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What utility can move my Windows boot partition over to another hard drive?

OK my HDD is failing and I might have to replace it sooner or later. The problem is that I will lose my original OS that came with the laptop and I don't want to buy a new one. Is there any way I can preserve this OS?

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A User
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    Make a full disk image...http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx – Moab Sep 19 '12 at 03:04
  • I am unaware about imaging the drives and all . Please tell me more @Moab – A User Sep 19 '12 at 03:05
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    Read the manual for the software, basics are install the MRF software and make a full disk image, save the image to an external drive, also, use the MRF software to make the bootable media just in case, you can use this bootable media to load MRF to put the image on the new hard drive if the old one fails. Download it here...http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Back-Up-and-Recovery/Macrium-Reflect-Free-Edition.shtml – Moab Sep 19 '12 at 03:08
  • See also: [What is the easiest way to make a backup of an entire hard disk](http://superuser.com/questions/231530/what-is-the-easiest-way-to-make-a-backup-of-an-entire-hard-disk/231531#231531), [Imaging new hard drive in Windows 7 laptop?](http://superuser.com/questions/190619/imaging-new-hard-drive-in-windows-7-laptop/190625#190625), et cetera. Please do a little research before you post – this question has been answered quite often already. – slhck Sep 19 '12 at 14:45

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Use a disk imaging program like Clonezilla. In short, Clonezilla will copy the entire contents of a disk, allowing you to write it to another disk or file. This will allow you to make a complete and total copy of your drive without little effort. The new drive will be bootable and the operating system will have no issues. Plus its relatively quick, the entire process can be done in a few minutes, depending on the amount of data on the drive.

Keltari
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  • how about Macrium? – A User Sep 19 '12 at 03:12
  • Just one of many disk imaging software products out there... Norton Ghost works great too. – Keltari Sep 19 '12 at 03:13
  • My bandwidth is very very low so Im sticking to Macrium because it is smaller in size? – A User Sep 19 '12 at 03:14
  • They all do essentially the same thing, so its up to you to pick the one you want – Keltari Sep 19 '12 at 03:17
  • and then when I get a new hard drive, My OS will be the same OS it used to be? :p no piracy? – A User Sep 19 '12 at 03:19
  • absolutely, 100% the same. Its not piracy if its used on the same computer. There are some licensing issues that can arise from disk imaging, however in the case you described, you are perfectly legal. You are using the licenses OS on the same computer, therefore it is a legitimate copy. – Keltari Sep 19 '12 at 03:31
  • The only way I could think of was using a pirated OS and then using my product key to say "Hey, although this is pirated, I have original key." – A User Sep 19 '12 at 03:33
  • I was told that I do not need images if I have recovery disks since the OS is preinstalled. – A User Sep 19 '12 at 03:34
  • Recovery disks & partitions will not save your data, they will be lost – Keltari Sep 19 '12 at 03:46
  • Just out of curiosity, what is the minimum life of HDD. Mine is 2 years old. – A User Sep 19 '12 at 03:49