BleepingComputer.com: Transferring a Hard Drive Completely

Hey,

I'll try keeping this short and simple. If you want more details, just ask.

I have a Dell E1505 laptop that only has a 50 or 60 gig hard drive. I am going to upgrade to a 320 GB hard drive. I want to copy everything so all of my programs still function (Photoshop, Registry Booster, Games) and I don't have to reinstall everything. I'm willing to shell out a few bucks to get a good program to do this. Can you guys recommend a good program and walk me through the process?

Operating System: XP Media Center SP3

I also have an external hard drive with more than enough room to transfer all 40 gigs of files.

This post has been edited by airs0ft3r: 13 October 2008 - 06:13 PM

The easiest quickest way I know of is to use Acronis True Image. Simply connect your new hard drive to your computer as a slave and using ATI
clone your old drive unto the new in a few minutes and everything works just like it did on your old drive, even your e-mail will be there.
The process is easy and simple in fact I make a new image (clone) of my drive every week or so on a separate drive and if Windows decides to take a hike I'm back in business in less than 30 minutes. Some folks recommend Norton Ghost but I have no experience with it.

ATI can be found here
Acronis True Image

Or here

ATI

Also, read this article before starting, it may help to overcome some of the glitches that happen when doing this: http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/moving_xp.html

Hi,

Sorry for the revival, but I've got the hard drive and am ready to begin the transfer.

I'm not sure I'll be able to do the transfer with my situation:

I've got a laptop with space for only 1 hard drive. The other hard drive hooked up to it is a 250 GB external USB drive with about 100 gigs free. My hard drive inside the computer is only 60 GB.

The other hard drive I bought is 320 GB. It is internal.

Should I still use Acronis True Image?