x64 W8.1_Pro_x64 W10_Pro_x64 +Linux_VMs +Chromium_VM
       #6

    I would also check to make sure there are not hidden partitions that could be an issue after swapping HD's.
    Make sure the OEM recovery disc's are created for each laptop.
    Posting screenshots of Disk Management might help here.
    Disk Management - Post a Screen Capture Image
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 57
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64 and Windows XP Professional SP3 x32 (Dual Boot)
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Thanks for the help everyone! I have used Clonezilla to move the data from my current/old laptop's first 250 GB to the 1 TB hard drive it has now. The reason I'm asking is because when I restored the image to the 1 TB hard drive, it was already blank, so I wouldn't know if the data would be completely erased or not. I didn't have any problems with the move either, other than needing to update the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver.

    Here's a picture of how the Disk Management looks:

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...Management.png
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 10,796
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bits 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
       #8

    ShadowMario3 said:
    Thanks for the help everyone! I have used Clonezilla to move the data from my current/old laptop's first 250 GB to the 1 TB hard drive it has now. The reason I'm asking is because when I restored the image to the 1 TB hard drive, it was already blank, so I wouldn't know if the data would be completely erased or not. I didn't have any problems with the move either, other than needing to update the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver.

    Here's a picture of how the Disk Management looks:

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...Management.png
    Why is first 12GB unpartioned?

    If you did a clone and swapped the drives.... all should be the same.
    old laptop=>same data as before
    new laptop=>same data as before.
    So no need to update Rapid Storage Technology driver

    Did it boot without boot errors after swap?
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 10,796
    Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bits 7601 Multiprocessor Free Service Pack 1
       #9

    Did you save and restore partitions? Or did you do save whole disk and restore whole disk?
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 57
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64 and Windows XP Professional SP3 x32 (Dual Boot)
    Thread Starter
       #10

    I think it the 12 GB partition is something Acer did. I don't recall ever having access to that part. I saved and restored the whole disk.
      My Computer


 
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 20:37.
Find Us