Cloneing A Computer Hard Drive

[Tinkerer]

If anyone uses their computer for business purposes you already know what a disaster it would be to have a complete failure of the operating system.
Having a spare hard drive with all of your computers contents on it could be the difference between a disaster or an inconvenience.
A cloned hard drive copies not only your files and operating system, but it also preserves the OS activation.
I have cloned disk drives to SSD's and OEM SSD's to new SSD's.
The process requires a usb cable adapter to whatever style hard drive your computer uses.
If you have an M.2 NVME drive it will require an enclosure to make the connection to the computer you are cloning.
A typical SATA hard drive only needs a USB adapter cable.
It is easy to do with software that is for sale on the internet at very affordable prices.

 

[CM1995]

Great idea Tink even if someone has Cloud storage. I have 3 external hard drives that have backed up the last 4 laptops. Actually had an issue swapping files on my newest Mac where an Excel spreadsheet did not transfer and no idea why. Went into the ext. HD and retrieved it.

On a Mac it's super easy -

Go into Time Machine, plug in external HD, choose ext. HD and hit backup. It backs up all your files.

When I shut down my Facebook account I put the entire download on a HD.

 

[thepumpguysc]

I just had my laptop sh!t the bed.!!!
It had ALL my pump information and passwords to the factory sites, u know the ones that NOBODY has.!!
I didn’t know what to do..
A had a brand new laptop still in the box but YEARS OLD..
I ended up taking it to the Geek Squad in Best Buy to see if they could “do something”.??
2 days and 200.00 later I was back in business.!!
Luckily I had the “smarts” to WRITE DOWN all my passwords and address’s..
I have to say WINDOWS 10 is a huge learning curve.!!
Does anyone know how to get back “HOME”.. using Google Chrome.

 

[thepumpguysc]

Oh.. forgot to mention that they copied the info to another hard drive and “gave it” to me..

 

[doublewide]

I cloned my last lap top using Apricorn. It came in handy several times.

 

[Tinkerer]

CM1995; You are right on about of the file back-up situation.
The pumpguy got lucky !
It is good example of why I started this thread about the importance of creating a clone of a system.
I have/and use Apricorn's software. But as far as I know (which isn't much) Apricorn cannot clone an M.2 SSD.
Pumpguy; Could you describe going back to "Home"with Chrome ?
I quit using the Google browsers because of the spyware and tracking they have embedded in them.
I use Firefox for a browser and DuckDuckGo for a search engine. DuckDuckGo offers absolute search privacy.
Lastly, clearing cookies with CCleaner on a regular basis will stop being your internet activity from being tracked by websites you have visited. It will also keep a computer from being slowed down as result.

 

[thepumpguysc]

I know it sounds stupid but I had been using Explorer w google as my Home Screen for MANY YEARS. & now w windows 10 it’s a learning curve..
So I click on google, it opens up and I search for something.. I click on what I’m looking for and I’m done.. HOW do I get back to my Home Screen which would b back to google..
On every computer I’ve ever used, they have a house looking icon, which meant (home)

 

[mekanik]

A couple years ago I went to start my desktop one morning the power light
came on and then went out. My multi meter said the power supply had failed.
I replaced the power supply but the computer would not boot up. The bios
screen showed the computer was not seeing the two of the three hard drives.
It turned out that the power supply must killed two of the drives with a voltage spike.
Two of the three hard drives were for backup and one had survived. Fortunately
I was fairly diligent about backing up important files and I only lost a couple
weeks of emails that were not important. I now keep two small portable hard
drives with backups on them one in the shop and one in my desk. Just in case.

 

[thepumpguysc]

When I turned mine on, the lites on the keyboard lite up but the screen was dead..
And that’s where I had all my info, on the screen .. so all I hadta do was double click on the pump # I was working on and BAM, there’s all the info I needed..
But with a black screen it wasn’t possible.. but the geek squad came thru. (For 200.00) lol

 

[Tinkerer]

Here ya go Mike !

 

[Tinkerer]

You can also change the webpage that opens in a new tab.
When I installed Chrome the new tab opened up Bing by default.
You can see I changed it to Google in the settings.
But, as I posted earlier I rarely ever use Google for a browser.

 

[thepumpguysc]

THANK U TINKERER.!!!
That is EXACTLY what I needed..

 

[uffex]

Good day folks
That is a hot subject backing up your computer, I have experienced loss on a few occasions I hope I have all angles covered today. Only use the hard drive for the OS and current work after saving it to the server. Servers are easily installed to modern routers, these have the port to provide the connection, hard drives can be found in older machines discarded by households. When the PC crash occurs you & I got it covered.
Kind regards
Uffex

 

[DMiller]

I have so far avoided Chrome, I use basic Google and old school email. I do have 10 on my PC but that is the way it came after the last unit with 7 crashed and burned unrecoverable. I had been smart enough to save photos on Flash Drives and old hard disc CDs. Some older stuff I have is all Written down and will remain so.

 

[d9gdon]

So I'm trying to do this using Apricorn...I already have a Toshiba 1 TB external hard drive that I can connect to my Dell laptop and I downloaded Apricorn EZ Gig IV Cloning Software.

I started the EZ Gig and selected the laptop hard drive as the source and then selected the external hard drive as the destination, but when I click next it tells me that it could not find the Apricorn upgrade device...what am I missing?

Is it because my external hard drive is read only?

 

[Tinkerer]

Did your computer recognize the external drive when you plugged in the cable ?
I really Easeus Todo Backup for cloning. It is software based not on a cd like Apricorn.
Your external drive should be be displayed here. If the connection is successful.
In devices and drives.

 

[d9gdon]

Yes it recognized the drive

 

[Tinkerer]

Probably a problem with the Apricon software.
You could try - disconnecting your internet connection and then disable your anti virus software.

 

[uffex]

Good day
Final job for me.
Kind regards
Uffex

 

[Tinkerer]

Quite an interesting story, uffex.
I cannot imagine how many hours you spent thinking this project through. Plus the hours it took to bring the project to a reality.
I spent very little time using DOS. I hated it.
I am impressed with your computer knowledge.