cloning and usb drive questions

[justin4pack]

So I have my work setup on an ssd. It is going out (hangs and freezes) so I have a new one on order. I need to use the computer for work in the mean time. Is it possible to clone an ssd to an external HDD via usb and then use the external hdd as my os until the new HDD comes. this is a usb 3.0 drive if that matters.

 

[corkyg]

Yes it is possible to clone an internal SSD to an external USB HDD. I have done it many times, as well as the reverse. I can't speak for other software, but I do it manually using Acronis TI 2014 o9n a bootable flash drive. Whether or not you can then boot from the USB drive depends on your computer's BIOS. My T-510 notebook gives me that option.

I'm sure there arew others' who have used different cloneware, etc., but I can only speak to my own experience in doing this.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I can guarantee that it works without flaw using a Thermaltake BlacX external HDD dock with USB2. If either target, source or both drives are SSD, it goes noticeably faster, even with a USB2 connection.

If you use Parted Magic, it will try to warn you off, but will still work through a USB connection. Oddly, their own instructions and promotion make it clear that it will work.

And . . . I would suppose it could be BIOS-dependent, as corkyg says.

I'm using a 2007 chipset with a 2010 BIOS.

 

[justin4pack]

your saying the bios will determine if the computer will boot to windows on a usb drive?

 

[holden j caufield]

just use clonezilla, free and actually better than an commercial product I've used. I've done it clone some vmware esx usb boot drives.

 

[John Connor]

I have used AOMEI Backupper with success. I needed something that could clone individual partitions and clone to partitions and this does it.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

your saying the bios will determine if the computer will boot to windows on a usb drive?

If your remark responds to my post immediately preceding, I can say with certainty that chipset versions with BIOS revisions equally as old going back to at least 2007 offer options in the "BOOT" menu which would assure as much or defeat it.

But the question put forward was "whether you can clone a boot drive to an external USB HDD device." I can confirm that 2007 hardware with a 2010 BIOS revision will do exactly that -- no more, no less. In my firsthand experience of some weeks ago, I had to boot from CD with the clone tool, and the clone tool worked perfectly to clone internal HDD to external USB2 fitted with a new SSD.

After the (Acronis DD11) cloning success, I simply replaced the internal HDD with the SSD.