How to clone a hard drive - EASY step by step walk-thru!

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  • Опубликовано: 2 июн 2024
  • If you have considered backing up your computer's hard drive, this method is arguably the BEST method, not only to protect your data, but also to avoid costly PC repair expenses. It's easy to do, and in this video, I walk you through each step of the process...PLUS! At the end, a serious Q&A session where I answer all of the questions you haven't thought of yet! Let's go!
    ** CORRECTION: (3:05) For simplicity, I stated in the video that "you *need a target drive equal to or larger than your source drive." It IS feasible to clone both the operating system and data from a larger drive to a smaller one, provided that the used space on the larger drive fits within the capacity limits of the smaller drive.
    Products:
    - Sabrent 2-bay SATA docking station/cloner: amzn.to/3toXbA9
    - Sabrent HDD/SSD/NVMe offline cloner: amzn.to/46hMs9d
    Links:
    - Macrium Reflect FREE edition 8.1: www.majorgeeks.com/files/deta...
    Videos you might enjoy:
    HDD vs SSD vs NVMe - should you upgrade your hard drive? How much faster is SSD vs HDD?
    • HDD vs SSD - is upgrad...
    Hope you guys enjoy this!
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    ** TIMESTAMPS **
    00:00 - how to clone your hard drive
    01:07 - what is the best method of backing up your personal files?
    01:47 - what exactly is drive cloning?
    02:33 - what do I need to clone my hard drive?
    04:15 - what is the difference between source drives and target drives?
    04:28 - why you should format the target drive first when cloning
    05:50 - how to download and install the Macrium Reflect cloning software
    06:35 - how to clone your hard drive using Macrium Reflect cloning software
    09:11 - standard desktop configuration with extra data and power connections
    09:26 - desktop configuration with no extra data or power connections (small form factor and mini-pc's)
    09:57 - laptop configuration for hard drive cloning
    10:57 - all in one PC configuration for hard drive cloning
    11:38 - are there any downsides to cloning a hard drive?
    12:25 - can i clone to a USB flash drive or external hard drive?
    13:15 - how long does it take to clone a hard drive?
    13:37 - can I clone a Linux or MacOS drive?
    13:52 - how do I safely store my backup clone drive?
    14:12 - how often should I clone my computer's hard drive?
    14:40 - can I use different software besides Macrium Reflect to clone my drive?
    14:59 - how do I find out if I have extra SATA ports and power connections?
    15:18 - is cloning the best way to backup my computer?
    16:23 - can I insert my clone drive into another computer?
    17:10 - do I need to take my laptop or my computer apart to clone the drive?
    17:40 - say thanks for my hard work :)
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Комментарии • 931

  • @alessandrobianchin9947
    @alessandrobianchin9947 Месяц назад +6

    ALL YOU NEED IS HERE. Best Backup Video Ever - If like me you have spent weeks reading blogs and watching videos on RUclips to understand how to back up your data this is all you need. Thank you, Computer Guy.

  • @sleepwalker6825
    @sleepwalker6825 7 месяцев назад +60

    Tip before cloning :: Always do a disk cleanup then optimize/defrag the old drive before cloning .. This will tidy up all the file system before Cloning

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  7 месяцев назад +9

      Great tip! 👍

    • @erojohn2
      @erojohn2 7 месяцев назад +5

      Hearing that Ssd shouldn’t be defragged. Don’t know if this is right?

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  7 месяцев назад +8

      @erojohn2 100% correct - never defrag an SSD. Windows uses TRIM technology to keep your SSD optimized 💪👍

    • @melvinklassen
      @melvinklassen 7 месяцев назад +6

      I disagree with a preparatory defragging. First, do the cloning, to make a copy BEFORE the source "fails". Note that Windows automatically defragments your disk-drive, once per week. So, no real need to repeat what Windows has already done.
      Also, never try to defragment an SSD, because the SSD "load-balances" the wear on each "cell" of storage. If you read from a cell, and then try to rewrite that cell, the "smarts" inside the SSD will write to a different (and hopefully less-worn-out) cell, thus prolonging the life of every cell. So, defragmenting an SSD does nothing useful.

    • @dukeweber723
      @dukeweber723 7 месяцев назад +5

      Note. There is no need to defrag an NVME.

  • @EVOLLOVEx
    @EVOLLOVEx 2 месяца назад +15

    THIS HAS TO BE ONE OF THE MOST CLEAR SPOKEN AND TO THE POINT VIDEOS IVE EVER WATCHED. 10/10 AND SUBSCRIBED.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  2 месяца назад +1

      Wow, thank you so much for the compliment! That means a lot!!! 👍💪

    • @EVOLLOVEx
      @EVOLLOVEx 2 месяца назад

      @@AskYourComputerGuy keep up the excellent work. Great video :).

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  2 месяца назад

      💪

    • @lenny108
      @lenny108 2 месяца назад

      Could you boot from the cloned hard drive?

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  2 месяца назад +2

      @lenny108 absolutely! That's the whole reason for cloning to begin with 👍

  • @lixarion1885
    @lixarion1885 2 месяца назад +5

    MAN, all of the questions that I have on my mind, u were able to answer it in the video, awesome!

  • @joewenzel5142
    @joewenzel5142 7 месяцев назад +13

    You are so thorough and easy to understand. I appreciate it.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  7 месяцев назад +3

      Thank you so much! I really appreciate that! 💪

    • @swagedelic
      @swagedelic 7 месяцев назад +1

      @@AskYourComputerGuy Will Macrium clone the "Recovery Partition" along with the C: and System Reserve partitions? I used Samsung Data Migration which did not clone the Recovery Partition and was told I didn't need it anyway.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  7 месяцев назад +2

      @swagedelic yes it will clone the entire drive, all partitions 👍

  • @thomas1699
    @thomas1699 6 месяцев назад +37

    That presentation was nicely done. Clear and simple instructions, a minimum of technical jargon, well documented sources, spoken at a reasonable pace, (no meandering tales). Nicely done! After seeing this presentation, I think I will give it a try on both of my laptops.

  • @RONBONIX
    @RONBONIX 7 месяцев назад +2

    That information was worth its weight in GOLD!! Thanks! Hugs from Okinawa! :)

  • @revoxjazz8317
    @revoxjazz8317 Месяц назад

    All I can do is thank you for the explanations you provided on the issue of cloning, something that until now I never needed (or thought I didn't need).
    Specifically, an opportunity came to me and that's why I came to your channel.
    Greetings from Portugal.
    Macedo Pinto

  • @usablellc6735
    @usablellc6735 6 месяцев назад +4

    Very well done introduction to disc cloning. Straight, to the point, and a minimal amount of jargon. I also very much appreciated the recommendation of which software to use.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  6 месяцев назад +1

      Thank you! Been working on making my videos more "user-friendly". I appreciate the support 👍

  • @fullsavage2743
    @fullsavage2743 3 месяца назад +4

    Just an update. All is working thanks to your helpful video and feed back. Truly appreciate everything you’ve done for me with this video and response truly is easier than it seemed!!

  • @fog152
    @fog152 6 месяцев назад +1

    Came back to say thank you, it worked! your recommendation and walkthrough are highly appreciated👌🙏

  • @CrackDavidson1
    @CrackDavidson1 2 месяца назад

    Very straight forward and easy. Thank you!

  • @terryshipe609
    @terryshipe609 3 месяца назад +7

    After watching multiple videos about preparing for the worst to save my desktop, you are the only one to confirmed what I thought. Cloning is a lot simpler than doing backups where the os has to be installed plus using the backup media and restoration of settings. Thanks and great video.

  • @_J.F_
    @_J.F_ 3 месяца назад +6

    After watching this video I went ahead and bought additional 8GB RAM (my Dell desktop will run max 16GB) and a Kingston KC600 drive with an upgrade kit included. It cost me round about $100 and using Acronis, which I had on my desktop already, and following your 'how-to' video the total upgrade was super simple and only took a few hours of which my actual work time was probably around 20 minutes. The old desktop is now running like a rocket so I couldn't be more happy with going ahead and doing this very affordable and easy upgrade. I have actually ordered an additional Kingston KC600 drive now that I know how easy it is, so I can do e.g. monthly backups using the cloning method. Thanks for a great series of videos on the subject I was looking for 👍

  • @user-ji8qt9sz1z
    @user-ji8qt9sz1z 4 месяца назад +2

    Thank you very much, this video made the cloning process so easy I can't belive it!! I watched your video about 2 hours ago and here I am using the cloned drive! Can't thank you enough.

  • @TheRynovision
    @TheRynovision 3 месяца назад

    My dude was thorough af! Liked & Subscribed!

  • @NicholasBarber-ov4iv
    @NicholasBarber-ov4iv 2 месяца назад +6

    No fooling around, clear easy to watch and easy to follow. I don't subscribe to much but I'm in. Nice job.
    Cloning my new 3d laptop now it's set up perfect, ready for that rainy day. Thanks

  • @path6641
    @path6641 6 месяцев назад +13

    Great video, I followed your instructions and cloned and replaced my 256g ssd source drive with a 2tb ssd within my laptop with no issues so far whatsoever! Currently commenting through same laptop right now.
    Thank you very much!!!

  • @garageworker
    @garageworker Месяц назад

    Video helped out so much, The software you point to is such a great service by them. Thank you!

  • @jonstokes21
    @jonstokes21 Месяц назад

    Great video. Very informative, no fluff, straight to the point, and imo makes the process easy enough for anyone to understand. Also thanks for the links to Marirum

  • @lycanthrope8979
    @lycanthrope8979 4 месяца назад +5

    Thanks Scott. I've made copies of files for years, but never cloned. My last laptop was an HP, which died twice, lost a lot of the hard drive stuff, other than Windows. My new laptop is about 7 years old and I figured I needed to upgrade to an SSD to speed it up, and also to clone for the first time. Thanks to your YT video, I got the Sabrent, followed this video and finally cloned my first drive directly from the hard drive to the new SSD, and then I cloned that using the offline cloning to a second SSD. I put the second SSD in as the new drive and it worked flawlessly. Thanks for the recommendations and great explanation to make the first time process as simple as possible.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  4 месяца назад

      Fantastic! Glad to hear you got good results! 💪👍❤️

  • @1990Kronic
    @1990Kronic 4 месяца назад +3

    I am absolutely blown away with how good Macrium reflect is, especially for free. thank you so much for this tutorial.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  4 месяца назад +1

      I agree, and you're very welcome! 👍

    • @maryjane9842
      @maryjane9842 2 месяца назад

      YOU are so right, same here, used it from MAJORGEEK and I am a PETITIONMAGIC from a few years back, hehehehe dont want to date myself too much, my first system, one stick of MEM/1 MB's = $100, not kidding, now ya get GB's for less then that, much less! I think I could right now put an entire system together, that would be awesome for around $500. I remember a co-worked spending like $2,500 or so on a DESKTOP back then, WOW......I think there is much more supply out there then demand, most dont know how to build a PC let alone want to even try! and the free software back then, i used FILEHIPPO I think it was called, they still around I think! SO then, everyone have an awesome and great PC day!!!
      and again, thank you for the videos! HHO

  • @feram5116
    @feram5116 4 месяца назад

    Straight forward information and clearly explained. Thanks!

  • @dominicdavison8590
    @dominicdavison8590 4 месяца назад

    Excellent straight forward advice. Many thanks.

  • @DavidM2002
    @DavidM2002 7 месяцев назад +7

    I cloned my drive a few months ago, just as you describe. And then everything hit the fan and I needed that clone. In my case, I was trying to create a virtual machine with the clone. Unfortunately, the clone file(s) were about 500 Gb because they included all of my data. That made the whole process far more difficult and time consuming than it might otherwise have been. Since that episode, on my new computer, I partitioned the drive so that the operating system took up about 50 Gb on a small partition and my data took up residence on the Drive D: partition. Since I regularly make several data backups, I don't need a clone that includes data. Now my clones are far smaller and easier to manage for future use and can be stored on far smaller media.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  7 месяцев назад +2

      Smart. That's why I made this video below, even though for different reasons, same result! 👍
      How to guarantee ZERO data loss if Windows crashes
      ruclips.net/video/DCQh7thkYvI/видео.html

  • @kiymakid
    @kiymakid 5 месяцев назад +4

    My laptop crashed just before Christmas on the day I was supposed to run a year end bonus payroll.... The repair shop was closed until the new year. I spent the better part of two days replacing Windows 11, downloading programs and replacing files from backups. My laptop seems to be running OK again but I wish I'd seen this video before all this happened. Thank you for a clear, easily understood explanation of my options. I've been using computers for 45 years and it's hard to keep up at times!

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  5 месяцев назад

      Sorry to hear what happened, but you're very welcome 👍

  • @patrickarmer937
    @patrickarmer937 8 дней назад

    Excellent video, thanks for taking the time to record it.

  • @SpiritintheSky.
    @SpiritintheSky. 6 месяцев назад

    What a useful video on a subject I know too little about. Thank you very much.

  • @danbromberg
    @danbromberg 7 месяцев назад +8

    The entire clone has to be dedicated to one backup whereas many backups (i.e., non-clone) can be installed on one dedicated drive (from which you can pick and choose which one you want).
    I prefer cloning for its convenience as well, so nicely done!

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  7 месяцев назад +2

      Thanks!

    • @itstheweirdguy
      @itstheweirdguy 7 месяцев назад +2

      Windows backup (called windows 7 backup in control panel in win 10-11) does a bare metal backup of your system, and also can be incremental. It's not quite a clone but it kind of is too. It does like to fail sometimes because of delays in starting VSS, might want to set it's schedule to try retrying a few times if it fails, but that's the only issue with it. Most third party backup programs that work inside windows really just use this anyways, microsoft has a VSS API that they can use for their software, but why not get it straight from MS? for free

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  7 месяцев назад +3

      @itstheweirdguy good question - as long as it's FREE and actually works with minimal tech skills, I'm all about it 💪

    • @IndellableHatesHandles
      @IndellableHatesHandles 7 месяцев назад +2

      @@itstheweirdguy The only problem is that for some reason you can only have one backup of your computer at a time, even if you have enough space for multiple.

    • @itstheweirdguy
      @itstheweirdguy 6 месяцев назад

      Yeah, it's incremental. The bare metal image is a base image with additionally added files added incrementally. You want that so it's not too big.@@IndellableHatesHandles It's not perfect that's why there's paid software. Windows 7 backup you might as well blow it all out and start a new backup every once in a while so you know the image backup is relevant. It's just a copy of your computer it shouldn't matter to just blow it out and start it over every once in a while. Or buy a new drive and start it over every few years external mechanical hdd's are cheap.

  • @richardnorris4522
    @richardnorris4522 7 месяцев назад +3

    I have the wavlink cloner (from Amazon) and it works with 3.5 in hard drives and SSDs in any combination. The only limitation is the target drive must be at least as big as the source drive. It can also be plugged into a USB port on your computer and used as a remote drive.

  • @3459jason
    @3459jason Месяц назад

    Thank you for you two videos on updating hard drivers. My laptop has been slow from the day I bought it. I don't have alot of knowledge about computers but from your videos I was able to get the right hard drive, clone it and just installed it today. My laptop is now a usable devices with speeds nearly equal to my phone. Thanks

  • @contegolupus
    @contegolupus Месяц назад

    That was great!!! Thank you very much. I'm going to watch all your videos

  • @George10767
    @George10767 7 месяцев назад +3

    I have *three* backup drives and use them in sequence, one every week. You need at least two backup drives. Otherwise with only one backup drive, suppose that during backing-up the system crashes and the operating drive gets corrupted.
    I agree with the Computer Guy about the concept of *simplicity* . Otherwise its like having a fire alarm notice that says: "In case of fire, consult manual".
    Also, after backing-up *ALWAYS* physically disconnect the backup drive from the computer. A virus attack will wreak havoc on every drive it can find.

  • @energy-tunes
    @energy-tunes 2 месяца назад +3

    3 minutes 23 seconds in he still hasn't started the process

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  2 месяца назад +5

      Many people need to understand the "why" and "what" before the "how". That's what I do on this channel. You can always skip ahead if you already know the basics 👍

  • @michealodrisceoil6595
    @michealodrisceoil6595 2 месяца назад

    Well done! With the help of your tutorial just got done replacing the default HP 128G SSD drive with a 1TB SSD. Pretty smooth process!

  • @mjgrealtyandcontractingsol811
    @mjgrealtyandcontractingsol811 6 месяцев назад +2

    Haven't tried it yet, but details are straight forward and on point. Very good stuff, will be back with another comment shortly

  • @Razor-gx2dq
    @Razor-gx2dq 2 месяца назад +2

    My SSD was showing signs of failure three days ago, this video was very helpful in the cloning process. My motherboard has two NVME slots so it was easy for me.

  • @PhilWithCoffee
    @PhilWithCoffee 4 месяца назад

    Great tutorial. Updating my HDD to an SSD, and this was very helpful.

  • @wandelust
    @wandelust 7 месяцев назад +1

    I think this is the best video ive watched re. backing up. So clearly explained and easy to understand. You've convinced me to clone as the best method. New subscriber btw. Great channel 👍. Looking forward to getting through all the rest of your videos Scott.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  7 месяцев назад +1

      Thank you so much! I appreciate that! 💪

    • @deathvalleybro9320
      @deathvalleybro9320 5 месяцев назад

      @@AskYourComputerGuy brilliant video. brilliant channel.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  5 месяцев назад

      Wow, thank you! I appreciate that! 💪 ❤️

    • @deathvalleybro9320
      @deathvalleybro9320 5 месяцев назад

      @@AskYourComputerGuy fast becoming my favourite i.t / pc guy channel.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  5 месяцев назад

      @deathvalleybro9320 thank you! Much appreciated 👍

  • @genecan8045
    @genecan8045 27 дней назад

    Excellent guidance. I had already bought an external case for an SSD with a C connector to back up my laptop's SSD (laptop has 2 C conenctors) to have in case of disaster to just be able to swap drives. This gave me the confidence to proceed, with the video showing all of the screens that I would see. It's proceeding nicely. Thanks also for the Macrium link.

  • @BABBLEBOAR
    @BABBLEBOAR Месяц назад

    Thank you for the link to this great free software and for taking this subject slow and clear.

  • @thomas1699
    @thomas1699 4 месяца назад +1

    I got a "round-tuit" (continued). I cloned and installed a Samsung 980 Pro in my Acer Predator Helios 300 (etc., etc.) to replace the OEM drive. I used the same Macrium Software provided by SK Hynix. It seemed less complex than the version you suggested. Gonna have to get a new PC now. I am out of things to upgrade. 😅 Muchas Gracious. Keep up the good work.

  • @inevitable408
    @inevitable408 16 дней назад

    Everything in this video worked perfectly for me on my 2nd try. Great vid and thank you!

  • @tedjohnson64
    @tedjohnson64 7 месяцев назад +2

    Thanks for the tip on the location of the free Macrium install package! I've been looking for that for weeks (had to build a new PC from scratch).

  • @jeymslorenz7349
    @jeymslorenz7349 5 месяцев назад

    Thank you, sir, for this video. I've been looking for a tutorial on how to transfer my OS to a new drive since my old HDD is failing. Most of the videos I've watched are confusing and add unnecessary steps. Your video has been a great help to me. Now, I'm waiting for my drives to clone for 5 hours.

  • @oldeenglish8058
    @oldeenglish8058 2 месяца назад +2

    Great video! Your how to videos are expertly presented (I have little patience for some of the failed comedy that I see that really distracts from the content!) I already have used Macrium Reflect Free to clone my two desktops and laptop. I cloned the laptop to an SSD hard drive then removed the old 1Tb HDD from the laptop (which now adds storage in my desktop) and plugged the SSD into my laptop. The laptop start up was flawless and performance speed was really noticeable! Again, grateful for the time and effort you put in to make these priceless "how to's"

  • @Robert8455
    @Robert8455 6 месяцев назад +1

    Great video and an important topic. The only thing I would add is adding an external label to your disk that would include what it is and the date. Perhaps obvious but if you have several copies, it might be nice to know which one is what. I've watched several of your videos and you provide good content that is easy to follow and understand. You also provide links and chapters and really make a nice effort to organize things. So thank you for doing what you are doing. Another topic you might consider covering is how to best setup a new drive to more easily allow a separation of o/s files & programs and personal content like documents, photos, videos etc.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  6 месяцев назад +1

      Did that! How to guarantee ZERO data loss if Windows crashes
      ruclips.net/video/DCQh7thkYvI/видео.html

  • @albertoke3930
    @albertoke3930 5 месяцев назад

    Wonderful video. Just saved me alot of stress and work. Actual life saver

  • @RUAGoodNurse
    @RUAGoodNurse 5 месяцев назад

    Yay I figured it out! Perfect clone and perfect movement and of recovery partition and then re-sizing of the system partition to the unallocated space. The key was NOT to create a partition of the unallocated space. I have learned so many fun things from you: have upgraded ram from 4GB to 16 and cloned and properly handled transition from 128 SSD to 500 GB SSD. Yahoo!! Thank you

  • @gsxrsquid
    @gsxrsquid 3 месяца назад

    Another helpful video! Thanks!

  • @dennissmith1469
    @dennissmith1469 7 месяцев назад +1

    Awesome Video!! This video came just in time.Cause my old Toshiba has a mechanical drive and now updating to a kingston digital drive and adding ram to the old laptop your two jump drive video saved me on. Thanks aging.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  7 месяцев назад +2

      Excellent! Great to hear 💪

    • @dennissmith1469
      @dennissmith1469 7 месяцев назад +1

      @@AskYourComputerGuy hey question with the cloner tool which you described and with the link! this cloning process is done first by removing old disk hard drive and putting into the cloning device then installing your new digital hard drive into Cloning device to rewrite new drive? Say for my oldToshiba satellite laptop?

    • @dennissmith1469
      @dennissmith1469 6 месяцев назад +1

      Awesome video! This is something i will be doing even with equipment from your links! Need the upgrades big time

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  6 месяцев назад +2

      @dennissmith1469 fantastic! 👍💪❤️

  • @amit_dhami
    @amit_dhami 5 месяцев назад

    Very well presented video. Thanks.

  • @rogriguezaadj1
    @rogriguezaadj1 29 дней назад

    Thank you so much for your help on cloning my hard drive.

  • @user-du5lt5ij7h
    @user-du5lt5ij7h 4 месяца назад

    Thank you!!!this was great and after watching your vid i did it,very easy.Thanks again.

  • @hdwood76fxe
    @hdwood76fxe 2 месяца назад +1

    Used your link to Amazon. Ordered the Sabrent 1 port & M2, plus a Sabrent 4 Port C plus M2. 👍😊 Thanks for the info. I will be cloning upon arrival. 👍😊

  • @ryanraynor3248
    @ryanraynor3248 Месяц назад

    I did this for my Dell Inspiron 5570 and your instructions worked well. I had to google a few other things and needed a minute to wrap my head around a couple others but your video was for a guy that only dives as deep as he has to to fix his own laptop. For my new M.2 drive to be recognized I had to remove the old HDD (in my case it was a newer 3.5 SSD in that spot) Than you.

  • @ghpcog
    @ghpcog 4 месяца назад

    wow you're the best man! great info!

  • @glennbokma6182
    @glennbokma6182 3 месяца назад

    Hello. Great video. Thank you very much for the fast reply. Have a great day. Glenn

  • @erojohn2
    @erojohn2 6 месяцев назад

    Scott ,Wish list item coming your way. Thanks for all your help.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  6 месяцев назад

      Thank you, my friend! That's very generous of you! ❤️💪👍

  • @irshadwahab
    @irshadwahab 2 месяца назад

    Thank you for the clear and simple instructions! I was able to successfully clone a 240GB SSD to a 1TBSSD.

  • @user-qc6yw7cw9i
    @user-qc6yw7cw9i 3 месяца назад

    Excellent instructional video, 6 stars.

  • @StanSuchman
    @StanSuchman Месяц назад

    Hurrah! It worked! Thanks!

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  Месяц назад

      Yay, awesome!

    • @StanSuchman
      @StanSuchman Месяц назад

      Now I have a problem related to the cloning. I cloned a 256gb had onto a 512gb ssd. Now I cannot see or access the excess 250gb or so leftover disk space. How do I fix this?
      Again, thanks.

  • @Carl-fl6wl
    @Carl-fl6wl 3 дня назад

    Thank you so much for making this video

  • @ccmcgaugh
    @ccmcgaugh 5 месяцев назад

    Thanks! Excellent tutorial! 👍😉👍

  • @alanjohnson6369
    @alanjohnson6369 7 месяцев назад +1

    Great video thanks for sharing

  • @juanarmas86
    @juanarmas86 10 дней назад

    Gonna try it once my new hard drive arrives.

  • @thatspamboi
    @thatspamboi 2 месяца назад

    Thanks so much for the help. I tried other guides but they all recommended software that wanted me to purchase the full version even when I was using a trial version.

  • @songsan807
    @songsan807 7 месяцев назад +1

    This is a very good video tutorial on cloning drives. Personally either because I am impatient, too cautious, or experience many cloning failures before, I would clone the main drive as an image on another internal drive. Depending on the size of the filled drive, it would take 30 mins to an hour and half. Would then use the image to clone into the new blank drive. This way if the cloning process fail toward the end you would not need to restart from the beginning for another 5 hours or so. Plus you now have an image that you can use for additional cloning or as another backup.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  7 месяцев назад +1

      Good tips! 👍

    • @theclearsounds3911
      @theclearsounds3911 7 месяцев назад +1

      This doesn't account for 2 scenarios: physical or electrical trauma to your PC that both your system drive AND your backup will succumb to, and the possibility of being infected by a virus while in your PC. Plus, longer term, it's wearing itself out being on all the time. Inconvenient as it sounds, you should get a USB drive and store it as described in this video.

  • @videodude8137
    @videodude8137 7 месяцев назад +1

    Fortunately, I have four drives in my PC. Drives D, E & F are where I store all of my Data. So if drive C dies, I only have to replace it with the Cloned drive. That also dramatically reduces the cloning time. GR8 video. Thanks

  • @haydenmurray9696
    @haydenmurray9696 7 месяцев назад +2

    Thank you so much! Finally a software that you don't need to pay for!

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  7 месяцев назад +2

      And it works pretty well, too! User friendly and FREE! 💪

  • @makemyday365ed
    @makemyday365ed Месяц назад

    I bought a SSD drive yesterday for a laptop that has been sitting for 5 years. Dowloaded the Macrium software and cloned the Hard Drive to the SSD overnight. Woke up and the clone was done, disconnected hard drive and installed the SSD and it booted right up. Now I have a SSD W10 laptop that booted up very fast! I just have to finish putting it back together. Thank you!

  • @mrk4510
    @mrk4510 4 месяца назад

    Great Video, thanks

  • @user-gg2fc6gy7t
    @user-gg2fc6gy7t 6 месяцев назад

    thank you for your step by step instructions i was ready to get rid of my computer since i am not a computer guy. the last one i had a problem and i junked it since a computer repair said it cost to much to repair and again i was at that point again . i got a new hard drive copied the os to the new drive and the computer would not start i knew that there was something wrong with what i was doing and got to you video and said i will give it one more try before the dump. i id the steps as you showed and took the new hard drive and replaced it after cloning it and the windows started and stopped for a minute. then adjusted and started and works just like the old drive. thank you for your help.

  • @everydaybubbly
    @everydaybubbly Месяц назад

    I can't say thank you enough. My laptop died on me. I've been working in information technology for over 30 years. However I am far removed from desktop and laptop systems and applications. So when my laptop which is also my main machine for work, died and I needed to rebuild it, I ran into the usual problems with installing from a corrupted hard drive. I spun my wheels for almost a week trying to get Windows loaded on the laptop running into a myriad of problems. It never dawned on me until I ran across your channel that I could take a clone from another machine and utilize that. Excellent video, wonderful content, clear concise easy to follow and accurate. Can't thank you enough

  • @reo1994
    @reo1994 5 месяцев назад

    thank you so much. this worked for me.

  • @johnlockyer8402
    @johnlockyer8402 7 месяцев назад +1

    Brilliant, many thanks. John, Australia

  • @AndyHayes1
    @AndyHayes1 6 месяцев назад +1

    Thanks liked and subscribed! You have a great way to explain for the average joe like me. You could have touched on different size of drives and what to do if drives a few gigs different. Looks like you 2 drives where exactly the same sizes. However I followed along and going to bed while its cloning. I'm upgrading a hp15 to an ssd so hopefully it will boot up when it's done and installed. Great guide thank you.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  6 месяцев назад +2

      I appreciate that. I'll probably make a similar video going more in depth about drives, types and sizes and such down the road 👍

  • @TheNebulousBrother
    @TheNebulousBrother 7 месяцев назад +2

    Thank you for the most derect answer to cloning without all the filler fluff!

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  7 месяцев назад +2

      I appreciate that very much 👍

    • @TheNebulousBrother
      @TheNebulousBrother 7 месяцев назад +1

      All the previous videos wanna talk to much and not get to the point. You info was direct on the how to. I appreciated that cause you didn't speak like to were talking to idiots@@AskYourComputerGuy

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  7 месяцев назад +1

      @TheNebulousBrother thanks! I try to not waste my viewers' time and address quirks and questions via the comments 👍

    • @TheNebulousBrother
      @TheNebulousBrother 7 месяцев назад +1

      Those are the answers i like, and the only channels i like and subscribe to when it comes to learning.@@AskYourComputerGuy

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  7 месяцев назад +2

      Awesome, thanks for the support! 💪

  • @thomas1699
    @thomas1699 4 месяца назад

    I finally got a "round-tuit." I cloned and installed an SK Hynix Gold 31 in my Aspire 5. Used the free Macrium software provided. It was very easy. The hardest part was getting the back of the laptop open. Thanks again.

  • @TheSoundmanPete
    @TheSoundmanPete 5 месяцев назад +1

    Your method was easy to follow. Didn't end up quite how I expected it but I'm still thrilled. I replaced a 500g HDD to a 1t SSD. The old drive was getting tired. I only had around 200g on the drive. Now after the clone I'm seeing 1) system reserved (T) 28.2 out of 100 used.... and 2) primary (C) 148 of 465 used. A 3rd box on the right is grayed out and shows 465g

    • @danielzee
      @danielzee 4 месяца назад

      My new 2 TB ended up being the same as my source 1 TB?? How do I access my other TB?

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  4 месяца назад +1

      @danielzee you can either expand the drive to full capacity using Windows disc management or use Aomei Partition Assistant free to do it, guaranteed no data loss:
      REAL-TALK review of AOMEI FREE Partition Assistant | FREE disk cloning and no data loss software
      ruclips.net/video/UBmdMHmRjBM/видео.html

    • @danielzee
      @danielzee 4 месяца назад

      Thank you for your quick reply, I'll try that out right now.@@AskYourComputerGuy

  • @robertpavlik7229
    @robertpavlik7229 7 месяцев назад +1

    @bobpavlik85
    Your presentation was very clear and easy to understand up to answering questions at which time I waited for my question to be answered. Unfortunately, I still do not know if I could use the cloud to back up my laptop.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  7 месяцев назад +1

      Depends on what you mean by cloud backup of your laptop. If you're talking about just backing up your personal files, there are tons to choose from. I don't know of any offhand that essentially backup your entire drive image to the cloud automatically, as those images would be huge and take a LONG time to upload. I'm sure they exist, but I can't recommend any. Perhaps other viewers might know of one that would work for you 🤷‍♂️

  • @KosiRevaya
    @KosiRevaya 7 месяцев назад +1

    Thank you!

  • @danielflorea8834
    @danielflorea8834 7 месяцев назад +1

    You deserve a subscribe, thank You

  • @Reikoku.
    @Reikoku. 4 месяца назад

    Thanks for the video, just upgraded from a 8 year old hard drive to ssd.

  • @kevinlegobrickmaster8015
    @kevinlegobrickmaster8015 2 месяца назад

    Dropped a sub, finally RUclips actually refers a topic I'm interested in. My friend working in IT told me about how they clone drives using clonezilla which have piqued my interest as my way of cloning OSs is by turning it into an ISO which is a hassle as I can only do so with a fresh install. I think I'll be using this method for personal backups thanks!

  • @ChriisSky
    @ChriisSky 6 месяцев назад

    Awesome bro ❤

  • @StarvingMorlock
    @StarvingMorlock 2 месяца назад

    Great video worked great in my case, just a litle drawback, I did the cloning overnight but in the morning when I checked up, system wasn't copied, so I selected again the lacking partitions, it took in total 9 hours of cloning but I already installed the drive and it's working flawless even whe I did the cloning in two parts.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  2 месяца назад +1

      Odd, but glad it's working

    • @StarvingMorlock
      @StarvingMorlock 2 месяца назад

      @@AskYourComputerGuy My theory is an update was installed and the computer restarted, that interrupted the cloning, that's why I found my screen locked in the morning. I thought I had to format the drive and start over but no.

  • @alanb6401
    @alanb6401 6 месяцев назад

    great video, should show how to setup once you cloned, I just swapped and worked for me, used a bigger drive then kept old one for backup

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  6 месяцев назад +1

      That's the beauty of a clone, no setup needed. It's an exact copy of the existing setup you already had 👍

  • @specialkcitizen6263
    @specialkcitizen6263 Месяц назад

    Excellent!
    1: I refused to pay $30 for a one time use software to clone my drive. I tried four which said FREE - and nothing of the sort. Such companies would get my business if they offered a monthly sub of around $8. I use once, unsub, maybe use again and have to sub. They get some money.
    2. So I looked around and came across this video. Downloaded, follow instructions, cloned drive and as soon as it was done, plugged in, fired up the PC and it worked brilliantly.
    3: Literally every other video on YT about this is a sneak promotion. The youtubers know very well the software they are using isn't free. Their getting kick back income. Nothing wrong with that, but see point 1.
    So, this works. I'm a PC amateur and I managed to do this.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  Месяц назад

      Fantastic! Thx for the support and affirmation. I try to be 100% honest with my viewers at all times, good or bad. If I get incentivized by a recommendation, I always disclose that 🫡

  • @KadetheTITAN13
    @KadetheTITAN13 Месяц назад

    Great video! It helped a lot since Samsung data migration wasn’t working for me.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  Месяц назад +1

      Glad it helped!

    • @KadetheTITAN13
      @KadetheTITAN13 Месяц назад

      @@AskYourComputerGuy update to the clone tho. It didn’t work because windows 11 was on two different drives so it made it weird. So I had to just do a fresh install on my new ssd.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  Месяц назад

      Windows can't install on multiple drives. Whatever your existing OS drive setup is...that's what gets cloned. I'm so confused

    • @KadetheTITAN13
      @KadetheTITAN13 Месяц назад

      @@AskYourComputerGuy it was booting from my d drive but windows was on my c drive. I tried to join the discord to share a screenshot but your mee bot is broken.

  • @DJaquithFL
    @DJaquithFL 7 месяцев назад +1

    I'm up and running as fast as I can reboot/ F8 from internal cloned M.2 SSD using Macrium Reflect. The M.2 SSD is cloned every 3 days, it's done that way in case there's a corruption or other similar problem.
    For about the last 10 plus years I've been using a boot OS SSD and separate RAID 1 data drives plus backups. In my PC everything's solid state. M.2 and SSDs in general have become relatively affordable. My personal data is copied to both a local NAS and a NAS off premises. An idea is to share a NAS with a friend or have it at your parents or family's home. In either case I recommend encrypting it to avoid problems.

  • @JamesBond-bd3pz
    @JamesBond-bd3pz Месяц назад

    Good job

  • @tommy1163
    @tommy1163 5 месяцев назад

    I went through the comments already and I'm not sure if this was brought up using different phrasing/language. But what would the drawback/problem with taking a seagate external hard drive, shucking it, cloning it, and having it replace the internal? (for reference: internal storage is a lot lower than the seagate; I caught the part at 12:45 about it being slow - I am looking to see if you could expand on why it would be slow in the situation I mention above).
    Your approach to talking about problem solving is very helpful, and easy to follow, excellent work.

    • @AskYourComputerGuy
      @AskYourComputerGuy  4 месяца назад

      No reason you can't. The only thing that makes an external drive and external is the SATA connector inside. Just be careful taking it apart

  • @MrMockingbird1313
    @MrMockingbird1313 7 месяцев назад +1

    Hey, this was excellent. I always buy old and refurbished machines. It saves money, right? But I am always prepared for a motherboard failure. I have a couple boxes of drives. This will help me to rehab that mess.

  • @maryjane9842
    @maryjane9842 2 месяца назад

    WOW, I may not be a TECHIE or anything, although I been onboard with PC [since a 350MB WD, and a 486 DESKTOP, about 30years or so, and please allow to inform you all, fact is there is something inside of every computer laughing at us, right before we start hitting the KB and throw the entire mess thru the window, open window before throwing.....LOL] and those darn programers that I know do things to software, that they be laughing at ENDUSERS while getting coffee or something. I hate them all! AND now we have you, and your awesome, thank you so much for doing those videos, I am sub'd. and gave ya all a thumbs up, wish I could give more then one!
    and I also give a 10/10 all the way!
    thank you again from MIAMI, FLORIDA. HHO. {IF i beg and on my hands and knees, anyone think the programers would have more mercy on us endusers, NOT? didnt think so.....hehehehe}. not kidding!!!

  • @abdelalimalshayeb3810
    @abdelalimalshayeb3810 3 месяца назад

    grate work

  • @HartmutWSager
    @HartmutWSager 7 месяцев назад +1

    I have a further refinement to the idea of two partitions (Windows OS+apps partition and a data partition). Same two partitions, but use Dropbox, OneDrive, GoogleDrive, etc, synced cloud storage to have an automatic up-to-the-minute files and folders copy (not partition image) of the data partition. That way, the much more frequently changing data partition is always backed up in real time, and furthermore, operations like file or folder renames and deletes (the bane of one-way copy backups) are also properly synced.

  • @marinodelacruz3029
    @marinodelacruz3029 Месяц назад

    This info is very good and crear

  • @tac73
    @tac73 2 месяца назад

    A few days ago, I cloned a 256GB M.2 NVMe SSD boot drive, with a 2TB NVMe, using a USB adapter. The cloning process completed successfully. However, after swapping the drives, the system wouldn't boot. Turns out (long story, short), my Dell T5820 doesn't like the much larger 2TB boot drive. So, I tried cloning a spare 256GB drive, swapped it in, and it worked.
    My point is, making a clone of a boot drive is great. But, if at all possible, make sure it's going to work by testing it.
    Also, to avoid bit-rot, I use SpinRite on at least level 3, to refresh the data written to my stored drives, about once a year.

  • @cliffmathison2991
    @cliffmathison2991 5 месяцев назад

    Thank you very much, timing is impeccable as I'm updating an older Optiplex 7010 and want to swap to SSD OS drive. I also want to clone drives from our newest (2) Win11 machines, 1 laptop and 1 miniTower PC