The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm going to install Windows 7 Professional on my computer . It now has Windows Vista.. I would like to clone (copy) my hard drive, so I went to the Acronis site, but most of the reviews are not very good, 1 & 2 stars out of 5... Is there anything better,? maybe free or not real expensive? but maybe the rule comes in "you get what you pay for"

Also after installing Windows 7, & putting back the stuff I cloned will it also re-install Windows Vista operating system, or would I happen to have an option of what I can re-install??? & not install Vista.
thanks in advance..

jolynyk wrote:I'm going to install Windows 7 Professional on my computer . It now has Windows Vista.. I would like to clone (copy) my hard drive, so I went to the Acronis site, but most of the reviews are not very good, 1 & 2 stars out of 5... Is there anything better,? maybe free or not real expensive? but maybe the rule comes in "you get what you pay for"

Also after installing Windows 7, & putting back the stuff I cloned will it also re-install Windows Vista operating system, or would I happen to have an option of what I can re-install??? & not install Vista.
thanks in advance..

Taking your second question first: yes, it would reinstall Vista--which you don't want to do.

If you have your data (personal files, pictures, videos, etc) on the same partition as Windows, the Acronis image will contain BOTH your personal stuff and Windows. I don't think you can restore JUST your personal stuff as an image.

You can restore individual personal files from within an image, but in your situation I'd think that is a clumsy choice.

You have several alternatives. If I were in your shoes, I would backup my personal files to a CD, DVD, or USB thumb drive---folder by folder, NOT as an image. Just make a list of where all your stuff is--what folders. And then copy those folders to the backup location.

Don't forget your email and browser bookmarks/favorites.

Then install Windows 7. Then copy your personal files back from the CD or DVD or USB thumb drive.

If you plan to do an UPGRADE install rather than a clean install, Windows is supposed to be savvy enough to keep your personal files around, so you supposedly should not have to worry about backing them up or reinstalling them. I would never trust my stuff to that procedure and I would always do a manual backup.

And it's generally best policy to do a clean install rather than an upgrade anyway.

If you intend to do a clean install, wiping out your existing Windows installation completely, then you have to back your stuff up on your own.

There are free alternatives to Acronis, such as Macrium Reflect Free Edition. It works well usually, but so does Acronis. The key word is "usually". The fact is, no imaging program is 100% reliable, so you should be prepared to have them fail and have another plan in mind (back up manually).

Unless you have already made the purchase, I would go with Windows 7 Home Premium, rather than the more expensive Professional---unless you have specific need for the particular added features found in Professional. Most people don't need those additional features.

Those additional features are:

Domain join, Remote Desktop host, location aware printing, EFS, Mobility Center, Presentation Mode, Offline Folders, Group Policy (GP) controls, advanced backup, XP Mode.

I didn't need any of them. Do you?

Thanks Mitch, Yes I already purchased Windows 7 32/64 Professional to install on 3 computers.. The reason is I have lots of programs for Windows XP, & they said I needed the XP mode for that. But I think I got a decent deal, $175 for the 3 computer keys.. And yes I think I'd like to do a clean install. I did run a compatibility test & they said my computer qualifies, but I would have to do some updating on some of my programs, Logitech camera,Belkin USB Adaptor, & a few others..

Paragon and Casper are both good cloning and backup programs but you might go directly to the hard drive manufacturer. Since the prime objective, after buying a new hard drive, is to clone the old drive many manufacturers offer a free cloning software. (or at least used to).

Jolynyk;
I have been using Acronis True Image since 2007. It gets better with each release. I am now using version 2011 and I have no complaints yet.

If you can't find an free solutions to clone your hard drive, consider Acronis True Image 2011. Right now, I have three Christmas 30% discount codes to offer to three SGF members. PM me if you are interested.

Norton Ghost is also a cloning program, but is more expensive than Acronis.

Windows 7 has a built in disk imaging module as part of its backup tools. It is a light version of True Image. Some hard disk manufacturers also supply a light version for cloning old disks onto their new ones. These disks only ship with retail box hard drives.

Jolynyk:

I see a lot of complaining about Windows 7 built-in imaging product on Windows forums.

It works------but the interface is not intuitive and it can be fussy and quite cranky. It doesn't like you to rename your image files or move them around. So, if you intend to use imaging AFTER you move to Windows 7, you are probably better off with some other application.

Clonezilla Live has worked for me.

http://clonezilla.org/clonezilla-live/

It's open-source and completely free, not exactly the slickest user interface but it does work. You can make either a bootable CD or a bootable USB thumb drive. I've been able to clone XP, Win 7, and Linux systems with it.