The way you clone or copy your drive depends on what files are on it. If you're simply storing files you can just copy them to another drive. If you need to upgrade your main or
system drive (the one running XP) you need to use a utility like Norton Ghost.
Those steps follow.
Steps
1
You will need to obtain and
install Ghost on your system. If you can't or don't want to install it on the system with the drive to clone you can install it on another system and make a Ghost boot Disk. (see Ghost documentation
for how to make the disk)
2
But here is an important
caveat! Symantec has de-
powered Ghost to such an extent that cloning your boot drive seems no longer possible. In typical Symantec fashion, they are cute and then evasive on the subject. Try going to symantec.com and entering the query "clone boot drive". The Symantec website greets that question with an answer to the effect that "they have never heard
that question before".
3
Clone your boot-drive? Huh?
Why do you want to do that? We know that when we sold you Ghost that we promised that you could safely infer that you could clone your boot-drive: but in the interim we have forgotten exactly
how to do that. Symantec's
evasions typically have a criminal purpose: to sell expensive software which simply does not work.
4
There is no question that
earlier versions of Ghost could effortlessly clone Windows XP boot-drives. So why the change - why do recent versions of Ghost put the user through hours of
work creating images that when restored simply will not boot. Do you suppose that Uncle Billy might have had something to do with that?
5
Shut down the system and
either temporarily or permanently connect the new hard drive. They both need to be in the system to clone. Most likely this will be a temporary arrangement if you want to remove the old drive or rearrange the connections later.
6
If you installed ghost on the
system where you're cloning
the drive, boot to windows on your old drive and go into
ghost. Select clone under ghost advanced and follow through the screens. Select old drive as source and new as the destination. See ghost documentation or help if
you're not familiar with all the
steps. The system will reboot and run the clone operation
7
If you made a ghost boot disk boot the system from the disk and ghost will load directly. Use your mouse or keyboard to select clone from the menus and then run the operation.
8
IMPORTANT: ONCE THE
OPERATION IS DONE DO NOT BOOT WINDOWS RIGHT AWAY!! If your old drive is still connected booting to
windows on the new drive will cause problems. You need to remove the old drive from your system or delete the partitions BEFORE you boot windows on the new drive. If your in doubt if the
ghost operation worked.. just
physically disconnect the old
drive. Once you confirm the new drive is working reconnect the old drive. Use a windows setup boot disk to delete windows off the old drive. Simply start setup from the boot disk and get to the
partition screen to delete the
partition (make sure you do this on the OLD DRIVE!) then exit setup without going any further (you don't actually want to install windows).
9
Connect the new (and old if
keeping it in the system) drive permanently and close up your PC.