Clone my boot drive?

[Guest]

Are these true statements? A true clone of my boot drive CANNOT be made
while XP is running, because XP locks(makes inaccessible) certain files. Any
clone-making software MUST be booted from floppy or cd and run under dos.
The easiest free clone-making software is MaxBlast3 or 4, which can be
downloaded from maxtor.com The instructions are here
http://maxtor.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/...aqid=1366&p_created=1045194563&p_sid=DCooebGh
Does anyone know easier clone-making software?

 

[Lirathal]

Yes, windows locks certain files because they are dymanic (pagefile.sys) or
they are in use constantly (ntuser.dat). I know that some software is trying
to work around this (Acronis or Symantec Ghost) but I'm not sure how
successful they have been.

I'd recomend (if this is for home use) getting a copy of Norton Ghost
Personal Edition and just ghosting an image to a second hard drive. Of
course this is a little bit extreme, for myself I use free tools like
robocopy and a second hard drive, along with task scheduler in windows. My
files are backed up nightly with no reboots and no interference.

Nathan

 

[Zilbandy]

Yes, windows locks certain files because they are dymanic (pagefile.sys) or
they are in use constantly (ntuser.dat). I know that some software is trying
to work around this (Acronis or Symantec Ghost) but I'm not sure how
successful they have been.

I'm using the Acronis True Image software, version 7 (they are up to
version 8), and apparently it works fine. I have two identical laptops
and have Acronis installed on both. ::innocent look... What EULA :x ::
and have restored images of my wife's computer onto my computer. When
I reboot, it looks just like my wife's computer. When I'm done with
whatever I was messing with, I can make a new image, then restore that
image on her system, and restore my latest image on my computer. That
way, I can fiddle with her system and not slow down her working with
it. All images are stored on a large USB external hard drive. I have
not had a problem yet. ::knocking on wood::

Apparently, Acronis software makes a copy of active files that are in
use, then images everything else. When you restore, the copies of the
files in use are used. The restores of your active disk are best done
by booting with a bootable recovery cd that Acronis gives you the
option of makingt at installation time. In that way, you can boot from
the cd and restore the entire image without having to fiddle with the
Winxp cd. This is all based on the fact that you are installing to the
same machine and configuration that made the image.

I was wondering if XP Home would object to being installed on an
identically configured Compaq, but apparently, it doesn't... or it
hasn't so far.

 

[Guest]

I was wondering if XP Home would object to being installed on an
identically configured Compaq, but apparently, it doesn't... or it
hasn't so far.

Yes, I too was very interested in that point<grin> So far, no
re-activation has been required.

 

[Lirathal]

If you ghost or acronis drive to drive copies of bootable drives and stick
them in even nearly identical machines, Windows won't bitch. I do it all the
time at client sites simply because I don't want to have to waste 4 hours
for my client's money to "clean install" everything.

Nathan

 

[Zilbandy]

You can even clone novell servers using Ghost 7. Its a magic program,
swear by it!! However, the later versions of Ghost (ghost 2000, ghost 9
etc) were crap, and didnt have half the usefulness or functionality of
ghost 7.

On a much smaller scale, that's how I feel about Acronis 7. I've
actually used it for restoring, and it works for me. Why upgrade?!