TeraByte Unlimited

Hello. Is it possible to test a restored image using a SATA docking station before I disconnect and remove the old original HDD from the laptop. I haven't received the new SSD yet but I want to make all the necessary preparations before it arrives. I'm using IFL because that's what I'm used to. I have created two backup images to a 1TB external USB drive, one image of the whole disk with the manufacturers partitions, and the other image just of the C partition. I restored each of them in turn to a 320gb SATA drive in a docking station intending to see if they would boot. The drive was listed in the BIOS boot devices and was in the list when booting up with F12 but it wouldn't boot to the back up and just booted to the original HDD installed in the laptop. I thought at first it had worked but I noticed in 'Explorer' and Disk Management it was still booted to the installed original drive. Will I have to remove the original HDD before testing the backup?

You probably could, but I don't think it's worth it. If connecting the dock via USB you'd need to enable USB booting on the drive (the usbboot.tbs script can do that). However, it's then not like you'd take the drive and boot it normally internally. If the drive is connected via eSATA you may need to first install the eSATA storage drivers to get it to boot (osdtool.tbs can do this). It is recommended to disconnect the original drive when doing either of these since both drives connected on boot-up can cause issues.

What is usually the easiest is just to remove the internal drive (often a very quick and simple procedure) and put the new SSD into it. Then just restore your image normally and test it.

Thanks, I'll do that.