Member Avatar for manbitesmoose

I would like the exact wording to copy the entire contents of my c: hard drive to my new d: hard drive. Thankyou

  • 5 Contributors
  • 4 Replies
  • 90 Views
  • 2 Days Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by Thong_Ispector

Dani AI

Generated

wanted an exact copy of C: onto D:. The key question the replies sketched out is whether the goal is a simple file backup or a bootable, exact disk duplicate. Several replies already raised those two different approaches (, ) and mentioned vendor tools (, ). The practical advice below assumes a bootable clone is required; if you only need user files, a simple backup is enough.

For a bootable, exact duplicate use a disk-imaging or cloning tool rather than a plain file copy. Recommended, actively maintained options are Clonezilla (free, bootable live environment) and Macrium Reflect Free (Windows-based with rescue media). Typical workflow:

  • Make a current backup of irreplaceable files.
  • Create the tool's rescue USB/CD and connect source and target drives.
  • Boot the rescue media and choose device-to-device clone (or image the source then restore to target).
  • Verify the clone, then set the new disk as the first boot device.

Troubleshooting notes: if the new disk does not boot, check BIOS/boot order and that the cloned partition is marked active. Modern image tools preserve MBR/partition tables when asked; if not, repair the boot environment with the OS recovery tools (XP-era Recovery Console or newer Windows Startup Repair). Moving a system disk to different controller modes (IDE vs AHCI) or significantly different hardware can require driver adjustments or a repair install.

Safety cautions: double-check source vs target before writing (one mistake can overwrite the wrong drive), disconnect other disks if possible, and be aware OEM recovery partitions or activation may not transfer cleanly. For background on cloning concepts see the general overview at Disk cloning — Wikipedia.

Recommended Answers

All 4 Replies

Member Avatar for Paddy

http://www.easydos.com/dosindex.html - this should help ;)

I don't actually know much DOS myself, so don't think I'm being lazy by just sending you to another site hahaha ;)

Good luck :D

Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

Are you trying to copy a PURE DOS hard drive to another drive? Then XCOPY will work just fine. And Windows 3.1. If there is *any* form of Windows involved from 95 onwards, the XCOPY command will not move the registry along, and you will not achieve the expected results. Now, if you are just concerned about data, then it would work, but the "New C" will not boot without the registry.

If you are trying to duplicate everything, you need a program like GHOST to copy the whole partition. You might be able to do this with Microsoft Backup too.

Christian

Member Avatar for caperjack

If one of the drive is a maxtor,MAXBLAST will make [The copy feature lets you make an exact duplicate of your existing hard drive.]a copy

Member Avatar for Thong_Ispector

So much depends on which version of Windows happens to be on the drive you are copying...

I personally do not like the Maxblast as it sometimes installs a bootloader type program to handle certain limitations of older machines running large drives.

Ghost works great but it is not Freeware

Here is a freeware DOS progam that will let you copy Long File Names

I included some batch files that I have used...
Here is one that will go from C to D

It has been tested up through Windows 98

cls
echo .
echo .
echo This will backup Drive C to Drive D
echo Caution this will Overwrite ALL files on D
echo Hold the CTRL key and C to ABORT this process
echo .
echo .
pause
lcopy c:\* d:\ /a /s /y

LFNtools.zip (259.21 KB)
Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.