Cloning individual partitions

[ICIT2LOL]

I have a new laptop that has a dedicated GPU that I am sure is only usable in Windows 8 as I think Asus has designed it to only be accessible using 8 and as I have now been trying for two months to download the driver for the NVidia the machine in 7 mode and it comes up with a message the GPU is not recognized as being a device in the machine although it is clearly there in system specs via HW Info and Speccy etc.

Now the 8 is on a 1TB spinner and I can only afford a 500GB SSD and my query is can I clone individual partitions using a program (I use Macrium a lot) if I first decrease the size of the large partition [C:] in the spinner using Partition Wizard? (I intend using the 8 in 7 style not quite the same but something is better than nothing)

Or does anyone know of another program that will do this ie EaseUS or Acronis or Aoimie etc

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

You cannot individually clone partitions with any program I know of; you can only clone entire drives. To transfer your C: partition from one drive to another with Macrium Reflect, you would need to image the C: partition, then restore the image to the destination drive. If you do not have room to stash the image on the source drive, you would need to use a third drive to stash the image on, then restore them image to the new drive.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Yes Jeannie I thought as much I am just peed off with Asus at the moment not making this machine able to install the GPU driver using Windows 7. I shall try something and see how it goes and will give your suggestion a go.

 

[DavidE]

I've always used images for this.
Aomei does have a Clone Partition option if you're interested in trying it.

 

[whs]

In 8.1 you need all partitions in order to operate. Just make one image including all partitions and restore those on the SSD. The partition sizes will be automatically adjusted by Macrium as long as the sum of the data fits on the 500GB.

From the Macrium help page:

Reorder partitions or automatically shrink partitions to fit the available space
Drag the source partitions to the target disk
Dragging resizes and moves partitions to fit the available space.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

In 8.1 you need all partitions in order to operate. Just make one image including all partitions and restore those on the SSD. The partition sizes will be automatically adjusted by Macrium as long as the sum of the data fits on the 500GB.

From the Macrium help page:

Reorder partitions or automatically shrink partitions to fit the available space
Drag the source partitions to the target disk
Dragging resizes and moves partitions to fit the available space.

For that matter, if you are going to move all the partitions to the SSD and the data within the source drive will fit within the destination drive, you can clone from the one drive to the other.

 

[whs]

That is another option - if it works.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Thanks to you all I was rather hoping I could "condense" (if I understand it right) the second and largest partition on the original and very slow spinner into one that makes the total to be installed onto the 500GB equal or slightly less than 500GB - including any other partitions that come before it. I cannot exactly remember what the partitions were but they were small.

Anyway I shall try and if I get no luck then I shall just have to persist with the machine not having that GPU operational because Asus after much communication with their support sites obviously don' want to know or help with this issue:sarc:

My last and only option is just have the machine use Windows 7 and be stuck with the Intel graphics (which are ok to a point) . But it will be galling to know I bought a machine that will not do or use what it has on board.

All in all between Asus and Microsoft Windows 8 it really has not been a pleasant ride - but I guess that is what you get for not researching enough although the seller / dealer did give the option of 7 which made me think everything was going to be ok.

 

[DavidE]

How much space is used on the largest partition, and what is in that partition ?
Can you post a screen print of Disk Management of the 1TB spinner that you want to "clone" ?
Does the laptop have 2 drive bays so you can have an SSD and a spinner ?

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Ok David I will do that when I get back to my partners place because I have for the last few days have been at mine, and the original drive is there.

The spinner from what I can remember only has the very small partition at the beginning of the space on it and the larger just a small amount of data, programs etc so at a rough guess the total amount should be less than 10% max of the total drive. I actually hardly used it at all.

But I will hook it up and send the screenshots as requested.

By the by the machine has two drive bays so yes I can put a spinner and a SSD in it.

The specs are Notebooks & Ultrabooks - ASUS ROG G750JM - ASUS < the storage is an option of the ones in that link. It is just that Asus made this one for Windows 8 without much forth thought for someone wanting 7 - that was an option I got from the dealer which I had put on a 256GB SSD.

 

[DavidE]

Sounds good John,
If the large partition is a "Data" partition there should be some way to move that to a spinner, and keep the OS + programs on the SSD.
Disk Management should help answer that ...

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Ok mate I am pretty sure that what it is as I hardly used the thing to be honest - I did change it with Classic Shell to run it 7 style I know but it was so slow being a 5400 rpm spinner I just had to change it by dropping in a SSD and get that bloke to install 7 but the problems with 7 that followed if I knew with hindsight I would never have bought this machine.

Anyway if I can get the 8 onto a smaller SSD I shall just have to stick with it in 7 style.

 

[Kaktussoft]

You can clone any partition you want with macrium reflect. But also with partition wizard (or other partition managers). You can instruct it to shrink to a specific size.

Are you cloning the OS partition? Are you cloning the bootmenu partition?
If one of these is true then detach old source drive from system (after cloning) and run "startup repair" to solve the bootmenu and drive lettering in windows. If windows is booting.... shutdown and attach old drive again if you wish.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

deleted by idiot poster

 

[Kaktussoft]

You can clone any partition you want with macrium reflect. But also with partition wizard (or other partition managers). You can instruct it to shrink to a specific size.

Are you cloning the OS partition? Are you cloning the bootmenu partition?
If one of these is true then detach old source drive from system (after cloning) and run "startup repair" to solve the bootmenu and drive lettering in windows. If windows is booting.... shutdown and attach old drive again if you wish.

Actually, when cloning partitions with Macrium Reflect, it's either all partitions (i.e. the entire disk) or no partitions. You can't clone just some of multiple partitions. You would have to use imaging to selectively clone partitions.

I think you're wrong (?) v5: How to clone a disk (Clone Disk, v5) see point 4.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

You can clone any partition you want with macrium reflect. But also with partition wizard (or other partition managers). You can instruct it to shrink to a specific size.

Are you cloning the OS partition? Are you cloning the bootmenu partition?
If one of these is true then detach old source drive from system (after cloning) and run "startup repair" to solve the bootmenu and drive lettering in windows. If windows is booting.... shutdown and attach old drive again if you wish.

Actually, when cloning partitions with Macrium Reflect, it's either all partitions (i.e. the entire disk) or no partitions. You can't clone just some of multiple partitions. You would have to use imaging to selectively clone partitions.

I think you're wrong (?) v5: How to clone a disk (Clone Disk, v5) see point 4.

Well, I'll be a monkey's Aunt Petunia! You are correct. I just tried it. A 119GB partition with 65GB of data took twenty minutes to clone from an SSD to a 2.5" 500GB spinner. It takes only ten minutes to image and verify the same data. Thanks for correcting me!

 

[whs]

LF, We all live and learn. I did not know that either. I think KS deserves reps for finding this info.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

LF, We all live and learn. I did not know that either. I think KS deserves reps for finding this info.

Already issued.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Ah well I am a complete nit wit I should have been thinking straight (night duty does this to you) I booted my partners machine this morning and could kick myself because I remember doing this when I transferred the partitions from a 640GB slow spinner to a 500GB SSHD.

What I used I am not sure - whether I used Macrium or not but whatever I shall try this with the problem machine (new laptop) and report back how I go. The only thing I do remember is that on power up one had to use CTRL-ALT-DEL to get it to boot and it was really just an inconvenience but that seems to have disappeared

I must apologise for all the kafuffle and head scratching I have caused everyone it hasn't been an easy two months and after all the nonsense with Asus I truly wasn't thinking straight

 

[whs]

John, no need to apologise. This discussion was useful and some of us learned something new.