ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers) wrote in message
...
Three comments:

1. To clone a laptop hard drive means to clone it. If the original laptop
drive
is the usual 2.5" type, so is the clone. TWO desktop adapters are needed
for
cloning.

Right, just like I said possibly two. But that's the harder way. Make an
image file of the laptop drive on the desktop HD and then restore that image
file to another laptop drive inserted into the same adapter.

2. Though unlikely in this era of highly standardized BIOSes, it is
possible
that the drive geometry(s) supported by a desktop BIOS are different than
the
one used by the laptop. This could lead to one screwed up clone drive.

VERY unlikely today.

3. There is a MUCH easier way to clone a laptop drive. I did it last week
to
get all the data from a failing 60GB drive inside a 3GHz Dell laptop onto
a
replacement drive sent out by Dell to my client. Use a USB-IDE converter,
and
attach the drive to be cloned to the laptop via its USB port. (In the
unlikely
event that the laptop lacks a USB port, the same can be done with a PC
Card-IDE
converter.)

Although workable this technique is more likely to have some potholes than
the other.

The USB-IDE converter I bought came in a box marked "ALL PURPOSES SMART
IDE
CONVERTER." You can bet from the brilliant syntax that the kit came from
Taiwan, which is what the box says. But the converter worked even more
brilliantly than the syntax, perfectly in fact. I don't think I paid more
than
$30 for the USB-IDE converter on eBay.

I also used Seagate's SEATOOLS, which will clone any standard partition
type
(FAT16, FAT32, or NTFS), but not oddball or hidden diagnostic partitions.

... Ben Myers

On 14 Sep 2004 18:10:22 -0700, (the yeti) wrote:

"Timothy Daniels" wrote in message
...
Do any of the Dell laptops provide 2 bays for
hard drives like the desktops do? (I'm looking
for an easy way to clone a laptop hard drive.)

*TimDaniels*


A]
1)remove hard drive from laptop
2)insert laptop hard drive into desktop with special adapter (easy and
cheap to find)
3)clone drive

B]
1) use Norton Ghost (or similar)
2) send image to CD-RW or accross network
3) clone drive

C]
PROFIT!!!!