Anyone familiar with cloning software

O

OutlawJoseyWales

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So I want to get an SSD and am testing migrating from one drive to another.

When you clone a drive with AOMEI Backupper it clones the HDD so that the new one will boot up if you replace the old drive.

However with DiskGenius when you clone the drive the new one doesn't boot up - just a blue screen saying press F8 or Enter and nothing happens when you press either, so obviously it's not an exact clone as AOMEI.

When you use the OS Migration option on DiskGenius it copies everything and it boots up but it doesn't copy a partition called PQSERVICE. Apparently this is a recovery partition that Acer uses for recovery purposes. See pic below - as you can see on Disk 1 there is no PQERVICE (E) however it still boots up Windows 10 just fine.

hdd_clone.JPG

Is it necessary though? Or can I just copy the drive without the PQSERVICE partition as I have Windows 7 DVD installation disks (old laptop) with which I can install Windows 7 again.
But I recently upgraded to Windows 10 and have a USB flash drive to install that.

AOMEI Backupper can do a HDD to SSD clone but you gotta pay for that option, while DiskGenius can copy HDD to SSD for free.

So - do I need the PQSERVICE partition?
 
OutlawJoseyWales said:
So I want to get an SSD and am testing migrating from one drive to another.

When you clone a drive with AOMEI Backupper it clones the HDD so that the new one will boot up if you replace the old drive.

However with DiskGenius when you clone the drive the new one doesn't boot up - just a blue screen saying press F8 or Enter and nothing happens when you press either, so obviously it's not an exact clone as AOMEI.

When you use the OS Migration option on DiskGenius it copies everything and it boots up but it doesn't copy a partition called PQSERVICE. Apparently this is a recovery partition that Acer uses for recovery purposes. See pic below - as you can see on Disk 1 there is no PQERVICE (E) however it still boots up Windows 10 just fine.

View attachment 1834226

Is it necessary though? Or can I just copy the drive without the PQSERVICE partition as I have Windows 7 DVD installation disks (old laptop) with which I can install Windows 7 again.
But I recently upgraded to Windows 10 and have a USB flash drive to install that.

AOMEI Backupper can do a HDD to SSD clone but you gotta pay for that option, while DiskGenius can copy HDD to SSD for free.

So - do I need the PQSERVICE partition?
Click to expand...
When I bought my Crucial SSD it came with the cloning software, I cant remember off the bat who it was but it was a name brand software. Crucial has an agreement with them.
 
OutlawJoseyWales said:
So I want to get an SSD and am testing migrating from one drive to another.

When you clone a drive with AOMEI Backupper it clones the HDD so that the new one will boot up if you replace the old drive.

However with DiskGenius when you clone the drive the new one doesn't boot up - just a blue screen saying press F8 or Enter and nothing happens when you press either, so obviously it's not an exact clone as AOMEI.

When you use the OS Migration option on DiskGenius it copies everything and it boots up but it doesn't copy a partition called PQSERVICE. Apparently this is a recovery partition that Acer uses for recovery purposes. See pic below - as you can see on Disk 1 there is no PQERVICE (E) however it still boots up Windows 10 just fine.

View attachment 1834226

Is it necessary though? Or can I just copy the drive without the PQSERVICE partition as I have Windows 7 DVD installation disks (old laptop) with which I can install Windows 7 again.
But I recently upgraded to Windows 10 and have a USB flash drive to install that.

AOMEI Backupper can do a HDD to SSD clone but you gotta pay for that option, while DiskGenius can copy HDD to SSD for free.

So - do I need the PQSERVICE partition?
Click to expand...
You don't NEED the PQSERVICE Partition, from what I see its the Acer Recovery partition so it boots into their recovery programs etc.

Like with Dell and Lenovo recovery partitions you don't HAVE to have them, but it will remove the "easy re-install" option for the laptop which does things like put the drivers in the right place, ensure custom software is installed etc.

However if your recovery partition is Windows 7 based i'de just nuke it anyway, no point having such an old OS its a security sieve.

For cloning, another good option is Hiren's Boot CD, it contains a few tools including CloneDisk, AOMEI Backupper, Lazesoft Disk Image & Clone and Macrium Reflect
 
neoprema said:
You don't NEED the PQSERVICE Partition, from what I see its the Acer Recovery partition so it boots into their recovery programs etc.

Like with Dell and Lenovo recovery partitions you don't HAVE to have them, but it will remove the "easy re-install" option for the laptop which does things like put the drivers in the right place, ensure custom software is installed etc.

However if your recovery partition is Windows 7 based i'de just nuke it anyway, no point having such an old OS its a security sieve.

For cloning, another good option is Hiren's Boot CD, it contains a few tools including CloneDisk, AOMEI Backupper, Lazesoft Disk Image & Clone and Macrium Reflect
Click to expand...

Thanks, I shall nuke it.
 
A bit off topic but i want to put in a ssd to an older PC i3 to run win10. WIll it be quicker to clone win10 from a laptop and boot on the older PC. Can change drivers once its up and running? Any advice?
 
Surprised that there have been no mentions of Clonezilla yet
 
Last edited:
OutlawJoseyWales said:
Will something like this work on a 10 year old laptop?

progenix.co.za

Crucial BX500 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s SSD — 500GB — Best Deals at Progenix — South Africa

Ever wonder why your phone responds faster than your computer? It’s because your phone runs on flash memory. Add flash to your laptop or desktop computer with the Crucial BX500 SSD, the easiest way to get all the speed of a new computer without the price.
progenix.co.za progenix.co.za
Click to expand...
Throw in R 300 and get the 1TB rather? R 1.96/GB vs R 1.30/GB.
 
OutlawJoseyWales said:
I am currently only using 130gb of my 450gb hdd. No need to go higher....
Click to expand...

I have a 4Tb and it is not enough. I guess it depends on what you're using it for though.

More disk space is a btter thing generally.
 
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