Thanks to those in my previous post as to which clone software to use. Wound up using Macrium Reflect.

I already cloned a new drive. Haven't tried it yet because I'd have to open the laptop and replace the current drive in order to test it. Windows (7 at least that I'm aware of) won't boot off an external usb apparently

There was something in the cloning procedure that I'm concerned about. Macrium has a list of drive letters to assign the clone. The default was 'E'. I know that windows uses 'C' for the system hdd. I was confused as to what to do. Was worried that perhaps choosing C for the clone might somehow screw the process up being there's obviously a C already connected. So I left it as E.

I googled the question and did find many others asking the same. However, the handful I looked at didn't really give me the straight answer I was looking for. What one seem to imply though was that it didn't matter what letter is assigned for the clone, once you replace the original drive with the clone, the computer is gonna make it the C drive.

Is this correct? Should I redo the clone and designate it as C this time? I'm confused over this.

Thanks

 

Maybe the following picture will help you, I use this program (O&O DiskImage Professional) to backup my complete hard disk C:/
I restore my hard disk with a boot disc.

Basic data partition + EFI system partition + Microsoft reserved partition + Basic data Partition

 

The operating system is always located on C:/

You take C:/ and create your backup on another hard disk. For example, from C: to E:/.

 

Thanks for your help.
Yes. That I know.

Sorry, I'm afraid your replies are a bit ambiguous to me. (I'm not very pc/windows knowledgeable)
I'm looking for clear answer, for example, like, "It doesn't matter what letter the clone you're making is designated as. Replacing the old drive with the clone, the clone will now be recognized as the C drive."

or.. "Yes, for the cloning process you need to designate the drive you're cloning as 'C'."

Sometimes folks that know what they're taking about speak in abrupt shorthand thinking the other person knows what they mean. I'm afraid I don't, heh.

 

Last edited: Jun 25, 2022

No problem, so when you go to your backup program, it shows all your drives / hard drives. Each drive or hard drive has a letter.
Harddisk C:/ (your operating system is always C:/ ) every additional harddisk which is either in your PC sit or external is marked
with consecutive letters: For example, the second hard disk has the letter E:/ , the third hard disk F:/ and so on.

If you want to clone the complete hard disk C,/ you mark the hard disk and then the program asks you where
should I copy the complete backup C:/ to, then you tell the program to hard disk E:/ or F:/ or G:/ etc.. !

You can also post a screenshot of the program here.

 

Thanks.
Ok, so I'm clear. The drive I clone can be designated other than C. When I replace the old C drive with the clone, it will show as the C drive, even though the clone software designated it as some other letter than C. Is this correct?

Aside from that, is there anything wrong with designating the clone as C right from the beginning?

I don't know how the windows file system works. I'm just assuming that when you format, ntfs here being the case, that a letter designation is part of the formatting. Therefore I don't understand how a clone made designated with a letter other than C, then becomes the C drive when installed. Unless windows automatically resets the clone from say an, E for example, to a C after you plug it in and boot up or something

 

Last edited: Jun 25, 2022

The letters - that is, the Windows drive designations are always fixed.
When installing hard disks, Windows automatically distributes the letters so C D E F G H I J K LM N O P Q R S T U V W X Z.

If you have a backup of the hard disk C:/, for example the backup is on the hard disk E;/, you want to use your backup of the hard disk C./, the backup program asks you for the destination path, it offers you C:/ D:/ E:/ and then you select C./ and then perform the restore.

If you have made a complete backup (also called clone or image) of the C:/ hard disk and you restore it, you will get exactly what you cloned, namely C:/.

How many hard disks do you have?

 

Thanks
I have a laptop with the one hd. Think it's on it's way towards a failure. I'm simply cloning that drive onto a new 2.5" I just bought so as to have a it ready to go if and when the original drive goes tits up.

I know the system drive is always the C drive. That's why my confusion as to if the cloning software first formats the new drive prior to cloning as another letter designation other than C, and then I install the clone into the laptop, is the new drive gonna be reading as C if formatted as some other letter.

See, I'm thinking this whole letter assign thing is part of the formatting. Maybe its not, I dunno. I get that if, for example, I plug 3 external drives into 3 of the usb ports, the system is C, the dvd is gonna be D, and the 3 I plug in are gonna be E, F and G. So therefore whatever letter is assigned is simply a hierarchical numbering system for how many drives are connected and have nothing to do with some assigned letter during formatting?

This is all getting way too back and forth complicated, lol.
All I want to know is... will my new cloned drive be recognized and operate as the C system boot drive regardless of whateverthehell letter designation I choose the cloning software to designate it as?
basically just that simple

 

Last edited: Jun 25, 2022

When you use Acronis/Macrium/Aomei and want to clone/backup the Windows partition looks a bit complicated. By default Windows 10 (GPT-EFI disk) uses 3 auxiliar partitions plus the Windows one. Like @BEAT16 said before.

But always the Windows partition you're using (you've booted from) will be the C one. Don't worry about, say, cloning/backup to an external G drive. Just in case this is one of your concerns.

Also, the program should do the work for you when selecting the auxiliar partitions. There must be some kind of "system backup" option. And if it's an entire physical disk containing a Windows partition should also take care of that.

 

Last edited: Jun 25, 2022

maybe make a bootable flash drive with a linux on it. partition tools like gparted, qtparted, etc. are all very easy to use.
It sounds like you are going to need one sooner rather than later. Unetbootin time.

 

Thanks.
I'm mainly a mac guy but use a pc laptop too. When I clone my mac main hd. I open the clone software, choose target and destination disk. hit copy. boom, done.

Now the windows stuff comes off way more complicated but I could follow the Macrium flow of things for your standard basic vanilla cloning and ignore all the advanced optional stuff. In that respect it was about as easy to do as mac cloning.

I'm just replacing the original 500gb hdd with a new 500gb hdd. Not doing any type of weird partitioning schemes or any other sorts of windows arcana voodoo other than however windows does its routine everyday NTFS format.

The disk management area of my windows control panel shows my current C drive as having a recovery partition (19gb), a "System Reserved" partition (100mb's) and the rest the free space available to use partition.

When you start a clone process, as you probably know, the clone software will erase and format the disk to make it ready for copying the target drive. This part is where it asks me to designate a letter to the drive.

When you say, "But always the Windows partition you're using (you've booted from) will be the C one. Don't worry about, say, cloning/backup to an external G drive. Just in case this is one of your concerns."

This is simply the simple answer I'm looking for... that when the cloning software prepares the disk and I choose a letter other than 'C', that my new drive will work as my new system drive and that it'll say it's the C drive. That's all I wanted to know, heh.

I'm afraid to ask for fear of a complicated (to me) answer, lol, but would there be a problem designating the clone as a C drive instead of another letter? Or would that cause some kind of conflict error or something during the cloning process since there's already the system C drive in the laptop?

 

Last edited: Jun 25, 2022

see, you might as well be talking martian to me with all that, heh. ;-D

 

I agree. I mean, it's @clone , clearly the most qualified of the forum to answer this question
It's warez but Windows Boot "Strelec" ISOs are incredible for this and easier to use if you're used to Windows.

 

Oh, so I guessed right. No problems about that. C will be always the drive you've booted from. even with USB/DVD boot disks.
There are factors to consider but when you're cloning/backup your last concern is the letter assigned to the clone/backup disk.

 

Afaict looking up cloning, windows won't boot from a usb disk. I understand there's probably work arounds but that stuffs way over my head.
Be great if I could boot from my clone externally to test it's working rather than opening up the machine and physically swapping out the drive

Afraid to again ask whats up with all that, lol. Why can't windows cloning be a simple easy thing.

 

Last edited: Jun 25, 2022

It's like the Batlight. But I do really recommend having a good usb bootable drive for any of these situations, because if you can load the os directly into RAM and access the internet somehow; you are 90% or better, on your way toward fixing it. Almost no matter what goes wrong.

 

YES

 

There we go. Thanks!