Proper procedure for cloning drive to different-size disk?

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schmibble
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Aug 25, 2012 4:45 am

Proper procedure for cloning drive to different-size disk?

Post by schmibble »

I need to replace a data drive (not bootable) but which is more than just any old data drive; it has two partitions, one of which has been designated as the Windows My Documents directory and the other of which has been designated as the Windows Downloads directory.

The new replacement drive is much bigger than the old one--that's the reason for the replacement (the old drive is running out of room). Therefore I need to restore an image of the old drive to the new drive, as follows:

1. On the new drive, I need the first partition to retain its current Windows drive letter and label and maintain its current designation as the My Documents directory. This partition must also stay the same size as it currently is.

2.On the new drive, I need the second partition to retain its current Windows drive letter and label and maintain its current designation as the Downloads directory. But unlike the first partition, this second partition needs to expand out to all the new space on the new drive, so there's no free space left.

So what would be the best way to proceed, and which settings should I use?

I assume I can't use Copy because that would only copy the drive structure and data, but not the drive letters/labels nor the Windows folder designations. (If I'm wrong, please say so.) So here's my vague idea of how to move forward:

A. hook up the new drive through an external dock (I have an Icy Dock) and take an image of the old drive. I will have to put this image on the new drive because it's the only disk I have with sufficient space.

B. Wipe the old drive clean and copy the image back onto it so the new drive is empty once again.

C. Restore the image from the old drive to the new drive using Scale To Fit. Hopefully this will keep partition 1 the same size but expand partition 2 outward to encompass the entire disk, while retaining the Windows drive letters etc. as outlined above.

D. Power the system down and remove the old drive, putting in the new drive. Boot up and hopefully the only thing that has changed will be that the second partition now has a lot more room on it.

Will this work?
Eric
Posts: 224
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 6:53 pm
Location: France

Re: Proper procedure for cloning drive to different-size dis

Post by Eric »

I would have just done those operations:
1- copy the 1st partition into the new disk, keeping the size,
2- copy the 2nd partition into the remaining space in the new disk, expanding it to fit
3- shutdown the system, replace the disk
4- and, before the first boot into Windows, boot into BIBM (or BIU, IFL, or whatever boot disk you have), and run the SetWinDL.tbs script to assign into Windows the drive letters you want for this two partitions.
Of course, this boot disk must countain tbosdt (the correct version depending on the environment) and the setwindl.tbs script.
See https://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/article.php?id=629 for info about the script.
Bob Coleman
Posts: 785
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 5:58 pm

Re: Proper procedure for cloning drive to different-size dis

Post by Bob Coleman »

In the original proposal, I don't know if Scale To Fit will produce the partition sizes desired or if it will cause the partitions to have the same percentages of the new disk as they had of the old disk. If the latter, Partition Work of BIBM can be used to resize and/or move partitions.

I also don't know whether, in either case, the partitions will initially have the desired drive letters. If not they could be assigned in Windows Disk Management.

I also don't know what effect booting Windows with different drive letters will have on the assignment of My Documents and Downloads or whether "correcting" the drive letters in Disk Management will re-establish these assignments.

Given all these (to me) unknowns as well as the apparent greater simplicity of the proposal by Eric, that approach is probably more desirable though I have no experience with (or knowledge of) SetWinDL.tbs.

Obviously no strong recommendation here. Just some things to consider.
TeraByte Support(PP)
Posts: 1644
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:51 am

Re: Proper procedure for cloning drive to different-size dis

Post by TeraByte Support(PP) »

Scaling would affect both partitions by default. There are also considerations depending on whether or not both the old and new drives are the same type (MBR/GPT).

If both drives are the same type (MBR/GPT) then I'd probably do it like this:
* Avoid using the dock if possible (internal connection is recommended).
* Copy the old drive to the new drive (entire disk copy). Don't use any scale options so the partitions remain their original size. Don't use the "Change Disk ID and GUIDs" option.
* After the copy, the new drive should be offline (due to signature collision) at this point if you did the copy in Windows using IFW.
* Shutdown and remove/disconnect the old drive.
* Boot back into Windows. It should see the new drive as the old one (same drive letters, partitions, etc.).
* Use Disk Management to expand (Extend volume) the second partition to fill the space.

Depending on how you do the procedure you may need to relink the Documents and Downloads to the new partitions.
schmibble
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Aug 25, 2012 4:45 am

Re: Proper procedure for cloning drive to different-size dis

Post by schmibble »

Thanks for the responses. I'm going to follow Paul's advice as he's official TB support, but need to ask some clarifying questions--especially since I've just noticed some new things in the Image for DOS manual (I'll be doing this from an IFD bootable CD-ROM, v. 3.12 which accompanied BIBM 1.42).

> If both drives are the same type (MBR/GPT)

Both are over 2TB, so they have to be GPT, right? So I shouldn't have to worry about this. Neither drive can be MBR.

> Copy the old drive to the new drive (entire disk copy)

OK, to clarify: you mean that I should not take a genuine image but instead use Image's Copy function, or perhaps the "Simple Operations" drive-copy option? In other words, when I'm at the Image screen that gives me the options...

_Backup
_Restore
_Validate
_Copy

...Instead of using any of these, I should press "Settings", then choose "Simple Operations" and choose "Copy a hard drive to another hard drive"? If not, please clarify, because I can't see another way to do an entire disk copy in one go. I've never used "Simple Operations" before; I usually just select my partitions and image them via the "Backup" option, but I presume you're not talking about that because when you choose "Backup", each partition is imaged separately. I've never used "Copy" before either,

> Depending on how you do the procedure you may need to
> relink the Documents and Downloads to the new partitions

OK then, how can I do the procedure so it keeps those designations?

In this connection, I note that there's an option to "Assume Original HD". I had previously thought that this option required you to restore to the original drive, so you shouldn't use it unless you were planning on putting the copy back on the original drive (after performing some other operation on that drive, perhaps a low-level format to repair damaged sectors). But the Image for DOS manual says this option will "will keep references to the source hard drive number intact within the partitions that have been copied to the target location." So maybe "Assume Original HD" will help me retain the Windows designations of My Docs and Downloads.

In addition, as I read through the manual, there's also an option to "Copy Disk Signature", which says that this option is explicitly does what I need: it maintains Windows drive letters.

So should I use these two options, "Assume Original HD" and "Copy Disk Signature"?
Eric
Posts: 224
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 6:53 pm
Location: France

Re: Proper procedure for cloning drive to different-size dis

Post by Eric »

Sure. There are many methods and ways to do what your want to do.
If both disks are over 2TiB, then both disk should be GPT type, then, to keep the same letters for the partitions, you only need to copy the partition ID (so don't use the "Change Disk ID and GUIDs" option, as Paul suggested). You don't need the option to "Copy Disk Signature", or "Assume Original HD". This is because, on GPT disk, Windows only uses the partition ID to assign letters.
If one disk is MBR (or both), then you would need the SetWinDL.tbs script after the copy (because, on MBR type, in addition to the disk signature, Windows uses the starting lba to assign letters. And if both are MBR, not sure that those startling lba would be the same after the copy).
TeraByte Support(PP)
Posts: 1644
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:51 am

Re: Proper procedure for cloning drive to different-size dis

Post by TeraByte Support(PP) »

schmibble wrote:
> ...(I'll be doing this from an IFD
> bootable CD-ROM, v. 3.12 which accompanied BIBM 1.42).

That version is over a year old. Using the current version is recommended.

> Both are over 2TB, so they have to be GPT, right? So I shouldn't have to worry about
> this. Neither drive can be MBR.

Just because the drive is over 2TB doesn't mean it has to be formatted as GPT. It could be MBR with a lot of wasted space, for example. Both BIBM and IFD (and Windows, etc.) will show which type is used if you're unsure. Most likely, however, they are GPT since that's the default for larger drives.

> OK, to clarify: you mean that I should not take a genuine image but instead use
> Image's Copy function, or perhaps the "Simple Operations" drive-copy
> option?

You can make an image if you wish. However, by copying you can keep the original drive intact until you have the copy working in its place. A copy is also usually faster (one operation instead of two).

> In other words, when I'm at the Image screen that gives me the options...
>
> _Backup
> _Restore
> _Validate
> _Copy
>
> ...Instead of using any of these, I should press "Settings", then choose
> "Simple Operations" and choose "Copy a hard drive to another hard
> drive"? If not, please clarify, because I can't see another way to do an entire
> disk copy in one go. I've never used "Simple Operations" before; I usually
> just select my partitions and image them via the "Backup" option, but I
> presume you're not talking about that because when you choose "Backup",
> each partition is imaged separately. I've never used "Copy" before either,

It would be the normal "Copy" operation listed on the main screen. You don't need to use Simple Operations mode. You select Copy and follow the steps. You will be selecting the checkbox for the entire drive (same as if selecting for a backup of the entire drive) and then selecting the destination drive (your new drive).

> > Depending on how you do the procedure you may need to
> > relink the Documents and Downloads to the new partitions
>
> OK then, how can I do the procedure so it keeps those designations?

This is noted because it is very easy to break the links. It may happen even if you try your best to avoid it. Also, some scenarios will be more likely to break the links than others (some may always break them). Just be aware that, in the end, you may need to fix them (set the new partition drive letters to be correct, for example).

> In this connection, I note that there's an option to "Assume Original HD".
> I had previously thought that this option required you to restore to the original
> drive, so you shouldn't use it unless you were planning on putting the copy back on
> the original drive (after performing some other operation on that drive, perhaps a
> low-level format to repair damaged sectors). But the Image for DOS manual says this
> option will "will keep references to the source hard drive number intact within
> the partitions that have been copied to the target location." So maybe
> "Assume Original HD" will help me retain the Windows designations of My
> Docs and Downloads.

As noted by Eric, you don't need to use those options for the type of copy you want.

> In addition, as I read through the manual, there's also an option to "Copy Disk
> Signature", which says that this option is explicitly does what I need: it
> maintains Windows drive letters.

This option is only available when you copy individual partitions. In your case, you want to keep the ID/signature values (so the drive is seen as the same), but it's not needed when you copy the entire drive because the default is to keep them.

----

For example, assuming both drives are the GPT and you're using IFD:

* Connect the new drive (internal is recommended, if possible, since there can be sector-size issues when USB or a dock is involved).
* Copy the old drive to the new drive (entire disk copy). Don't use any scale options so the partitions remain their original size. Don't use the "Change Disk ID and GUIDs" option.
* After the copy, use Partition Work in BIBM to resize the second partition larger (or wait and do it in Windows).
* Shutdown and remove/disconnect the old drive. (If you boot into Windows and it sees drives with matching ID values it will usually change the values on one of them, which will break links. You don't want this to happen.)
* Boot back into Windows. It should see the new drive as the old one (same drive letters, partitions, etc.).
* If not resized in BIBM, use Disk Management to expand (Extend volume) the second partition to fill the space.
schmibble
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Aug 25, 2012 4:45 am

Re: Proper procedure for cloning drive to different-size dis

Post by schmibble »

Operation went off without a single hitch. Thanks a ton for the help, all! Much appreciated.
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