[vagelisss]

I own an hp 8710w laptop. the hdd is small and i would like to install a bigger one.

how could i change the hdd and transfer all the data on the new one? i mean everything including the installed programs?
p.s 1)the laptop came with x pre-installed. it also came with a cd("operating system cd" for xp professional sp2) which i don't know if it is only for recovery. hp gave me a dvd with vista pro but i don't want to use vista

p.s 2) don't have an external hdd...
thanks in advance...

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pre q1) Use a desktop computer and any good cloning software such as Acronis, Norton Ghost, etc.

Q1) It'll be recovery.

Q2) That's a shame.

[Neil Jones]

pre q1) Use a desktop computer and any good cloning software such as Acronis, Norton Ghost, etc.

Q1) It'll be recovery.

Q2) That's a shame.

[vagelisss]

could i not do it using the old and the new hdd only( without a desktop or an external drive) somehow? what i have thought is buing a hdd case creating a mirror of the old hdd to the new; then installing the new and use the old one as an external backup. Can it be done? can you explain the procedure please?

[Neil Jones]

could i not do it using the old and the new hdd only( without a desktop or an external drive) somehow? what i have thought is buing a hdd case creating a mirror of the old hdd to the new; then installing the new and use the old one as an external backup. Can it be done? can you explain the procedure please?

Unless your laptop has space for two hard drives in it (which is possible but very unlikely) the only way you're going to clone anything from it onto another drive is by use of another computer. Since most desktop PCs have the ability to connect at least four devices simultaneously, it's the easiest way to do it.

What you would do is connect the two drives up and any cloning software you want - most common is Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image but others are available - a list of alternatives is here:
http://www.thefreeco...pandimage.shtml

The software would then copy your existing drive onto the new one - a process known as cloning. You'd end up with the same stuff on two hard drives. Then you simply put the new one back in your laptop and switch it on. If all went well, whoop and cheer. If it didn't, bad luck.

[vagelisss]

i tried the solution i was thinking of and guess what... it worked...
i used acronis image home. i put the new hdd in to a case and connected it to the laptop. i manualy set the size of the new partitions made on the hdd and the program did the rest. i then put the new hdd into the laptop and the old one in the case for use as an external backup unit! for some hours now i'm using the the new drive with no problems so far! i'm crossing my fingers. my thanks to all who have helped me!!!

Edited by vagelisss, 18 September 2009 - 01:08 PM.