The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Replacing Old HD with a New Higher Memory HD

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by comrade_commissar7, Oct 25, 2009.

  1. comrade_commissar7

    comrade_commissar7 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    87
    Messages:
    461
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Hey guys, I want to buy a new and higher memory internal HD and replace the older one with lower memory inside my notebook. My main concern is that I want to retain my current notebooks settings, memory, installed apps. I don't want to perform a fresh reformat again of my notebook if I replace the old HD with a new one. How can I save/transfer all my old files, installed apps, settings, and programmes of my old HD to the new one that I'll be buying? Is there a way I won't be needing to reformat again? Thanks in advance :)
     
    comrade_commissar7, Oct 25, 2009
    #1
  2. Duct Tape Dude

    Duct Tape Dude Duct Tape Dude

    Reputations:
    568
    Messages:
    1,822
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Easiest way I know of is via Acronis' software. They have a disk director thing that basically mirrors your hard drive to another hard drive. The OS won't think you installed anything new. You'll need an enclosure or something to plug the new drive into, however--Acronis needs to be able to access both drives at once.

    http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/diskdirector/
     
    Duct Tape Dude, Oct 25, 2009
    #2
  3. comrade_commissar7

    comrade_commissar7 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    87
    Messages:
    461
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Thanks for replying :)

    Uhm, by the way, "Acronis needs to be able to access both drives at once." - what exactly do you mean by this?
     
    comrade_commissar7, Oct 27, 2009
    #3
  4. Trottel

    Trottel Notebook Virtuoso

    Reputations:
    828
    Messages:
    2,303
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    You need both drives connected to the laptop at the same time for the files to be transferred from one to the other. Usually this means an external enclosure.
     
    Trottel, Oct 27, 2009
    #4
  5. comrade_commissar7

    comrade_commissar7 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    87
    Messages:
    461
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    -I've checked this site and it says that the software is for sale. Is there some sort of a site where I could download the trial version of it or the free legal one? :) Thanks :)
     
    comrade_commissar7, Oct 27, 2009
    #5
  6. comrade_commissar7

    comrade_commissar7 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    87
    Messages:
    461
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    The acronis' software's trial version, until what installation features and capabilities can it cover compared to the full version? can it do all my hardware data transfer needs? Thanks :)
     
    comrade_commissar7, Oct 27, 2009
    #6
  7. Mormegil83

    Mormegil83 I Love Lamp.

    Reputations:
    109
    Messages:
    1,237
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    If your going from one hdd to another and the only difference is the hdd cache, don't waste your money...

    as to your question... I believe acronis has a free 15 day trial or something with limited features,but as long as it has a "clone disk" feature, that is all you will need. read up on what features the free trial has.
     
    Mormegil83, Oct 27, 2009
    #7
  8. comrade_commissar7

    comrade_commissar7 Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    87
    Messages:
    461
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    -I will be switching 'cos my current internal IDE Samsung HD is just 40GB, I will be switching to a 160Gb Seagate IDE Hd.. what do you think? Any recommendations? Thanks :)
     
    comrade_commissar7, Oct 27, 2009
    #8
  9. ericzb

    ericzb Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Just in case you missed out this post:

    t=264209
     
    ericzb, Oct 28, 2009
    #9