Post by Timothy DanielsPost by steve.asorry this can also be done with removable drives, again just change to
master insert drive in the pc and boot again 2 minute job, no need to
install windows format or anything else ghost takes care of the full
process been a lifesaver for me on a number of occasions
What is done with the main drive? If it remains in the computer
and it and the removable HD were put on the same cable (i.e.
same IDE channel), the BIOS's default HD boot order would
select the main HD (the Master) for booting. If the main HD were
always jumpered as Slave to allow the removable HD to take over
as Master whenever it appeared, the main HD wouldn't boot when
the removable HD were present for the cloning. For the simple
slide-in-and-take-over to work, the main drive would have to be
on the 2nd IDE channel (as Master or Slave), and the removable
HD would have to be on the 1st IDE channel. That is because the
default HD boot order gives the 1st channel (ch. 0) precedence
over the 2nd channel (ch. 1).
If the 2 HDs are to be on the same channel at the same time,
the BIOS's HD boot order must be changed to put the appropriate
HD at the head of the boot order.
Of course, none of this has to be dealt with if the both the main HD
and the backup HD are in removable trays and insertable into 2
separate racks. Then, simply removing the main HD would pass
booting control to the backup HD.
*TimDaniels*
No doubt the OP is long-gone, thoroughly confused over the complexity of
this thread as it has evolved since his or her original query. I hope that's
not the case, but I fear it is.
Anyway, I hope he or she will forgive me for not specifically responding to
his/her query while I respond to Tim's comments. And I hope (most likely, a
forlorn one) that the OP will gain some measure of understanding from all
that has gone on re the discussion of this issue.
Tim, I think you know from my previous postings that I am a strong proponent
of users equipping their desktop computers with *two* removable hard drives
in their mobile racks. For many reasons (which I won't go into here) it is,
in my view, a most desirable hardware configuration for many, if not most
desktop PC users. The flexibility & peace of mind one gains from this
arrangement is enormous. But we'll leave any further discussion of the
advantages of removable drives for another day, OK?
However, we frequently find that for one reason or another (usually the lack
of two available 5 1/4" bays), the user can install only one removable HD.
Their other HD will be an internal one. In that situation our usual
configuration method (of course, I'm speaking of PATA drives here) is to
connect the removable drive as Primary Master and the internal one as
Secondary Master. The removable drive becomes the user's day-to-day working
drive while the internal one acts as recipient of the clone for backup
purposes. Under these circumstances the system will ordinarily boot to the
removable HD. Should the removable drive be disconnected (a simple turn of
the keylock to the OFF position), the system will boot to the internal HD.
In cloning the contents of one drive to another we usually work with Ghost's
2003 bootable floppy disk (or bootable CD), or if using the Acronis True
Image program, the ATI bootable CD. The process is simple, straightforward,
and effective.
Having said all this, let me reiterate my opinion that the most desirable
hardware configuration for many, if not most PC users to equip their desktop
computer with *two* removable drives. Should that be not feasible, we
recommend that a USB/Firewire external hard drive be employed for backup
purposes, rather than an internal HD. Obviously a more secure backup system
will result from having an external device rather than an internal one as
the recipient of the clone. But, for one reason or another, should the user
be unable or unwilling to use a removable or external drive for backing up
their system, then a internal drive will have to suffice. We do *not*
recommend using a different (separate) partition on a single drive for
backup purposes.
So, to summarize, using a removable HD and an internal HD, viable clones of
one's system can be created using a disk imaging program such as the ones
discussed.
Anna