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How to make an image of an entire drive?


Tron

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New to this product... Sorry if the question sounds dumb but I can't figure out how to make a back up image of an entire drive for back up purposes?

 

Would I be better off to install and use Nero for that?

There are a number of products that will clone your hard drive. Two that come to mind are Acronis True Image and Norton Ghost. I have never used any so I can't tell you if they are any good. I'm sure there are others out there as well. Your best bet is to do a search for "Clone Hard Drive" and look at some of the products. Once you decide on which one to use just follow the instructions that should come with it. You might also be able to download the instruction before you make your decision. That way you'll be able to see if you can understand what to do.
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Acronis True Image

 

Highly recommended, it's easy to use, reliable, fast and secure. But to be honest, I prefer version 8 over version 9 and so I have refused the upgrade offer. Unfortunately Acronis offers just a limited trial for version 9, but I would give it a shot if I were you.

Edited by ????
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Version 9 was terribly buggy out of the gate. Basically, they released a beta to the public and made them unsuspecting beta testers who paid to do their job for them. Version 9 is now, at least, usable, but, still has errors that should have been caught before it went gold.

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Version 9 is now, at least, usable, but, still has errors...

 

True, I wonder if there are any critical bugs left, since the latest 2337 is out now for over a month. If you can get version 8 from another place, don't hesitate to get a copy as it is rock-solid on my end and saved me a lot of time and frustration. I can still find some copies of v8 in some selected german online-shops, so anyone that is interested in it should take a look now or wait until it is given away for free with a mag (if this will ever happen).

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New to this product... Sorry if the question sounds dumb but I can't figure out how to make a back up image of an entire drive for back up purposes?

 

Would I be better off to install and use Nero for that?

There are a number of products that will clone your hard drive. Two that come to mind are Acronis True Image and Norton Ghost. I have never used any so I can't tell you if they are any good. I'm sure there are others out there as well. Your best bet is to do a search for "Clone Hard Drive" and look at some of the products. Once you decide on which one to use just follow the instructions that should come with it. You might also be able to download the instruction before you make your decision. That way you'll be able to see if you can understand what to do.

 

I am familiar with Norton's Ghost but not with Acronis Tue Image. Could someone who is familiar with both (and maybe some other good ones - perhaps something good is out there as freeware and open source), recomend which to go with and why.

Now, coming back to ImgBurn. Can you copy forlders with it or just files? Could someone do a "compare and contrast" of ImgBurn and Nero?

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Now, coming back to ImgBurn. Can you copy forlders with it or just files? Could someone do a "compare and contrast" of ImgBurn and Nero?

ImgBurn can only be used to wite an .ISO file to a disc.

 

Again sorry for what will seem very obvious to you... but what is an .ISO file? And if ImbBurn can only write those, do you use Nero for other jobs?

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Now, coming back to ImgBurn. Can you copy forlders with it or just files? Could someone do a "compare and contrast" of ImgBurn and Nero?

ImgBurn can only be used to wite an .ISO file to a disc.

 

Again sorry for what will seem very obvious to you... but what is an .ISO file? And if ImbBurn can only write those, do you use Nero for other jobs?

An .ISO file is a CD or DVD image. It contains everything that is on the CD or DVD. There are programs that can read the entire disc and make the .ISO file. That file then can be read and burned onto another CD or DVD.
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Now, coming back to ImgBurn. Can you copy forlders with it or just files? Could someone do a "compare and contrast" of ImgBurn and Nero?

ImgBurn can only be used to wite an .ISO file to a disc.

 

Again sorry for what will seem very obvious to you... but what is an .ISO file? And if ImbBurn can only write those, do you use Nero for other jobs?

An .ISO file is a CD or DVD image. It contains everything that is on the CD or DVD. There are programs that can read the entire disc and make the .ISO file. That file then can be read and burned onto another CD or DVD.

Thank you :)

is DVD Shrink such a program (an .ISO file maker)? Or maybe you could recomend a better one?

 

By the way, does ImgBurn have an IRC channel where people can talk more normally than exchanging one sentence per day?

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By the way, does ImgBurn have an IRC channel where people can talk more normally than exchanging one sentence per day?

eyepop.gif

 

Thank you MJ (and everyone else who answered)!

MJ, you seem to be a pro at this. What selection of programs would you recomend to cover ones needs for disk copying purposes?

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By the way, does ImgBurn have an IRC channel where people can talk more normally than exchanging one sentence per day?

eyepop.gif

 

Thank you MJ (and everyone else who answered)!

MJ, you seem to be a pro at this. What selection of programs would you recomend to cover ones needs for disk copying purposes?

What Spinner said.
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