Question 1

I want to make my 128 GB SATA solid state drive bootable by loading  my existing operating system - Windows 7. Will Echo 3 do that for me?

Accepted Answer

It will work pretty good. I used it to make a copy of my 500 GB Windows 7 system drive to a 480 GB SSD drive with no problems. I did have to re configure windows 7 for the SSD but it cloned it just fine.

Question 2

I have a question on cloning. I originally purchased a Dell Windows 7 computer and then subsequently upgraded to Win 8.1 pro. Under disk management, I see there partitions on my C:\ drive namely: a) OEM Partition (39 MB), b) Recovery Partition, and c) OS C:\ partition. Since my computer has gone through several changes since I bought it in 2012 including the Win 8.1 upgrade, what is the need for cloning, if any, the OEM Partition and Recovery Partition. Would it not be better to ONLY clone the “OS c:\  partition” (which presumably has the O/S, all my programs and files) and then create a new recovery partition after cloning?

Accepted Answer

The answer depends on your comfort level on your current system and whether you do full external backups on it. If you do full backups I would only retain the existing system. The pain of recreating your current system from the old original recovery partition and then applying all subsequent updates/upgrades is too much in my opinion when it is easy to restore your system from a good Acronis backup. On the other hand if you have a large hard drive and you are a conservative person who wants to keep all your options open then it does not cost you much to overnight copy everything.
Myself, I would only keep my latest system and the latest good full backup for a possible restore.
You can also do what you suggested yourself..that is create the full clone of your system partition and then clone your recovery partition if you really wish to go there...the faster option to go to your latest backup or last clone.

Question 3

I think my HD is fixing to give up the ghost. I need a program that will backup my entire HD bios, OS, files, everything onto a portable HD. Will this do it?

Accepted Answer

James, if that is your goal, acronis true image is the best software to use.

Brand	NTi
Model	8097159
Name	Echo 3 - Perfect solution for all your cloning needs
Type	System Backup
Operating Systems Supported	Windows
Feature	Dynamic Resize Cloning With a single click of the mouse Echo will clone your entire hard drive (i.e. Operating System, Programs, Data, Partitions, etc.) to another drive. Dynamic Resize cloning method uses Echo' smart cloning technology and will automatically resize the original drive's partitions to fit onto a smaller or larger replacement drive. This is the default and recommended cloning method. Filter Cloning Echo's filter cloning feature allows users to exclude certain files from the cloning process. Echo will make a clone of your drive and at the same time exclude the files you have selected from being part of the newly cloned drive. An ideal solution for when the target drive is too small for all of the source drive's data. Partition Cloning Echo also allows for partition only cloning for users that need more flexibility. This allows users to quickly clone a single partition on one drive to another drive. Perfect for cloning just the Operating System partition on a user's computer hard drive to a new smaller solid state drive. One-to-One Cloning One to One Cloning option will retain the original hard drive's partition structure and size when cloning to a replacement drive. With this cloning method if the new drive is larger than the original drive the unused space on the new drive will be left unallocated as shown in the screen shot. User Defined Cloning The User Defined option will allow the user to adjust the size of the partitions on the new drive. This cloning method allows the user to customize the replacement drive by increasing or decreasing the partition sizes to fit their free space requirements. Smart Cloning Technology Dynamic Resize cloning method uses Echo' smart cloning technology and will automatically resize (shrink or grow) the original drive's partitions to fit onto a smaller or larger replacement drive.
System Requirements	Software Requirements: Windows 7, Vista or XP Language available: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese
Packaging	Retail

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