True Image - drive cloning - help

[semitech]

I just downloaded the True Image v9 demo to try out. I want to clone my main hard drive to make a copy to keep off site. I want to KEEP my original main hard drive. In reading the manual, I'm not sure if cloning erases or destroys the "old" main hard drive. I am not trying to upgrade to a new drive and get rid of the old drive. At one point, the instructions say... "Clone Mode: Automatic... Note that you have to remove the old hard disk when data moving is completed."

I will unhook the main and hook up the clone to test and verify, but I want to keep and use my old main hard drive. I am running XP Pro.

Has anyone used True Image to copy a main drive and then kept the old drive, and can they confirm my old drive won't be wiped out??? Is there anything special I need to do. THANKS.

 

[bucwylde23]

It will not wipe out either of the drives.
What I think that it means is that once it is done cloning, it will read BOTH drives as a boot device. Therefore you cannot have 2 boot hard drives, so remove one.

It will not erase anything.

 

[semitech]

That would make more sense. I emailed their support last night with this question to confirm, and am waiting...

Out of curiosity, what happens if one forgets to unplug the external harddrive after cloning, and then turns the computer off and then on (with the two duplicate bootable drives). Does XP just hang up when it is starting up and give an error message?

 

[bucwylde23]

Good question, never tried that
I actually never clone my drives, I just make an image of the drive and back that up.

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: semitech
Out of curiosity, what happens if one forgets to unplug the external harddrive after cloning, and then turns the computer off and then on (with the two duplicate bootable drives). Does XP just hang up when it is starting up and give an error message?

Booting will be attempted in order of devices as configured in CMOS.

 

[Slickone]

Originally posted by: chrisg22
Good question, never tried that
I actually never clone my drives, I just make an image of the drive and back that up.

Is that better/safer/faster than cloning?

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: Slickone

Originally posted by: chrisg22
Good question, never tried that
I actually never clone my drives, I just make an image of the drive and back that up.

Is that better/safer/faster than cloning?

Given sufficient CPU and a compression option, it may be marginally faster however without a bootable partition available in the event of the primary drive's failure you will be in the lurch until a replacement is aquired. Conceivably if dealing with smallish amounts of data a secondary drive could be partitioned so that it has 'nuff space to restore an image while holding sequential backup images as well. But then in such case those images (likely of primary boot partition) may well have just been written directly to DVD and the whole HDD properly cloned as well.