Quoting myself from another thread on the same subject:

lolo799 wrote:

I often used http://www.feyrer.de/g4u/ for machines with a network card.
And for local disk imaging under DOS, I used dolly, you can find it at https://www.sac.sk/files.php?d=14&p=14

precaud wrote:

Turns out that the Ghost version I've been using (7.0) is a scaled-down "Enterprise" version included as part of a package of "8-in-1" tools they (Symantec) sold (or gave) to mobo manufacturers. Did not come with a manual, but command line options are listed with the -? switch.

In an online manual for the full 2003 version, I see several command line switches that are relevant to exact-image cloning, control copying of MBR and boot sector/track (or not), etc., that are not in 7.0 . It appears as though it should be able to do the job. Will try to find a copy of that version.

Don't sell clonezilla short. Yes, it's linux-based, but you don't have to know any commands. Just follow the prompts. Downside is you must boot from CD or USB to use it, no floppy version. The other good thing is it's open source, so no worries about hunting down, paying for, or pirating. On my P3-933 system, it averages about 500MB/min on restores with a two hdd master/slave setup. It would be even faster if I had them on separate IDE channels. It can clone partitions, or image the entire disk.

Oh I'm not selling anything short, just going with what is at hand and familiar... expedient.

I used Ghost 2003 last night to make two copies of an XP/98SE dual-boot HDD. I added the -IA and -IB switches to the previously-used command line. These switches direct it to make a sector-by-sector copy, and include the entire boot track. One copy was to an identical HDD; the other to one that was a little larger.

The identical copy worked fine. It booted into both OS'es without error.
The copy to the larger but not-identical HDD worked fine into XP, but 98SE did not like MBR, and put the IDE drivers into compatibility mode. The only way I know to address this in a dual-boot configuration is is to go into XP's recovery console, execute FIXMBR, and "hope" that it takes care of it. In this case, it didn't. It's not a fatal error; 98SE still works, but the HDD i/o will be a little slower, and the CDROM isn't recognized.

So I'll stick with using identical drives for system backups.

krcroft wrote:

1. Boot a linux floppy (one of many rescue disks available in .img format)
2. Use 'dd' to perform a block-level copy from one drive to another.

There is also win32 dd compilation which works very well. I use it myself for making backups of HDDs removed from old machines I buy...
http://www.chrysocome.net/dd

I wouldn't use any Windows tool for cloning.

Windows has the nasty habit of auto mounting the drive and create folders like 'System volume information'. It can have bad side effects if you use that disks on DOS systems.

What is the best way to upgrade an WinXP hard-drive ?

OS = WinXP
Original drive = 20gb SATA
NEW drive = 80gb SATA
Laptop = WinXP era Sony Vaio PCG with USB.

I have an external usb drive I can same the image too.
But I don’t think the USB port is bootable.

I can boot from cdrom or floppy.

I want to create a hard-drive image and save it to usb drive.
Then replace the hard-drive and save the image to new hard-drive but I want to be able to use the entire 80gb on the new drive.

Zup wrote:

I wouldn't use any Windows tool for cloning.

Windows has the nasty habit of auto mounting the drive and create folders like 'System volume information'. It can have bad side effects if you use that disks on DOS systems.

That's not been my experience when booting from Windows PE (XP or Win 7 based), DOS and NT4 partitions are not messed with. Your mileage may vary when plugging into a system with a regular Windows installation and Macs will always litter the drive.

Intel486dx33 wrote:

What is the best way to upgrade an WinXP hard-drive ?

I would go with Ghost because I've used it a lot, for literally decades, without fail (other than hardware problems it's alerting me to). It has error checking throughout and you can image to larger/smaller partitions without arbitrary limitations.
If you want an easy life, this CD image is all you need.
I still have my .iso from back when this was released but I would hope/presume this particular download hasn't been messed with. Subsequent releases removed all licensed software.
Can DOS boot with USB for 16-bit Ghost or use Windows PE (XP based) boot option and run Ghost from there for faster imaging and less flaky USB support.

EDIT: I removed my own link to the newer hirensbootcd.org site, the 10.6 iso they have isn't identical to the original and may contain some nasties.
EDIT2: I've verified the contents of the iso to be identical, I would not touch the other files in the .zip However, it's probably best I don't link to a massive collection of commercial software.

Intel486dx33 wrote:

What is the best way to upgrade an WinXP hard-drive ? […]
Show full quote

What is the best way to upgrade an WinXP hard-drive ?

OS = WinXP
Original drive = 20gb SATA
NEW drive = 80gb SATA
Laptop = WinXP era Sony Vaio PCG with USB.

I have an external usb drive I can same the image too.
But I don’t think the USB port is bootable.

I can boot from cdrom or floppy.

I want to create a hard-drive image and save it to usb drive.
Then replace the hard-drive and save the image to new hard-drive but I want to be able to use the entire 80gb on the new drive.

For my laptop I used an IDE-USB enclosure so I could connect more than one drive to it simultaneously. Works on reboot (the main drive can write to the external one in the booter).

I tried using a traditional style IDE cable with whatever pin size 2.5" drives are. That did NOT work, frustrating as hell. Fortunately you're SATA.

Intel486dx33 wrote:

What is the best way to upgrade an WinXP hard-drive ? […]
Show full quote

What is the best way to upgrade an WinXP hard-drive ?

OS = WinXP
Original drive = 20gb SATA
NEW drive = 80gb SATA
Laptop = WinXP era Sony Vaio PCG with USB.

I have an external usb drive I can same the image too.
But I don’t think the USB port is bootable.

I can boot from cdrom or floppy.

I want to create a hard-drive image and save it to usb drive.
Then replace the hard-drive and save the image to new hard-drive but I want to be able to use the entire 80gb on the new drive.

I'd use make a direct disk to disk approach, using a USB case/adaptor. Your computer is standard Windows stuff, so any tool will do the job. You can follow two ways:

- If you know your cloning tools and are comfortable, you may do the copy directly and selecting the new partition size.
- If you don't know your cloning tools or don't know all the options, you should make a clone (making sure to select the option that keeps the partitions the same size). Then, you may use other tools like gparted to move/resize your partitions.

Don't use the "auto-resize" option included in clone tools. Keep in mind that laptops usually have recovery partitions that shouldn't be resized (any space used beyond the original size is wasted space) and if you use a system/data layout you'll want to invest most free space in the data partition.

Also, remember that if one of your disks is a Western Digital one (it does not matter if it is the source of destination disk) you're entitled for use a OEM version of Acronis True Image (you can download it from Western Digital site). It's easy to use and will do the job without any trouble.