I want to clone OS to a smaller HD

[dmc]

Currently have a 500GB HD with the OS and my programs on it. I am only using 32GB. I want to clone the 500GB is drive to a 250 GB Drive and use the 500 GB for file storage. Would have no problem cloning to same size or larger HD but my cloning software wont clone to a smaller HD

I thought about making an image of my C drive (500GB) With Win 7 and then run a restore to the 250 GB drive but am not sure this is going to "clone"" C drive.

Any ideas on how to bes t to clone to a smaller Hard Drive from a larger one?

I also thought about cloning another 259 GB drive I have an just storing away in the even my C Drive blows up. I could simply install the cloned drive and boot up and then restore and update from current backups.



Thanks

 

[harpua]

Acronis TIH 2010 will allow you to clone to a smaller disk as long as the data on the source disk will fit on the target disk. I believe free time limited trial versions are available. In Acronis, the cloning function is found under Utilities.

 

[pparks1]

Yes, the trial of Acronis lasts 30 days.

I posted earlier that you could get Acronis True Image 2010 from NewEgg for $23.99...but my post was deleted by the admin team (I assume it's because it went off topic talking about piracy). Can also get it from Amazon.com for $23.99 as well.

 

[SIW2]

Hi,

Just shrink the source HD using Windows Disk Management to a bit smaller than the target HD.

You could use the free Macrium reflect to make an image of the now smaller partition and restore to the new HD - costs nothing - and you are certain you will not end up with invalid disk geometry on the target.

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp

Hope it helps.

Currently have a 500GB HD with the OS and my programs on it. I am only using 32GB. I want to clone the 500GB is drive to a 250 GB Drive and use the 500 GB for file storage. Would have no problem cloning to same size or larger HD but my cloning software wont clone to a smaller HD

I thought about making an image of my C drive (500GB) With Win 7 and then run a restore to the 250 GB drive but am not sure this is going to "clone"" C drive.

Any ideas on how to bes t to clone to a smaller Hard Drive from a larger one?

I also thought about cloning another 259 GB drive I have an just storing away in the even my C Drive blows up. I could simply install the cloned drive and boot up and then restore and update from current backups.



Thanks

 

[dmc]

Thank you all - excellent suggestions. I like SW2's suggestion about using Computer management to Shrink the partition because you can then expand it back to where it was. That's a new feature I new nothing about. I see that it only works with contiguous space so it's probably best to defrag before using this options.

My goal is to make a bootable clone and one that I can update with the backups I have made since the creation of such a cloned drive. Acronis may be the best choice in pursuing that end.

For those who didn't know about this feature to shrink a partition this link may help

Resize a Partition for Free in Windows 7 or Vista :: the How-To Geek


So I am off to explore your suggestions and see which is the best solution for me

Thank you again

 

[dmc]

I found an excellent program to do this

yesterday I was talking to a friend about wanting to clone my larger HD to a smaller one and talked about the solutions offered here. My friend had another alternative. He had just done the same thing.

He has a program called EZGig II which he found at apricorn.com

He burned the program on to a CD and whenever he wants to use it he boots up to his CD Drive and runs the program from the ids. and then clones his drive or uses the other options available.

So He let me borrow his disc and voila 11 minutes later I had a perfectly cloned hard drive. it was simple as selecting Drive C and targeting Drive E

So if anyone is trying to clone their HD, this is a pretty efficient way to do it and there's no need to install any software on your system.

Thanks for all of your help and suggestions.

 

[harpua]

You can also use the Acronis Rescue CD which can be created from within the program. You boot from the rescue CD and then have the full program available, including the cloning utility, in its own linux environment. Some people always make clones from the Acronis CD.

I generally prefer to make my clones from within Windows. Then Acronis reboots the computer to actually make the clone before Windows boots. Acronis gives you a lot more options in making the clone than EZ Gig, but for people who don't want options and just want easy, EZ Gig is fine. But EZ Gig is not a good value compared to Acronis because Acronis can do a lot more than just cloning.

 

[dmc]

LOL I found out today that EzGig is apparently a scaled down verssion of Acronis. So Acronis it is!

 

[harpua]

Another cool feature in Acronis TIH is called the Acronis Start Up Recovery Manager and once turned on from within the installed program, it gives you the option of booting into Acronis simply by hitting the F11 key at startup, before Windows loads. So even without having the Acronis bootable rescue CD handy, one can still use Acronis to restore a backup at boot time, assuming the hard drive is still functioning. And if the hard drive has become unusable then one can use the bootable rescue CD to recover from or restore a previously created backup on external media.

 

[jrizzo]

Does anyone know if the following is possible?

I have a laptop running Windows 7 Home Premium x64. After resetting the hard drive (500gb) to it's factory state, I installed and configured all my software just the way I want it. Total space used after the procedure - about 48gb. I'd like to clone this drive so I can easily restore my OS and apps in the future. If possible, I'd like to use a USB flash drive or an SD card as the destination for the cloned drive - no sense using a large external drive. I don't think I'll need to boot from the cloned drive, but if it's possible to do so, that would be a plus. I have Acronis TIH 2011. If it's not possible to clone the source drive to a USB flash drive or SD card, I assume I can shrink the source partition, then clone it to a small external hard drive.

If anyone has any input on this, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks!