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Question

How do I copy the entire OS from one hard drive to another?

Nov 17, 2012 4:37AM PST

Which tool is to be used?

Thanks.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
The one you like.
Nov 17, 2012 4:43AM PST

We have Acronis, CloneZilla and a dozen others. Many choices.
Bob

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Is it needed to format or clear the drive before coping?
Nov 17, 2012 8:39AM PST

The target drive is Momentus XT, which is bigger than the original drive, has been installed the window 8 preview version with advanced format.

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With the target drive being bigger ...
Nov 17, 2012 9:12AM PST

you really do not have to do anything but run the cloning application of your choice and follow its instructions. Acronis True Image costs a few bucks but is worth every penny and Clonezilla works quite well for many but it is command based and these days many are not comfortable with a command line interface.
Here is a helpful link for Clonezilla:
http://clonezilla.org/show-live-doc-content.php?topic=clonezilla-live/doc/03_Disk_to_disk_clone

Macrium Reflect Free http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx is a pretty decent piece of cloning software and actually most drive manufacturers offer their own drive installation software that includes cloning.

Here is a helpful link that steps you through Macrium Reflect's cloning a drive (with screenshots):
http://kb.macrium.com/KnowledgebaseArticle50081.aspx

note that with either cloning does not require partitioning or deletion of partitions by the user as the utility handles this.