Protecting Yourself - This Could Happen To You:

What would happen if you spent hours, if not days working on a project, and finally took a break? When you return and try to re-boot your computer, panic sets in because now you realize you can't re-start, you can't get access to the file you were just working on, or any of your other project files for that matter. Here is another situation: you were just up and running a few minutes ago, you hadn't noticed any problems with your pc, and you weren't aware but somehow managed to get a Mal-ware, a Virus or a Spy-ware. You now find that your computer has stopped functioning, is frozen, and everything now has completely stopped. Again, you try and re-boot or re-start your computer with no avail.

Close your eyes, (or don't), and think about these two scenarios for a short while? What do you think you would do? This is real and happens to pc users every day and all the time!

Learn How To Clone A Hard Drive:

The solution is to prepare yourself against that inevitable day. Everyone who owns a computer is faced with their hard drive failing during some point of their ownership. It is a fact of life! The way you can prepare against hard drive failure, Viruses, Mal-ware or Spy-ware is to learn how to clone your hard drive. This way you can fix it before it happens and help protect yourself against hard drive failure.

This is an easy task and procedure to learn that will not only have your system up and running in a matter of minutes rather than hours, or days, but will also have it functioning the same as when you had your original hard drive Furthermore, this simple procedure replaces your current, failed hard drive with all of its original files, data, applications and Operating System completely installed at the end of the cloning procedure .

I would like to give you an introduction to the word "Clone" in reference to how the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it, Definition 2: one that appears to be a copy of an original form" "duplicate, a form of a personal computer".

In order to teach you the procedure of how to clone a hard drive, I will be using a piece of software called Acronis True Image Home 2010, which is an earlier version of this software). By using this you will be able to create an EXACT duplicate or EXACT clone of your Hard Drive, called a hard drive clone. This Clone will contain your new hard drive with all of its applications, files, folder and the Original Windows Operating System that was on your Original, (Old) drive before it failed due to old age, Viruses, Mal-ware or Spy-ware. After you have successfully learned how to clone your hard drive, you will be thrilled to have the comfort level of knowing that you won't have to start over from the beginning in order to re-install your Windows Operating System and all of its applications, folders and working files.

Think of learning to use Acronis True Image Home as insurance in order to prevent the tedious, frustrating, and time consuming task of having to reinstall your system from the beginning. This is a fact, all hard drives will fail and when yours does you will be ready! Protect yourself against hard drive failure.

My Intent With A Purpose:

My Intent and Purpose of this Article, is to share my many experiences over a several year period that I have found to be successful while building and maintaining my pc workstations. I would like to share this with you, the New User, by showing YOU how to clone a hard drive before it fails, in order to prevent a thwarting exprience.

I have prepared a DETAILED, Step-by-Step tutorial with large screen shots that will enable you to easily follow.

This tutorial level is primarily for "The New User", INTERMEDIATES, and others who have NEVER CLONED a Hard Drive before.

Warning: This is a lengthy tutorial and highly detailed. In order not to overwhelm you, I have broken this down into five sections:

These are the five Parts or Chapters that demonstrate the following sub-topics necessary in order to learn the cloning process:

Part 1 • Preparing A New Hard Drive, Part 2 • Prior To Adding A New Hard Drive,

Part 3 • Adding A New Hard Drive, Part 4 • Partitioning A New Hard Drive,

Part 5 • How To Clone A Hard Drive.

This tutorial will contain the Following System and Software Requirements for this Platform and Operating System: One who has a PC Desktop Tower or Laptop platform, and runs a Windows Operating System compatible with Acronis True Image Home 2010 product may use this tutorial. This tutorial and product is not compatible with an Apple Macintosh computer or their Laptops.

I have used this version of Acronis True Image Home 2010 many times successfully on all five of my pc tower work stations as well as my one laptop.

Although, this tutorial will use this version, other versions of Acronis True Image Home should be similar in nature. These principles that I am demonstrating in this tutorial, will be consistent for MOST versions.

It is strongly suggested but not mandatory that one temporarily installs their new hard drive in an External USB Enclosure during this process.

I hope your computing experience is a happy one.

Michael Breskin,

(Miche Bre)