Clone larger partition to smaller partition

T

TC10284

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 8, 2006
Messages
213
I am in need of a (free) utility to clone a Win 2000 NTFS partition from a 20 GB drive to <10GB partition. The total data amount on the drive is less than 3GB. Is there a utility out there that will do this? Currently I am having trouble doing this with CloneZilla. I need to try G4L again to see if it will work.
 
DriveImageXML should be able to do this, and it comes as part of BartPE as well.
 
The software that came with the drive (if it was a retail purchase) or downloaded from the manufacturer's website will allow you to easily move/copy partitions around with the disk copy function. Shouldn't be an issue...
 
norton ghost , clone as partition to img file , then you can clone the img file to any hdd (obviosuly larger then the destination hdd/partition)
 
cv65user said:
norton ghost , clone as partition to img file , then you can clone the img file to any hdd (obviosuly larger then the destination hdd/partition)
Click to expand...
That would be the long, drwan out method with Ghost, and on top of that, Ghost isn't free.
 
DeaconFrost said:
That would be the long, drwan out method with Ghost, and on top of that, Ghost isn't free.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was using Ghost boot floppies until the floppies crapped out and I realized I didn't have a floppy image saved or a working backup of the floppy. So I said "screw that" and I started looking for a free alternative. I made a Barts PE CD with DriveImageXML, but I am having trouble cloning a drive. DriveImageXML will show both drives, but refuses to clone to the smaller drive complaining about the drive not having a valid partition. I even tried formatting the drive at the cmd prompt, but then it disappears completely in DriveImageXML.
I also can't get into Windows Disk Management console using BartsPE. I'm going to try rebuilding it with Server 2003 files.
 
OK, so I tried the Win 2003 Server install files and that made no difference. Then I took both the drives out and put them in a system with Windows on it already and installed DriveImageXML. However, I have the same problem. I don't think DriveImageXML can image to a smaller drive.

I know the partition on the smaller drive works because I can read/write to it in My Computer.
 
DeaconFrost said:
That would be the long, drwan out method with Ghost, and on top of that, Ghost isn't free.
Click to expand...

yes its not free , but a big BBBUUUTTT . its not longer method? or u mean clone drive to drive ?

norton is very fast best clone app i have used ever ever , most other software take longer as they use to fail to recofgnise file systems so had to clone the FREE space as RAW data . which ghost does reocognise (not to clone) and you get a SMALLER back up GHO file . what more could i ask for .
 
And you accuse me of not reading your posts and understanding what you want. :rolleyes:

Cloning to an image file, then bringing that down to another drive is a longer method because it involves two processes. If you clone the drives over a network, or from the same system, you only one run process....because you are sending the image directly to the destination drive. There's no compression involved either, so the ghosting moves along quickly.

For the record, I've been using Ghost for over 10 years now, and I have yet to come across anything that works better or more reliably than Ghost, especially when Ghost is used properly.
 
nope defconghost i was never adamanet ghost was free ???

and for thje record i never disputed ghost w\as crap so i do not know where your comments are coming from
 
I use True Image more often...

I could have sworn both ghost and true image have no problems cloning to a smaller drive/partition...as long as your data will fit.

meaning...say you have a source drive that's 100 gigs..but only 20 gigs have data...with approx 80 empty gigs...should be able to clone that to a 40 gig drive/partition with no problem

I've not cloned to a smaller partition/drive in a long time...but I have quite a few times, pretty sure neither program had a problem with it.
 
PartedMagic???? Anyone????

Boot into the Live CD, draw your partition to the size/position you want it, and let it move the data. Done.

I've done that with SERVER DATA before, and it's worked great. Moving 300 GB or so took me 24 hours or so, so keep that in mind if you ever use it for larger resizes.

http://partedmagic.com/
 
cv65user said:
nope defconghost i was never adamanet ghost was free ???

and for thje record i never disputed ghost w\as crap so i do not know where your comments are coming from
Click to expand...
Are you trying to be biligerent, or do you just happen to not read things before replying? First off, the OP specified that they were looking for a free software package, right in the first statement. Secondly, my comments about how long I've used Ghost and how much I like it were to be in agreement with your comments directly above. Not once did you or anyone else say Ghost was crap. Process what you read, before you post. You just accused me of making up things....which is exactly what you, yourself did. Slow down, read what's written, and stop acting like everyone is out to get you.
 
I'm beginning to suspect a bit of a communication issue somewhere down the line, because this keeps happening with posts made by cv65user. I'm not sure if it's a language issue, or something else but it does seem to be a bit of an problem when it comes to deciphering what he's either saying or making the attempt to say.
 
You are right according to this post. You will have to slow down and be a little more patient in replying...or don't reply at all if it taxes your patience.
 
Joe Average said:
because this keeps happening with posts made by cv65user. I'm not sure if it's a language issue
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You might be on to something there. It happens quite a bit with the posts made by cv65user. I clicked the profile to see if another country was listed as the location, but it wasn't filled in.
 
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