drive duplicator/cloning

[joblack23]

Anyone can recomend a good hardrive duplicator? I used ghost in the past but I'd like to revert to a hardware cloning device due to the amounts of images I have.

Thanks for any info.

 

[BadBigBen]

o&o Drive Image, Acronis True Image, Paragon Harddisk Manager, FoG (openSource Ghost replacement)...

just to name a few... I prefer Paragon, since it is easy to use and relatively cheaper than other solutions (barring the free ones)...

and today still, there is a weekend special:

Web special - for this weekend only!
Get our bestsellers for $14.95 each!

http://www.paragon-software.com/weekend_offer.html

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[goombawaho]

Do you trust this Paragon product like I trust Ghost. I mean, it's pretty important to be able to do an image and trust that you can fall back on it. Your job might be on the line if you can't go back. KnowWhatIMean??

 

[joblack23]

Thanks for your reply. I am looking for a hardware cloning device and not software.

thanks

 

[G0AOZ]

If we take the OP at his word, then he wants a duplicator, or cloner, not an image maker. Amongst others, I currently use Acronis True Image v11 for cloning, and of course this same software will make images as well.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[goombawaho]

What is the difference? The end result is the same - a PC with an exact copy of the software that was on another machine. With that said, the machine has to be the same hardware.

There is NO such thing as hardware cloning. Hardware is physical and must be supplied/purchased. It is either the same or different than that found in another PC.

If hardware is the same, a clone/image can be used to make an exact copy on that similar hardware. It will boot up normally. If not, an image placed on dis-similar hardware will fail to boot and will require intervention in order to boot properly.

 

[joblack23]

Software duplicator requires several things. In my situation a server which I would prefer not to build to keep all my images. If this is not available, then I need a CD writer to create the image and all PCs with a CD rom which again I don't need or have. I have close to 45 types of different machines (hard to believe) but not by choice making software cloning a pain.

And not true. Hardware cloning are planety but I never used one. Basically this device will hold the Master, and the Slave drive you want to clone, press a few buttons and done. Some are supper fast. from 45min to 1hour for software, down to minutes.

Search ebay for drive duplicators and quite a few will come up. Again, I have no experience with any of them and was woundering if anyone can recomaned one that does IDE,Sata,perhaps SCSI, all OSes, as well as not being limited to spacific drive size.

Thanks

 

[G0AOZ]

Well, rightly or wrongly, I always think of an image as a file, i.e that which can be stored on an image server or whatever. Making a duplicate or a clone usually gives one the option of testing it, should one want to, at the time to ensure it works, thereby instilling peace of mind!

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[BadBigBen]

Do you trust this Paragon product like I trust Ghost.

Yes I trust it, it does the job I want it to do...

KnowWhatIMean??

Yep, sure do...

I am looking for a hardware cloning device and not software.

never stated such in the original post...

and no, I do not have experience with such devices...

but to me, it would seem more productive to use a single BARE image for all systems and have it stored on a NAS or similar networked device, where it would not matter what hardware it is going to restore to...

HIR Backup would cover situations where the hardware you once had is no longer available, e.g. MoBo upgrade/replacement...

ShadowProtect Backup and Disaster Recovery Software for Desktops and PC's

http://www.storagecraft.com/shadow_protect_desktop.php

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[goombawaho]

I must be stupid. Somebody please explain hardware cloning. It's not cloning Dolly the sheep.

 

[kjv1611]

Hard drive cloning (though I've never used such a device, b/c the cost is too high) is basically the same as copying a master tape to another tape with a tape duplicator... or a CD/DVD to more copies with a duplicator...

I'd love to play with one, but they are WAY too expensive.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[kjv1611]

BadBigBen,

In regards to
HIR Backup

ShadowProtect Backup and Disaster Recovery Software for Desktops and PC's

http://www.storagecraft.com/shadow_protect_desktop.php

That looks like a really nice backup program. Have you ever used it yourself? How would you compare it to Acronis True Image, Ghost, etc.... ?

Has anyone used this product as well as Terabyte Unlimited Image for Windows?

The reason I'm asking is I was goign to use Terabyte Unlimited's product for a particular new setup, but Storagecraft's product SOUNDS like it would actually work better, b/c it would provide recovery for a variety of failure types. That and with Image for Windows, if I want it scheduled, it appears I'll have to do some scripting.. which is fine, but having that included in a product would be nice.... one more to look into, I suppose.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[kjv1611]

You know, you can just ignore my questions about the Image/Backup utilities, I suppose. In reality, we already paid for the Terabyte software, and from what I've read so far - won't have time to really try it out until next week most likely - I think it is going to be the way to go. Stability and reliability will be the most important pieces of this setup. Simplicity during install isn't as important, as I'll be handling all of that. I hope to get at least one or two batch processes setup and running under Windows to offer at least a regular backup, but the initial back-up will be the most important.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[BadBigBen]

KJV1611,

No I've never used, nor had the time to play with it... ;-(



Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"