160GB to 320GB HDD Clone

[Mantrid-Drone]

I installed a SSD and two HDDs on my fairly new desktop build. The main OS is OEM Windows 7 Pro 64bit installed on the SSD and the first HDD is a 1TB Seagate used for data/storage. The second HDD is a 'clean' pull 160GB WD, probably from a PVR, on which I installed completely separately OEM Windows XP Pro 32bit.

It is also partitioned to provide a separate data/storage volume for both the Windows XP OS but also shared with Win7 Pro's XP Mode which I run using a VMware Player.

The160GB WD HDD is not quite as 'clean' as the retail seller claimed. SMART showed it was far from unused current POT: (900 days) against the genuinely new ITB Seagate installed at the same time current POT: 36 days.

The problem with the 160GB WD is not just that it is older but it is somewhat noisier than any other part of my system. That is not in itself the issue, I could live with it as it really isn't that bad, but with the extra-vibration when the 1TB Seagate has spun up there is resonance. No matter what 'cures' I've tried it means that when the two HDDs are spun up the noise/vibration they produce together wows annoyingly ie. isn't constant - it goes up and and down.

I've reduced the HDD idle spin down time to 5mins and turned of indexing to minimise the problem but they still have a habit of spinning up together and I have another 5 minutes of irregular humming.

Consequently I want to replace the 16OGB WD with a genuinely new and defintely quieter 320GB I have available but I'm confused about the best/correct way of doing this. The 320GB WD is currently in an USB external drive enclosure.

I thought all I would need is a 'free' cloning program but then when I read up elsewhere and went through some of the old threads here the software I was considering using was called into question. Also there were arguments in some places about whether to clone or make a drive image. I thought that they were the same thing but according to what I read apparently not. Hence the confusion.

What I want to do is simply swap in the 320GB WD for the 160GB WD, and. of course, be able to boot Windows XP as before, preferably without having to re-register it.

The data/stored files in the additional partition I can easily copy any old how. I can create another partition on the new HDD later so I don't even need to 'clone' the whole drive. It is just the Windows XP primary and other OS critical stuff that concerns me.

Whether I'm cloning or imaging the drive can I do it using my main Win7 Pro OS or do I need to do it from within WinXP. What program do I use in either case? I have free Paragon WinXP Drive Copy 14 and EaseUS ToDo Backup free both of which say they have clone options but may or may not have some restrictions on use ie. won't clone to a larger HDD. I prefer to do it using Win7 as booting WinXP is actually a bit of pain (driver support issues), the reason why I also use the XP Mode.

I'd like some advice on all aspects of this please.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

If you are cloning from a smaller disk to a larger one, you just need to use a utility that won't clone disk/partition geometry as well as data. Also, some tools that work ok with MBR disks don't work with GPT disks, which can be frustrating.

I think EaseUS is the most commonly recommended one that I'm familiar with.

 

[VirtualLarry]

and. of course, be able to boot Windows XP as before, preferably without having to re-register it.

I think that this might be an issue, since the HDD serial numbers are going to change out from under the OS, and XP uses the HDD serial in its activation hashes.

It may not be enough to trigger a re-activation on its own, but it may make the system more susceptible to re-activation, should other components (like the NIC) change.

 

[deustroop]

Whether I'm cloning or imaging the drive can I do it using my main Win7 Pro OS or do I need to do it from within WinXP. What program do I use in either case? I have free Paragon WinXP Drive Copy 14 and EaseUS ToDo Backup free both of which say they have clone options but may or may not have some restrictions on use ie. won't clone to a larger HDD. I prefer to do it using Win7 as booting WinXP is actually a bit of pain (driver support issues), the reason why I also use the XP Mode.

I'd like some advice on all aspects of this please.

You can clone a drive other than the C: drive. Install the 320 drive then boot from your C: drive. Run the cloning software which will scan the drives installed on the system. You have mentioned three in total. First option generally is to choose the drive to clone. Here you would select the 160 WD. Next choose the target, the 320. It appears they both have identical partition schemes, MBR, so no issue there.One may copy all partitions or select a few. Then adjust the partition properties of the primary partition on the target to fit the unused disk space. Then clone.

I like Macrium Reflect software. There is a FAQ just on the cloning as opposed to imaging a drive.
http://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW/Cloning+a+disk

 

[Mantrid-Drone]

Thanks for the replies, some very useful information including things I hadn't even considered.

Advice/suggestions from others still most welcome.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I think that this might be an issue, since the HDD serial numbers are going to change out from under the OS, and XP uses the HDD serial in its activation hashes.

It may not be enough to trigger a re-activation on its own, but it may make the system more susceptible to re-activation, should other components (like the NIC) change.

Just as a public "sidebar" to the discussion, my "Skylake-in-progress" has reached the point where I chose to move a 2-PC Office-Pro 2010 license from an older PC to the Skylake. Of course I had to go through the phone-reactivation routine -- I would've expected it. But lo and behold! When I added an HDD to the SSD that was already in the Skylake, I had to do phone activation all over again. So Larry's insight has dispelled my puzzlement.

Of course, the love-hate frustration with M$ hurdles is a constant. If someone were to criticize my use of a 6-year-old version, we're talking about XP issues and I know some folks who've found 3-PC licensed install discs for Office-Pro 2007 -- which still get support under either Win 7 or Win 10. Well -- for Win 10, I'm going to test that. Office-Pro 2003 will run under Win 10, but it won't update.

Looking back 30 years or more, you could buy a used typewriter that had aged at least twice that time, and you could still use it! Welcome to progress in the post-PC 21st century . . . .