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Easiest way to copy two laptop hard drives?

post #1 of 3
10/3/06 at 12:40pm
Thread Starter 
My goal is to copy the entire hard drive from my dell laptop to my new hard drive that will replace it. With a desktop its not a problem because i can hook up the two drives to the MB and use a drive copy program. This is not as easy with a notebook. Compusa quoted me $70 to copy the drives but that seems a little expensive. I need a cheap and easy solution to do this.
What would be the best way to do this?

thanks
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post #2 of 3
10/3/06 at 10:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by reyalP
With a desktop its not a problem because i can hook up the two drives to the MB and use a drive copy program. This is not as easy with a notebook.

Sure it is! For less than $20 US you can get an external USB 2.5 HDD enclosure (like this one):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817145329

Then, just use your drive copy program to clone your old HDD to the external. Acronis True Image or Ghost work well for this.

But, be sure and swap the HDDs before you reboot (that is, don't let the two identical systems "see each other" via the OS) or you'll really have problems!
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post #3 of 3
10/3/06 at 10:50pm
Easiest way is just as you said--plug it into a desktop. You'll need a small adapter like this, which may be available at places like Fry's Electronics or mailordered through various online outlets.

Get one if you're going to use the desktop HDD as intermediary for the transfer, or get two adapters if you're going to go direct from one laptop HDD to the other.
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