How do I copy my hard drive to a new one?

How can I copy a hard drive to a bigger one to boot from?

I recently bought a 120 gig hard drive to replace my 30 gig. I used byte-to-byte copying software to copy the contents of my current hard drive. All of my files are on the new one, but when I put the new one into the laptop, it doesn't boot. BIOS recognizes the hard drive and correct size of the drive, but won't boot windows off of it. Is there something I am doing wrong or a file i need to change? I have tried two different programs for coying files, and I am using a USB to IDE adapter for my new hard drive. Different BIOS settings? anything to change? thank you in advance
Answer:

Hmmm.... If it did a Byte for byte copy, you should have no problems with what you are doing. It should have copied the MBR and the other required files for booting into windows. I would suggest trying Norton Ghost, I have used it for years without any problems. Keep in mind that you may have to re-activate windows after doing it, but it will boot. Even if windows assumed this was a "pirating" attempt, it would at least boot into windows and require you to activate it before use.

bdoyle15... at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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Other answers

sighs, windows detects a pirate attempt... it checks the drive statsistics and checks new drive statsitcis each boot to prevent piracy... LOL

jhon smith

you have to do a clean install of windows on the new HD; this will create a bootable partition on the new HD. make the new one your primary HD, and have both drives hooked to the mobo after the install. you may have to make necessary adjustments in the bios to tell it where to boot from. with windows running of the new HD, you can then copy files from your old one to your new one, or use them both.

big perm

you cant do it that way, you need to install windows from a disc to the hard drive

D McC

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