How to: Seamlessly upgrade your laptop hard drive

[nykkooo]

Hi

Can you please tell me if I can use an usb to esata seagate goflex adapter instead of buying the one that you recommended in your video ?

[weward]

can i use a portable hard drive instead and follow this steps here = ehow(.)com/how_4898255_clone-l­aptop-hard-drive(.)html .TIA

[blkkitty27]

my laptop doesnt have a disc drive how could i do it then?

[xRaveNxHearTx]

The first thing I'm doing on my newly upgraded 500GB drive (from 100GB) is to say: Thank you so much for this video! You saved me a good amount of money with it, and as a broke college student, that's incredible. :D

I did have a little difficulty - something went wrong, no idea what, but I just wiped it & started over. The second time through it worked flawlessly.

[kidvipa]

remove hdd from the laptop .. you stand corrected ;P. thanks byy the way!!!!!

[Shipgate]

The program told me I succesfully completed the operation, but I still can't boot up with the new cloned harddrive. So I boot up with the old harddrive to see what the new ones says under Computer and the new harddrive now has a label of "System Reserved" And show my Momentus XT 500 gig to have a capacity now of 35 megs. Can anyone tell me what I"m doing wrong?



[anarchymoo]

my dad seems to think that i cant do this even though can, are you sure it will work with windows 7? answer asap

[amgt333]

what if i would like to make a clone disk of another laptop which has the os windoes 7, and my laptop that i use more often has vista, will it work, or will i need the os disk

[anarchymoo]

hey, will i need to buy the wall connector that goes to the SATA hard drive or does it come with? and how do i know it comes with, also does that red cord at 4:53 come with?

[HudsonArmstrongNZ]

OMG 500GB HOLY CRAP!!

[Chaytup]

@HudsonArmstrongNZ That's not that big...

[HudsonArmstrongNZ]

@Chaytup really bro??

[Chaytup]

@HudsonArmstrongNZ 1 TB+ is pretty much standard now-a-days

[HudsonArmstrongNZ]

@Chaytup yeah I was being sarcastic, glad you picked up on it.

[Chaytup]

@HudsonArmstrongNZ Glad you realize that sarcasm is SO easily portrayed in text.

[HudsonArmstrongNZ]

@Chaytup Yeah thats good :)

[xxmac923xx]

i have a 250gb to a 1tb hard drive do i need the cable thing would it be easier to pay best buy 50$ or buy the cable

[cptglovalgmail]

That cable is a lot of work....if you have an external 2.5" drive, just pop it out of it's enclosure and put your new hdd in the enclosure and copy. Should be simple enough, I did it with the last hdd I did with a western digital external hdd.

[jalabi99]

@cptglovalgmail I disagree. It's a bit harder to install the new HDD in an external case, than it would to just plug in the thing as shown in the video. But different strokes for different folks I guess.

[caz5021]

Does Acronis True Image work the same way the Seagate program works?

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@caz5021 yes. thats the best option

[mstax]

Hi... I just bought a 500G Seagate drive to replace the 120G on my Acer laptop,,, Glad to learn of the free DiscWizard program... Question: The Acer came with two 60G virtual drives (the "C" and "D" drives are 60G each) which means the 60G "C" drive is almost maxed out. Can I define a "C" and "D" partion on the new drive during the cloning process, giving each a preset percentage of the total space? Exactly how? Are both "C" & "D" cloned together or first one then the other?

[SparksandFly]

Great tutorial but how long did the cloning process take?

[GeeksCreation]

My disk never pops up when everything is connected i need help

[scobiedog1]

excellent work, easy to follow, my laptop is hp pavilion & has 2 x 80Gig hard drives. i want to replace them with 2 x 750Gig ones.

do i just clone the contents of both discs onto one new disc?

[KkpurityStuffYouNeed]

how much did that hard drive cost you

[SuggestiveSquirrels]

Did that power connector come with the USB to SATA cable? Or will I need to purchase that separately?

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@SuggestiveSquirrels included

[dmnsouth21]

THaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnn­nnnnnnnnnnkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk YYYYYYYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO­OOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@dmnsouth21 ur welcome friend

[tyler5310]

@wwwgeekdotcom What CPU does that laptop have? just curious. BTW will this work with an SSD?

[ablindingdeception]

jesus im overwhelmed

[jowithnoe1]

Could you clone one computer's hard drive to make another one work? I'm guessing it would depend on many things, but I'm a noob at this stuff. My laptop just gave me a blue screen of death and my wife's is humming along smoothly. What do you think?

[RukiKatiakicz]

question: I was thinking of using acronis true image wd edition because the hard drive I want to clone to has a western edition hard drive, but not the hard drive I am cloning - will this work? will acronis or easeus work with the usb to sata? and do I ABSOLUTELY need an external wall battery for the hard drive?

someone pleaase answer, cookie to whoever answers it, thank you. I need to know this before I go buy a usb to sata adapter and the battery.

[JordyBT]

PLEASE HELP!! I cloned my laptop hard drive to my desktop computer and all is fine but my keyboard and mouse don't work at all.

I'm now very confused and urgently need help.

Thank You...Jordan.

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@JordyBT you really can't clone from one computer to another but since you did i would try ti install your motherboard drivers and see if those do the trick

[Dehydrate2store]

Wow thank you so much! Such an easy to follow video! I will always just go straight to geek.com from now on. Thanks!

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@Dehydrate2store thanks for the feedback! I'll try to do more how to videos when i have some time ; )

[modernrocks]

hi, do both drives have to be seagate or just the new one thats being copied to?

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@modernrocks using this method - just the one that interacts with the seagate software. The one in the panasonic was not a seagate

[rotfan77]

thanks for the info, great video for swapping laptop HDD.

[Madlove4life2009]

why not just put da new freaking hard drive and reinstall the whole window tingy again instead of all that crap ?

[jalabi99]

@Madlove4life2009 Apparently you've never had to do a total Windows install, then remember where all your software disks are so that you can reinstall them, THEN remember all the settings of all the software you installed...if you had gone through that rigmarole, you wouldn't have said what you said. Cloning a HDD like this is the easiest way to go.

[OmwanaX]

Recently bought a used Toshiba laptop. A friend had to order new Windows Vista Home Premuim discs since I didnt get them and the computer was having problems. He fixed it and everything looked alright. Two days later, I am now getting a notice that there is a hard disk problem, and that I need to backup my files. I believe I have backed up the files successfully, but now how do I repair the hard disk?

[georgert]

Where does the clone of the recovery disk (D:), which is a partition on the C: drive come in?

[JediMaster31]

HI I was looking at your video and seem reliable. My question is that Is it possible to copy data without the USB 2.0 cable to SATA?

[will25raiders]

hi i have a alienware m15x with windows 7 will all of this apply to this laptop?

[101m4n]

would i be able to image my hard drive (seagate) onto a hardware raid array also constructed of seagate drives. this drive array is unseen by the os, so as far as windows is concerned its a single very fast hard drive. my worry is that after interfacing with the computer via an nic3724 port multiplier, disk wizard will no longer be able to identify the drives as manufactured by seagate. Also if the raid array was already mounted in its enclosure would i be able to use a sata to usb cable.

[hamoperatorw1]

Can a Seagate FreeAgent Go drive be used (already USB) as the clone disc, then removed from it's case and inserted into the laptop? Instead of buying the USB 2 SATA cable?

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@hamoperatorw1 hmmm, that's an interesting proposal. first off i'd make sure that the drive can safely be removed from the enclosure. Seagate only uses standard sata drives in their externals so I think you should be ok on the connection front.

[wmolliver]

@wwwgeekdotcom Hi - does power cable/connector come with SATA to USB package, or what? Thanks.

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@wmolliver yes that was included.

[dentist01m]

Hi my old HD has two partitions of 32Gb each. When I transfer data from old to new 500Gb HD how is it going to show? 250 each? do i get to chose the partion size? or there will be no partions on new one and every thing will go to same place, Im just confused. I have ordered HD and cables they r on the way.

[thesatchmanrules]

I wish all hard drive manufacturers had a useful tool like this on their websites. Great info.

[joeyxl3456]

Thanks very nice.

[stafdude]

Isnt there a risk for damaging the drive when u connect it to a running computer?!?

[evilmagic43]

My laptops hard drive dosnt work anymore. Am I scrwed?

[felisberto2]

does an usb external hard drive need to open the computer case?what about the BIOS?I connected my external hard drive but seems not to working.help

[lbmaestro]

maybe u can help me. I tried cloning a Dell E1505 hard drive to a new 500 GB drive. The new drive is now showing only 118GB. No matter what I do, I cant bring back the missing 400 gb. Any ideas? I tried reformatting, erasing, partitioning, tried it on a Mac also. No luck.

[wwwgeekdotcom]

@lbmaestro you should be able to create partitions and use the rest of that space up or expand the size of your main drive if you'd like.

[PhilESkyline215]

Can I use that 500 gig for a Dell Inspiron E1505? I'm not sure if certain laptops have hard drive size limit.

Thanks.

[wwwgeekdotcom]

sure you should be fine.

[Harley04]

@PhilESkyline215 But why would you want too? SSD is all the go now! check youtube for videos!

[southpaw8123]

Is there any way to do the OS and files transfer, using an external hard drive?

[wwwgeekdotcom]

I pm'd you the info.

[southpaw8123]

Thanks!

I should of check out your other vids.

[tomandfrances]

Great video. I went out and picked up a new 320 Seagate momentus 7200 and a Bytecc USB 2.0 drive mate. After dl'ing the Disc Wizard, it was a total piece of cake :). Very straight forward and seamless!

Thanks again for the steps!

[oliverelkheir]

could you use an internal hard drive external adapter instead of the usb to sata cable?

[gma452001]

Good Job on the video!!!

[danmanlott]

does that kit come with the power wall adapter

[wwwgeekdotcom]

yes

[doyler0018]

would it be easier to boot a desktop with the laptop drive and just plug in the new drive and clone?

[wwwgeekdotcom]

I don't think so. This method is pretty basic

[doyler0018]

ok thanks

[djsoon1]

I tried everything you said and when I replaced the hard drive after the cloning, I received the blue screen of death. I put back my old drive and tried to re-format the new drive and it shows my new drive as a 50 gig (which is the same size as my old drive) and not the original 500 gig. What did I do wrong?! I have a dell E1505.

[Charjanmac]

How do you restore back to the original gig, I did made a mistake as well. I am fricken out. What to do next.Please reply

[djsoon1]

I did everything I could, but nothing worked. I'm going to wait after the holidays and see if the Geeksquad from Best Buy can resolve this. If you where able to solve this Please let me know how you did it. Thanks!!

[metaldubs]

can i do this with one laptop to replace a fucked up hardrive in another

[toddwolly]

What if the original hard drive is partitioned with a D: recovery drive. Will the procedure still work the same?

[DragonBuster88]

Can I do this with my desktop or should I just plug my 2nd hard drive with sata cable and sata power connector first and clone later, or should I do it like in this video? Again, is it possible that my new hard drive can get affect if the sata to usb thing mal function

[wwwgeekdotcom]

either way will work.

not sure what you mean about the sata connection malfunctioning

[DragonBuster88]

I read some reviews of sata to usb power cable can fry the new hard drive

[DamageTutorials]

So if i get a sata kit i will get the power thingy with it.. and is it alright if i buy it of amazon since i live in the uk or is the a place were i should get it from and i can get a delivery for the UK

[wwwgeekdotcom]

I'd check the store page for the parts included, but it should be there. Otherwise I am sure you can buy one for a pound or some pence or whatever you guys use over there. As for where to buy from in the UK, I'm not sure, but I do see that amazon uk has a USB 2.0 to SATA/IDE Adapter Kit for an ok price.

[DamageTutorials]

Were do i get the power thingy for the hard disk! WTF IS IT CALLED :D?

[wwwgeekdotcom]

that is a sata-to-molex connection. it should come with your sata-usb converter kit

[DamageTutorials]

Is there any risk's in this! Like i have never been in my computer? or it might be the wrong size! My laptop is a Acer Aspire 5315 can you reply and tell me if there will be any dinffrence's (Its laptop)

[wwwgeekdotcom]

There should be not be any risk because your original hard drive is not being affected, so you always have that. If you are worried, backup first, that's never a bad idea!

As for hard drive size, a standard laptop hard drive is 2.5", the vast majority of notebooks use this standardized size.

[DragonBuster88]

what brand/ model number u use for the sata to usb converter? I can't find any with good enough review. I don't want to fry my new hard drive . Thanks for the help

[wwwgeekdotcom]

I used the 5-in-1 model from Sabrent. I think they are basically all the same.

[marylandrockfan]

Worked like a charm on my Dell PC. Went from 80G to 500G and everything works. Thanks

[marylandrockfan]

Worked like a charm on my Dell PC. Thanks

[wax333]

how would you upgrade your hard drive on a computer that has a recovery partion on it rather then operating system cd's?

[mrROYALGREENJACKIT]

how i get Hd on my laptop!!!!!!!!

[BrooklynCapo]

if i am not using a seagate hdd,can i use a regular hdd enclosure instead of your usb to sata connectors just in case i get a good price on a non-seagate product

[wwwgeekdotcom]

You can use other hard drives, but then you'll have to find different software to use, instead of the seagate one. It's not impossible, but this guide won't be too helpful.

[kyle1c]

I did exactly how you did it in your vid...and it worked like a charm!! I upgraded from a 110GB Fujitsu to a 500GB Seagate on my hp pavillion dv6000. Thanks for the post, helped me tremendously!

[wwwgeekdotcom]

Good stuff! Glad it worked out for you!

[S4M10L4]

I have two hard drives that can be viewed in my computer, named OS(C:) and RECOVERY(D:)

I really don't know much about my laptop, but is it possible to tell from this (or from the properties) what size it is so as to know what to upgrade to?

The model is TOSHIBA MK1246GSX.

Message me for more info.

[wwwgeekdotcom]

No. Go into you device manager and see what hard drive you have. This will be one way to determine the size of the drive. btw- the c: and d: are probably only one hard drive that is partitioned, not one disk

[S4M10L4]

Thanks!

[edcoqui]

Everything was working fine until it got to 17% of the cloning from one hd to the other and then I get an error message. either to ignore or retry...don't know what to do next....help

[wwwgeekdotcom]

retry, if that doesn't work you can ignore and try it. if it works you're cool, if not you'll have to do it over again.

[edcoqui]

anyone knows where I can buy the usb to sata connectors?

[wwwgeekdotcom]

newegg should have them.

[alby711]

can you (and how easy is it to) upgrade a single 2.5" hdd to a dual drive?

[wwwgeekdotcom]

No you can't swap to two disks- even if you had room you would still only have a single connection for SATA and power.

[alby711]

thanks

[NunyaDammeBiznis]

1) do not put the hard drive on the esd bag. all the static electricity that it has shielded the contents are on the outside of the bag. Where did I learn this? IBM and Flextronics, International. A real geek would know this. Also when handling any sensitive item, you should be properly grounded. Holding on to the frame is not properly grounded.

[odiosemu]

I need to do this very thing in about 2 days. I did not buy a Seagate drive so I wont be able to use Seagates DiscWizard. Can you recommend a free program to clone the drive?

Thank You!

[wwwgeekdotcom]

acronis has software that you can download and some have free trials that you can do the operation with.

also check out "How to: Seamlessly upgrade a notebook hard drive" on geekdotcom

[odiosemu]

My research tells me that DiscWizard is actually an OEM version of an Acronis product. I think I will download Acronis Migrate Easy it has a 15 day free trial.

Sweet!

[BerettaTM]

how much does it all cost?

[wwwgeekdotcom]

Depends on what drive you use. Right now you can get a 500GB 2.5-inch drive for about $99 and then the converter is about $20.