Acronis Backup for PC - User Guide - Manual (Page 179)

179 Copyright © Acronis International GmbH, 2002-2014
10.6.2.1 Selecting source and target disks
The program displays a list of partitioned disks and asks the user to select the source disk, from
which data will be transferred to another disk.
The next step is selection of a disk as target for the cloning operation. The program enables the user
to select a disk if its size will be sufficient to hold all the data from the source disk without any loss.
If there is some data on the disk that was chosen as the target, the user will receive a warning: “The
selected target disk is not empty. The data on its volumes will be overwritten.”, meaning that all
the data currently located on the chosen target disk will be lost irrevocably.
10.6.2.2 Cloning method and advanced options
The Clone basic disk operation usually means that the information from the source disk is
transferred to the target “As is”. So, if the destination disk is the same size and even if it is larger, it is
possible to transfer all the information there exactly as it is stored at the source.
But with the wide range of available hardware it is normal that the target disk would differ in size
from the source. If the destination is larger, then it would be advisable to resize the source disk
volumes to avoid leaving unallocated space on the target disk by selecting the Proportionally resize
volumes option. The option to Clone basic disk “as is” remains, but the default method of cloning
will be carried out with proportional enlargement of all the source disk volumes so that no
unallocated space remains on the target disk.
If the destination is smaller, then the As is option of cloning will be unavailable and proportional
resizing of the source disk volumes will be mandatory. The program analyzes the target disk to
establish whether its size will be sufficient to hold all the data from the source disk without any loss.
If such transfer with proportional resizing of the source disk volumes is possible, but without any
data loss , then the user will be allowed to proceed. If due to the size limitations safe transfer of all
the source disk data to the target disk is impossible even with the proportional resizing of the
volumes, then the Clone basic disk operation will be impossible and the user will not be able to
continue.
If you are about to clone a disk comprising of a system volume, pay attention to the Advanced
options.
By clicking Finish, you'll add the pending operation of the disk cloning.
(To finish the added operation you will have to commit (p. 190) it. Exiting the program without
committing the pending operations will effectively cancel them.)
Using advanced options
When cloning a disk comprising of a system volume, you need to retain an operating system
bootability on the target disk volume. It means that the operating system must have the system
volume information (e.g. volume letter) matched with the disk NT signature, which is kept in the
MBR disk record. But two disks with the same NT signature cannot work properly under one
operating system.
If there are two disks having the same NT signature and comprising of a system volume on a machine, at the
startup the operating system runs from the first disk, discovers the same signature on the second one,
automatically generates a new unique NT signature and assigns it to the second disk. As a result, all the
volumes on the second disk will lose their letters, all paths will be invalid on the disk, and programs won't find
their files. The operating system on that disk will be unbootable.