Clone 1 tb drive to a smaller drive.????

[Pghpooh]

Hi
I have a older desktop pc with a 1 tb drive in it. I think it's around half full
I'd like to replace it with a ssd of a smaller size.
From what I remember when cloning the new drive should be the same size as the original.
I have the opportunity to get a 500 gig ssd at a great price. (friend bought the ssd a while ago and never used it)
If it's possible to do the cloning I can clean out a bunch of old files, music, etc to make the original drive smaller.
Will use Acronis to do the cloning.

 

[sdifox]

Yes there are options that allow you to skip empty space.

 

[corkyg]

It is doable as long as the data will fit, that depends on the cloneware. Acronis TI does it by using "Proportional" mode. Some of the others have similar functions, but maybe not all.

 

[pimpin-tl]

It can be done. I use Acronis and have done it all the time as long as the space taken up is less than the new drive.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I believe that the "EZ-Gig IV" cloning software that comes with the Apricorn "SATA Wire" cloning kits sold at BestBuy support this. That's what I've used several times to upgrade to SSDs, one time was a 480GB SSD, from a nearly-full 500GB HDD, in a laptop. It *barely* fit on, it was tricky.

Anyways, you can get those cloning kits, including the software and "SATA Wire" for like $20-25 on sale at BestBuy B&M.

 

[razel]

Also many drives come with free cloning software from the HDD manufacturer. It is often times a limited version of Acronis.

 

[corkyg]

...Will use Acronis to do the cloning.

RTP!

 

[therealnickdanger]

Depending on how much space you actually have available, you can use Windows' own "Shrink Volume" option in the Disk Management window. It's not perfect, but can usually shrink the logical space by 30-60%. It will tell you how much it can shrink before actually committing.