Can I clone System drive A to a partition on Backup drive B, then clone from the Backup partition back to System drive A?

Froggie said:

It's not quite that simple as you'll hear shortly from various Forum members...

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Warned ya...

Froggie said:

Warned ya...

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Yes you did! HA! =D

@SIW2's post above is absolutely daunting to me, but probably will make sense once I really take it on. That seems to apply to most consumer-level end-user techology projects I attempt. Notice I said attempt...

I'll likely burder him (or her) with questions after my first round of online thrashing. @SIW2 was an immense help in my first inquiry here on Eleven Forum. Whether a saint or a madman, I much appreciate his expertise and willingness to share it. =]

Whether I clone or create backup images, I'm convinced now that I can do what I need to, so I'll go ahead and buy the 4TB HDD (and two 1TB SSDs) that I'll need.

Until next...

SIW2 said:

Detailed instructions here

those are step by step instructions.

For example if you later wanted to migrate win7 from the 4tb to a different disk, can easily be done with diskgenius os migration. ( you can add the win7 data partition to the migration with the "manage partitions" button).

The migrated win7 would have the couple of extra boot menu entries one pointing at win 10 and one pointing at win11 which would be useless .Can easily delete those two in msconfig afterwards

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Thank you very much, @SIW2.

Having read your instructions (not yet studied them seriously) one question occurs to me:

On a fairly regular basis, I intend to update the clone OS versions that were migrated to the 4TB HDD. For instance, after a month I might want to update the Windows 10 partition with a new DiskGenius "Migration" just to account for minor OS changes that took place during that month.

Would that monthly update involve simply "Migrating" that particular system drive to the existing partition on the 4TB HDD (as it was created per your step-by-step instructions)? Or would I have to recreate the entire multi-partition scheme again, per your instructions?

Beyond that, I will familarize myself with various terms I don't yet understand, and will, no doubt return to once again inflict upon you the adage, No Good Deed Goes Unpunished. =]

Would that monthly update involve simply "Migrating" that particular system drive to the existing partition on the 4TB HDD (as it was created per your step-by-step instructions)?

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yes. If you are using wincopy, you need to format the existing partition on the 4tb first then do wincopy.

SIW2 said:

yes. If you are using wincopy, you need to format the existing partition on the 4tb first then do wincopy.

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Sorry to be dense. but I'm unclear.

Updating only the Windows 10 System partition that is on the 4TB HDD will require formatting only that ONE partition on the 4TB drive (the Windows 10 system partion) and then "migrating" the source system data to it. Is that accurate?.

If updating any one of the three System partitions on the 4TB HDD requires rebuilding the entire partitions scheme (as outlined in your instructions post above), I would probably seek a simpler method...

Updating only the Windows 10 System partition that is on the 4TB HDD will require formatting only that ONE partition on the 4TB drive (the Windows 10 system partion) and then "migrating" the source system data to it. Is that accurate?.

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yes

SIW2 said:

yes

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I just had a chance to re-read your instructions post. I'm halfway to full understanding.

My favorite Windows was XP Pro 64-bit, and I manage to keep my hardware functional for a long time. As a result, I'm way behind the curve (and blissfully ignorant...until something breaks). I need to come up to speed regarding the "extra little partitions" present on a recently purchased HDD, and those that appear after any Windows 11 install. I have a vague understanding of them thanks to DISKPART and Windows Disk Management.

Having slept on your instructions and having re-read them the next day, I now realize the 'mystery terms' esp partition, bcd entries and hidden msr partition all relate to that particular gap in my understanding. I'll study up; thanks for the starting point.