How to implement Disk-to-Disk copy in a bit-to-bit manner

DrvImagerXPSetup_2.2.exe
http://forums.kustompcs.co.uk/archive/index.php/
http://forums.kustompcs.co.uk/archive/index.php/t-5250.html AlanI've found that my SCSI hard drives are the loudest things in my system. It's not that they are bad - other ambient sounds drown them out, but at night when it's quiet, I can hear them clearly.

I have an Abit IT7 Max2 with Serial ATA. Question is, do I wait for the Seagate Barricuda SATA hard drive or do I just get an ordinary Barricuda IV?

I like the idea of the small cable but the Abit board comes with an adaptor to let you use an ordinary IDE drive with the SATA port. Does anyone have any experience of this?

Lastly, I want to copy my current SCSI C drive to the new IDE drive so I don't have to re-install Windows and all my other programs. What's the best software for doing an image so I can just boot from the new drive?

Thanks for your suggestions in advance.

Mr_NemesisThe only drive imaging progs I've used are Norton Ghost and Powerquest DriveImage Pro, or whatever it's called. Both seemed to work fine for *nix images. Can't say I'd recommend it for Windows installs though, they are a world of pain.

If you do try, make sure you clear CMOS on the reinstall.

TBH though, I'd just reinstall windows. Hopefully you weren't daft enough to store any data/config files on your root partition...? Do yourself a favour and partition your HD up like a battenburg when you reinstall, and make sure Windows stores all it's config files on another partition that you can just point your freshly installed progs to when you reinstall.

The first Seagate SATA drives that were reviewed came out with disappointing perfomance, I'd wait a while if I were you.

Though I think it's criminal you're getting rid of your SCSI's though... :p

FirebladePowerQuest Drive Image (http://www.powerquest.com/driveimage/) is one o' the best prog's there is for this kinda thing Alan

Norton Ghost 2003 (http://www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/ghost_personal/) is another highly rated product

But... and it's a big but... I recently found out about DrvImagerXP (http://home.carolina.rr.com/lexunfreeware/DrvImagerXP/DrvImagerXP.htm) - a FREEware application (as indeed all the software is on that site), which I've heard is almost as good as the retail Drive Image 6.0 product

IMHO the FREEware product must surely be worth a go! I'd certainly have tried it/used it if I haidn't already forked out good money fer Drive Image 6.0 :rolleyes:

[edit] ye beat me to it Mr_Nemesis

AlanMr_Nemesis- I don't know that I'm going to sell my SCSIs, just not run them on this computer. My 18Gb SCSI has three partitions, and the swapfile is on my 9Gb SCSI drive. There is no data of any sort on C:\Drive - just applications. I have been doing it this way since I first got Windows 3.0 in 1990!

What do you mean by config files? As far as I know, even when installing applications on other drives, Windows still puts inf files on C:Drive, *.dll files on System32 and, of course, the registry which is on C Drive. I am trying to avoid having to re-install Windows or any other applications so a byte by byte copy is the only thing I can think of.

Creepy, I've got Norton Ghost 2001 though I've never used it? Will it do?

P.S. I know the SATA drives don't have any particular performance improvements on IDE yet, but I can replace an absolutely enormous round SCSI cable with a tiny little SATA cable and make my case MUCH tidier

The PimpGhost will work fine for Windows installations. Used it so many times it is unbelievable.

Easy to use.

Install the main program
Create Boot Disk
Install your new drive/s
Boot from Floppy
Select which drive you want to be the source
Select which drive you want to be the destination
Click GO
Sit back & wait for a few minutes to an hour (depending on how much info is being moved)
Wait till finish
Shut machine down & remove old HDD.
Set new HDD to desired cabling
Reboot
Config BIOS to boot from new drive
Bobs Ya Uncle

If you are going to use the 3 partitions again, you will need to repartition the new drive first using the windows CD, and then do a partition - partition copy with Ghost instead of Drive - Drive.

AlanI'll copy all but the C Partitiion using Explorer. It's just the C Drive that needs to be done so thanks for the tip, partition to partition. AlanHave downloaded that software Creepy. Will try it when I get the hard drive!