PC Assembly, Hardware Configuration and Servicing

Course Description

This course is an exploratory, first course in computer hardware systems

and maintenance designed primarily for students in information technology.
However, it also meets the need of students in other fields, as a course that
provides hands-on training in the installation, configuration, optimization and
upgrading of computer systems. As a practical course, the focus is to impart useful
skills on the students in order to enhance ability to install, troubleshoot, repair and
maintain computer systems.

Course Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students are expected to:

1. Understand the introduction to computer systems

2. Assemble/setup and upgrade and maintenance of computer system;
3. Perform installation, configuration, and upgrading of personal computer
hardware;
4. Install/connect associated peripherals; and,
5. Diagnose and troubleshoot personal computer hardware and other peripheral
equipment.

Module 3| Chapter 5: Input devices 1

Course Outline Module
Contents
Assessment
Time Frame
Number Period
Module Assessment Chapter 5 Operating System Installations
Contents Time Frame and upgrades
Number Period
Lesson 1: Hardware requirements
Chapter 1 Introduction
Lesson 2: Hardware compatibility
Lesson 1: Common Windows errors
Lesson 3: Common errors during
Lesson 2: Desktop Operating Systems
installation
Lesson 3: Network Operating Systems
Chapter 6 Installing Windows Windows 7
Lesson 4: Overview of Windows Aug. 9-Sept. Oct. 11-Nov.
Module 1 Operating System
Prelim Module 3 Lesson 1: Hardware Device Driver Semi-Final
3, 2021 Installation
5, 2021
Lesson 5: Windows Boot Process
Lesson 2: Where to find Hardware drivers
Lesson 6: Windows configuration files
Lesson 3: Searching for drivers in the
Lesson 7: Windows core files
internet
Lesson 8: Windows System Directories
Lesson 4: Installing device drivers (Video
Prelim Examination: September 6-8, 2021 card, LAN card, Modem, printers etc..)
Chapter 2 DOS Essentials Lesson 5: Post-install operations
Lesson 1: MS-DOS Overview
Semi-Final Examination: November 8-9, 2021
Lesson 2: Function of DOS
Chapter 7 DISK IMAGING/CLONING
Lesson 3: DOS boot process
Lesson 1: Disk Cloning Concept
Lesson 4: DOS system files
Lesson 2: Advantages of Disk Cloning
Lesson 5: DOS interface (CLI)
Lesson 3: Issues to consider before Nov. 15-
Lesson 6: Types of DOS commands
Sept. 13- Module 4 cloning a drive Final Dec. 17,
Module 2 Lesson 7: Common DOS commands Midterm Lesson 4: Preparing for Disk Cloning
Oct. 4, 2021 2021
Lesson 8: Common DOS errors
Lesson 5: Disk Cloning Software
Chapter 3 Windows File Systems
Lesson 6: Disk Cloning using GHOST
Lesson 1: FAT (File Allocation Table)
Lesson 7: Common disk cloning errors
Lesson 2: Types of File Systems (FAT16,
FAT32, VFAT, NTFS4, NTFS5 & HPFS)
Final Examination: December 20-22, 2021
Lesson 3: File System Care
Lesson 4: Checking the drive for errors Grading System
Midterm Examination: October 7-9, 2021
Chapter 4 HARD DISK MANAGEMENT & The grading system is as follows:
CONFIGURATIONS
Lesson 1: Hard disk configurations
Lesson 2: Hard disk partition
Assessment Period Self-Assessments/Activities Major Exams Total
Lesson 3: Primary Partition
Lesson 4: Extended Partition Prelim & Midterm 60% 40% 100%
Lesson 5: Partitioning a Hard Drive Module 1 50 points
Lesson 6: Formatting a Hard Drive Module 2 50 points
Oct. 11-Nov.
Module 3 Lesson 7: Deleting Hard Disk partitions Semi-Final
5, 2021
Lesson 8: Hard Disk Diagnostic test
Lesson 9: Repairing the Master Boot Semi-Final & Final 60% 40% 100%
Record Module 3 50 points
Lesson 10: Fixing a damaged partition Module 4 50 points
table
Lesson 11: Repairing Hard Disk with Bad
Sectors
(Midterm Grade + Final Grade) / 2 = Final Rating
Lesson 12: Low-level Formatting a drive

Module 3| Chapter 5: Input devices 2

 How Do You Use This Module? Table of Contents

This module is written in a very user-friendly manner. Definitions, Title Page

processes and samples are included as an input knowledge or as a guide.
Instructions are made clear and straight to the point. Your resourcefulness and How Do You Use This Module…………………………………………………………………… 3
creativity are needed to be able to answer or do the task well. Just follow the Module 1
directions and you will be guided as you move on page after page.
Lesson 1: Disk Cloning Concept 4
In this module, you are required to go through a series of activities in order Lesson 2: Advantages of Disk Cloning 8
to complete each learning outcome. Each chapter has lessons with Specific Lesson 3: Issues to consider before cloning a drive 9
Learning Outcomes, Discussions, Self-Assessments, and Activities. Follow and Lesson 4: Preparing for Disk Cloning 12 12
perform the activities on your own. If you have questions, do not hesitate to ask Lesson 5: Disk Cloning Software 14
13
Lesson 6: Disk Cloning using GHOST
for assistance from your instructor. 18
Lesson 7: Common disk cloning errors
20
Remember to:

▪ Read and understand the Specific Learning Outcome(s). These tell you References………………………………………………………………………………………………… 21
what you should know and be able to do at the end of this module.

▪ Work through all the information and complete the activities in each
section.

▪ Read the discussions very well. Suggested references are included to

supplement the materials provided in this module.

▪ After reading every discussion, test yourself on how much you learned by
means of the Self-Assessments.

▪ Demonstrate what you learned by doing the Activities. You must be able
to apply what you have learned in another activity or in real life situation.

▪ Keep all the outputs in your portfolio as a record of your accomplishments

and submit on the designated period.

Note: You need to complete this module before you can perform the next module.

Module 3| Chapter 5: Input devices 3

 Lesson 1: Disk Cloning Concept
Cloning your hard drive creates a perfect one-to-one copy, fully bootable and • Migrating to a new drive: Getting a new computer? If you clone your old drive, you
exactly like the original. You’ll want to clone your drive if you’re backing up valuable
data, migrating to a shiny new computer, or upgrading to a solid-state drive (SSD). don’t have to reinstall everything on the new machine. After you’re done, you can
Learn how to clone your hard drive on Windows computers and Macs with our step-
by-step guide. remove your original drive and mount it in an external enclosure to keep as a

What does cloning a drive mean? backup. Be sure to properly dispose of your old device!

A cloned hard drive is an exact copy of the original, including the operating system • Upgrading your drive: There are plenty of reasons why moving from a hard disk

and all the files it needs to boot up and run. Just remember that cloning a drive and drive (HDD) to an SSD is a good idea — especially considering how much

backing up your files are different: it’ll speed up your computer. If you’re switching from an HDD to an SSD, cloning

• Backups copy only your files. When you back up to an external hard drive can help you move all your data over to the new drive.

or to the cloud, you’re creating duplicates of your files, but that backup
How to clone HDD to SSD
cannot function as an independent drive on its own. Mac users can perform
Cloning an HDD to an SSD is just as easy as migrating from one HDD to another.
backups with Time Machine, and Windows also offers its own built-in
The process is basically the same, regardless of the type of drive you’re using. Your
backup utilities.
disk cloning software — Disk Utility on macOS, or a third-party option on Windows
• Cloning copies everything. A cloned drive is exactly the same as its
— will handle all the technical aspects. Many tools even have special features that
original. If you put a cloned drive into a computer, you’ll be able to start it up
optimize the cloning process for SSD drives.
and use it normally.
Why you should consider cloning your hard drive All you need to do is make sure your new SSD is large enough to hold everything

It’s never a bad idea to protect yourself with an extra copy of your hard drive. In general, most that’s currently on your HDD and check that both drives are formatted in the same

people clone their drives for one of the following reasons: style. After you’re done, you can optimize configuration settings to get the most out

• Creating a full backup: A backup is invaluable in the event of a malware infection. Many of your new SSD.
Things to do before you can clone your drive
types of malware can damage your files, data, or even the entire OS. Ransomware encrypts
Before you clone your drive, there are a few preparations you’ll need to make. You
your files and renders them useless, while demanding a ransom to decrypt them. If you
also may need to borrow or buy a few pieces of equipment if you don’t already have
already have a cloned hard drive before you get infected, you can simply wipe your system
them.
clean and start from scratch with the clone. But if you haven’t cloned your drive before you get

malware on your system, it’s already too late — so clone your drive now to be prepared.

Module 3| Chapter 5: Input devices 4

 You will need:

• A second drive of sufficient size. Cloning requires two drives: the original drive

with your data and OS, and a second drive that will become the clone. Be sure that

your second drive has enough space to hold all the cloned data, plus some extra

space for future files.

• A way to connect your drives. If you’re installing a second drive inside your PC,

you don’t need to worry about this. Otherwise, you’ll need an adapter or external

dock so you can connect your new drive to your computer before cloning.

• A power supply. Connect your power supply if cloning from a laptop. Cloning can
2. Select your source drive
take quite a bit of time, especially if you have a lot of data, and you don’t want your
The top portion of the main window shows your computer’s drives and their
battery to die before the process is complete.
How to clone your hard drive in Windows
partitions. Windows sometimes creates small partitions of up to a few GB that
Once you’re all set up, you can begin to clone your Windows hard drive. Before you house repair tools or boot utilities. You’ll need to copy those along with your data if
begin, clean out your current drive. Over time, drives get bogged down with tons of you want your new drive to function independently. If not, just uncheck them.
unnecessary temporary data, caches, duplicate files, and apps you never use. The

cloning process will take significantly longer if it includes all of this useless data. The

easiest way to get your drive sparkling is to use a specialized cleaning tool like AVG

TuneUp, which will get rid of gigabytes’ worth of junk data and other unwanted files
3. Specify the clone destination
quickly and easily.
Next, you’ll need to tell your disk cloner where it should place the cloned data. After
1. Download and install a trusted drive-cloning tool clicking Clone this disk, click Select a disk to clone to. If your new drive hasn’t

Windows doesn’t have any built-in cloning utilities, so you’ll need to download one been formatted properly, your cloning tool can take care of this as part of the

on your own. Our chosen hard drive cloner for this article is Macrium Reflect Free. process. Just click Delete Existing partition and let it get to work.

Another popular option is EaseUS. Here’s how Macrium Reflect looks:

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 On older machines, you can access your BIOS by inputting a specific key or key
combination as your computer starts up. It may be F12, F2, Esc, or Delete, but your
computer should display this information on the monitor during the initial startup
stages. In the BIOS, look for an option that says “Boot Order” or simply “Boot”. From
here, you can select the drive your PC should use for starting up. Select the cloned
drive to test it out.

4. Set the clone to run

You’re ready to clone! Once the process starts, it may take a few hours, depending

on how much data you have. If you’re cloning from a laptop, make sure its power

supply is plugged in.

Once the process is complete, you can start using your cloned drive immediately, or

store it away as a backup.

5. Enter UEFI/BIOS to ensure the clone has worked
You can reach the UEFI on a newer PC through the Windows menu in the lower-left
corner of your screen. Open the Windows menu, then click Power, hold
You can boot your computer from the cloned drive to check that everything’s
the Shift key, then click Restart. After a reset, your computer will show you a series
working properly. To do this, you’ll need to enter your BIOS (Basic Input/Output of advanced configuration options. Select Troubleshoot > Advanced
options > UEFI Firmware Settings, then click Restart. Inside the UEFI, you can
System) or UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), and then tell your instruct your computer to use the cloned drive.

computer to work from the cloned drive instead of the original one. The BIOS is your Clone your hard drive on a Mac

computer’s firmware settings, and on newer computers, BIOS has been replaced Your Mac already has everything you need to clone its drive, right in the Disk Utility

with an updated interface known as UEFI. tool. To avoid copying over gigabytes of unnecessary files, broken registry items,

duplicate photos, programs you no longer need, and more, you should deep clean

your Mac before cloning. You can do it manually, but the cleaning process will be

much faster, easier, and more thorough with a dedicated tool

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 3. Select your source drive from the drop-down menu
Once your drive contains only the data you actually want, it’s time to get started.
Disk Utility will display a new window with a drop-down menu labeled Restore from.
Note that Disk Utility refers to cloning as “restoring” a drive, but it’s the same thing.
1. Run Disk Utility This is where you’ll choose your source drive. Note that Disk Utility warns you that

You’ll find this helpful tool by navigating through Applications > Utilities and this process will erase anything on the destination drive.

selecting Disk Utility. Alternatively, open Spotlight by In most cases, you’ll have just one drive on your Mac. Select it from the drop-down

typing Command + Space and search for Disk Utility. menu, then click Restore to begin the process.
2. Select your destination drive and hit Restore

With Disk Utility open, select View > Show All Devices from the top menu bar.

Then, look in the left-hand sidebar and find the drive that you want to use as your

clone. Bear in mind that you’re selecting the target drive, not the original drive that

you’ll be cloning. Lastly, click Restore.

4. Wait for the clone to take place before hitting “Done” when prompted

Disk Utility will show you a status bar that slowly fills up as it clones your drive.

When it’s finished, click Done to complete the operation.

5. Boot up the new drive to ensure the clone has worked

You can test if your cloned drive works properly by booting up your computer from it.

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How long does cloning a hard drive take? Give your new hard drive the TuneUp it needs

The time it takes to clone a hard drive depends on your cloning speed and data To make sure your new hard drive runs smoothly in the long term, it’s important to

size. For example, if your cloning speed is a steady 100 Mb/s, it’ll take just under 90 keep it as clean and light as possible. AVG TuneUp continually prunes your drive to

minutes to clone a drive with 500 GB of data. Cloning the same 500 GB drive at 50 remove the unnecessary temporary data that apps and the OS produce every day,

Mb/s would double the cloning time to nearly three hours. so you don’t get bogged down with unwanted junk. TuneUp also snoozes inactive

A faster cloning speed will quicken the process, but larger volumes of data programs and background processes to ensure that your computer’s resources are

will add more time. If you have both the source and destination drive in the same dedicated to your most important tasks. Enjoy optimal performance and speed for

computer, the direct connection between the two should prove faster than cloning to years to come.
Lesson 2: Advantages of Disk Cloning
an external drive. Many drives also transfer data at speeds well below their
Hard disk cloning is the process that you make an exact replica of your current
advertised maximums, as these numbers are not intended to represent the type of computer system on a different disk or drive. Cloning the hard disk has been a
common practice now as you never know what might happen to your PC and end
sustained activity cloning requires. up losing all important information. The process might take a while to complete, but
it is always worth the wait. Here are some of the benefits of hard disk cloning.
If you have a lot of files on your drive, you may want to find something to do while

you wait. Get a complete machine backup

Are there any risks?
Having a disk clone is the best way of creating a full backup of the computer that you use
The risks of cloning a drive are very low. Even if you’ve ignored our advice and each other day. During the backup process, the operating system and all applications in the
system are saved on a different drive. Depending on the number of applications, you can
are cloning from a laptop running on its own batteries, your source drive won’t be expect the process to take longer or a few minutes.

wiped or corrupted if the computer dies mid-clone. All you’ll have lost is time, as Great for making hard drive upgrade
you’ll need to begin the process again.
If you are going to make a hard drive upgrade, it would be so easy to do so when using a
The one potential risk is if you’re using a destination drive with important data on it. cloned hard drive. This means that you do not have to install the system or applications
again. You simply use the backup hard drive to fully restore the PC to its previous working
Cloning will overwrite everything on the target drive, so be sure that you don’t have condition.

anything valuable on there that isn’t backed up anywhere else. It’s always best to Get full data recovery in the event of a machine crash
clone to a new or empty destination drive.
When making the clone disk, make sure to choose the bootable option. This means that
you can easily restore the operating system and other applications when the machine ends
up crashing. It is a faster method as compared to having to install the operating systems
and then the applications.

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Transfer the data to a different machine

If you are making an upgrade to a new machine, you can simply transfer your files and
programs to the new machine thanks to the cloned disk. No more losing of previous data as
it is all well kept on the cloned disk.

Lesson 3: Issues to consider before cloning a drive

Problem: Cloned hard drive or SSD won’t boot

Have you ever been annoyed that your cloned hard drive won’t boot? When you try to
upgrade your hard drive to a new HDD or SSD without reinstalling Windows and all the
previously installed programs, you’d prefer to choose to clone hard drive. After that, you
can boot from the cloned hard drive directly without reinstalling everything from scratch.
However, unfortunately, you may meet the problem that the cloned HDD or SSD won’t
boot, and you need to make the cloned drive bootable.
2. Verify the boot mode

Here we provide two ways to make cloned drive bootable in two different situations. You If your cloned drive is a GPT disk, make sure the UEFI boot mode is enabled, and if it is an

can choose the appropriate solution based on your own situation. MBR disk, then set it to Legacy boot mode. If your computer does not support UEFI boot

mode, you need to do a GPT to MBR conversion before you can boot from the cloned drive.
Situation 1: clone one hard drive to another on the same computer
As you may know, some software allows you to clone MBR to GPT disk or back without disk

conversion. The computer is not using the correct boot mode is one of the reasons why
Situation 2: clone disk from one computer to another.
cloned SSD not booting.

Situation 1: clone one hard drive to another on the same computer

If you are cloning hard drive to another hard drive on the same computer, but the cloned hard drive

won’t boot later, you can try the following ways to make cloned drive bootable:

1. Check the boot order

Step 1. Press a specific key, usually Del for desktop and F2 for laptop, to enter BIOS settings.

Step 2. Under Boot tab, make sure the cloned drive is the first boot device.

3. Use repair option viaModule

a Wind3| Chapter 5: Input devices 9
3. Use repair option via a Windows System Repair Disc
Step 1. Boot from the system repair disc, and try the first option, Startup Repair.
> If it doesn’t work, you can try Bootrec.exe, which can is available in Command
Prompt to fix cloned HDD won’t boot. Open the last system recovery option,
Command Prompt, and enter the following command in order:

•bootrec.exe
•bootrec.exe /fixmbr
•bootrec.exe /fixboot
•bootrec.exe /scanos
•bootrec.exe /rebuildbcd
If you have neither a repair disk to repair cloned hard drive won't boot in
Windows 7, nor recovery drive to fix Windows 8, Windows 10, or Windows
11 cloned SSD won't boot, you can use the third-party software AOMEI Partition
Assistant Pro to create a bootable media, and boot from it to use one of its
features Rebuild MBR for making your cloned HDD or SSD bootable.
Note: For Windows Server systems, we recommend the AOMEI Partition Assistant
Server, which is specialized for Server systems environment.

Follow the steps to rebuild MBR via AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional:

Step 1. Select the cloned disk which can not boot and right-click the disk to
choose "Rebuild MBR".

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Step 2. Choose a proper type of MBR for your OS.

Situation 2: clone disk from one computer to another

If the cloned hard drive won't boot after you clone disk from one computer to another

different one, apart from using the 2 methods in the first situation: check the starup

settings and use the bootrec.exe tool to fix MBR or BCD settings, you can also try the

following another two solutions.

1. Check the connection mode

If the original computer uses IDE mode, the destination computer has to use IDE mode. If

the source is AHCI, then the target AHCI mode.

2. Use Dissimilar Hardware Restore

Back up the source HDD onto an external storage device using AOMEI Backupper. Then

create an AOMEI bootable media to boot the target computer and restore the backup to
Step 3: Click "Apply" on the toolbar to commit the operation.
the destination HDD with Universal Restore option enabled.

Usually, Bootrec.exe tool can fix the cloned hard drive won’t boot problem, but when you

install the cloned drive to another computer with dissimilar hardware, the bootrec.exe tool

may not be able to enough because the different hardware requires different drivers. In

this case, you can use AOMEI Universal Restore.

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 Lesson 4: Preparing for Disk Cloning If the target SSD isn't brand new, you don't need to format it before cloning
because the data, including the settings, will be formatted during the process.
Disk cloning is the technique of copying data from one hard drive to another to meet a specific need.
It's essentially making a boot copy of the complete system. Disk Image is used to store content. It's not
the same as the standard copying functionality we have in our systems. Cloning copies not only the
5. Use a Disk Clone Software
files themselves but also the hidden files as well. Disk cloning is useful for both personal and
professional uses. It is a safe and secure method of data copying and transferring. It can help in the To upgrade your disk we suggest you use EaseUS Disk Copy. This tool
following ways:
easily upgrades from the old hard drive to a new one. It allows you to clone HDD
to SSD for better performance. It is compatible with most Windows systems. The
• Recovers the hard drive to its original configuration with a cloned copy
useful features are mentioned below.
• Duplicates the identical settings across multiple computers
• It aids in the installation of a large setting
• Provide Disk Cloning to migrate data, operating system, and application
• Prevents data loss when upgrading HDD to SSD
to another hard drive
• Helps in transferring data securely
What to Do Before Disk Cloning
• Keeps a complete backup of data
• Support Windows 7, 8,11,10
Now you are aware of cloning. Let's look at the necessary preparation needed before • Quickly Upgrade the hard drive
initializing the cloning process. Below is the detailed guide you must follow: • Replaces HDD to SDD smoothly for a better performance
How to Clone an SSD without Data Loss
1. A Sufficient Second Drive

Data loss is a possibility when scanning a drive. Use EaseUS Disk Copy to clone an
You'll need two hard drives to start cloning. Make sure that the second device has sufficient
space to clone your data. This means that as long as the target hard drive is larger than the SSD without losing data. This software allows you to clone your data without
used space of the source hard drive, even if its overall space is smaller than the source hard risking data loss. You must first install the software on your computer. It is initially
drive, you can clone it. accessible for a free trial, after which you must purchase it. Connect your SSD to
your PC to begin the process. Prepare your SSD and install it on your computer.
2. Tools to Connect Drivers
Start the process by selecting the source and target disk. It will clone on SSD in a
matter of minutes.
You'll also need to prepare tools to connect the drives to your computer. A SATA cable, a
USB-to-SATA adapter, and a screwdriver are required for connecting a hard drive in your
system. SATA is the connector between the hard disk and the host computer. A USB-to-SATA Prior Notice:
adapter is to connect the second hard drive to your laptop. To open the PC cover, you'll need
a screwdriver.
• The "Sector by sector copy" asks the size of your destination disk to be at
3. Power Supply least equal to or larger than that of the source disk. Leave this feature
unchecked if you wish to clone a larger hard disk to a smaller hard disk.
Cloning can take a long time when you have a lot of data. Make sure you connect your system • All data on the destination disk will be completely erased, so take care.
with the power supply to prevent any disconnect and data loss during transfer.
Step 1. To start copying/cloning an entire disk to another, choose this disk as the
4. Initialize the Target SSD - Do I Need to Format the New SSD? source disk under "Disk Mode" and click "Next".

It is a crucial step that must perform before starting cloning. If you do not initialize it may
prevent SSD from working.If you're using a new SSD, you'll need to initialize it before starting
the cloning procedure, which means to format the new SSD. It will verify that the partition

Module 3| Chapter 5: Input devices 12

 A message now appears, warning you that data will be lost. Please confirm this message by
clicking "OK" and then click "Next".

Step 2. Choose the other disk as the destination disk.

Step 3. Check the disk layout of the two disks. You can manage the disk layout of the
destination disk by selecting "Autofit the disk", "Copy as the source" or "Edit disk layout".

Module 3| Chapter 5: Input devices 13

 A hard disk cloning app can also be used to create a local backup of hard drives. Moreover, you can use
"Autofit the disk" makes some changes by default on the destination disk layout so the software to create a bootable USB or CD/DVD drive.
that it can work at its best status.
"Copy as the source"does not change anything on destination disk and the layout
is the same as source disk. List Of Best Hard Disk Cloning Software
"Edit disk layout" allows you to manually resize/move partition layout on this 1. AOMEI Backupper Standard
destination disk. 2. O&O Disk Image
3. MiniTool Partition Wizard
Tick the "Check the option if the target is SSD" option to put your SSD in its best 4. Macrium Reflect
performance. 5. EaseUS ToDo Backup
6. Acronis True Image 2020
7. Clonezilla
Step 4. Click "Proceed" to officially execute the task.
8. Paragon Software Hard Disk Manager

#1) AOMEI Backupper Standard

Best for: Home, individual, commercial and non-commercial use for disc imaging and cloning.
Price: Free.

Lesson 5: Disk Cloning Software

AOMEI Backupper Standard is a free cloning software that can protect your system against crashes.
Hard drive cloning software can make an effective copy of a hard drive. System The software allows free network cloning and image deployment. You can boot multiple clients using
administrators use cloning software to migrate data from one PC to another. the image file within the LAN.
Additionally, disk cloning apps make the upgrading of hard drives and SSDs faster and The software can restore individual files, apps, folders, and entire disk partitions. The free app
supports advanced features such as data compression, data splitting, and backup encryption.
easier.

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Features: Features:
• Disk cloning and imaging • Backup disks and files.
• Creating bootable discs • Create virtual hard drives.
• NTFS to FAT 32 convertor • Incremental and differential backups.
• Incremental backup • Windows boot system.
• Automatic backups and Real-time sync. • Dynamic and GPT volumes.
• Smart Cloning: If the target disk is large enough to hold all the data on the source disk, the Cons:
user can clone the larger disk to the smaller one. • Lacks advanced disk cloning features.
• Sector by sector clone: All sectors are completely cloned to the target disk, and the Verdict: O&O Disk Image is great for professional disk management. According to the reviewers, the
functions of the source disk will also be cloned to the target disk. software is easy to use and highly customizable. However, the app does lack advanced disk cloning
Cons: features offered by competing products.
• Slow backup #3) MiniTool Partition Wizard
Verdict: AOMEI Backupper Standard supports a lot of advanced features to create a backup of disks Best for: Home and commercial use for disk copying and management on Windows XP or later
and partitions. The only complaint against the software is its slow backup time. But this can be easily systems.
overlooked as the software is available for free. MiniTool Partition Wizard Pricing: Minitool Partition Wizard is available in free and paid versions for
non-commercial and commercial uses. The price plans for home and home offices range between $59
#2) O&O Disk Image
and $99.
Best for: Personal and commercial disk management including disk cloning, imaging, and remote
The prices of the professional paid version include $259 for use on a single server, $399 for use on 99
scripting for Windows 7+ operating systems.
devices within the enterprise, and $699 for use on 299 devices anywhere. A limited feature trial
Price: O&O disk image is available in three different plans. The professional version with basic disk
version is also available for the professional version.
management features is priced at $49.95. Workstation version that supports advanced network
functions like remote installation, scripting, central management, and reporting cost $59.
The Server version that supports Windows 2008 and Server 2019 costs $299. A 30-day trial version is
also available to test the disk management features.

O&O Disk Image is a comprehensive disk management software. The application can MiniTool Partition Wizard is reliable disk management and cloning tool. The disk cloning
backup the entire system while the system is being used. Admins can clone and duplicate software can be used to check system integrity, align partitions, manage & clone disks, and
the entire hard disks and restore even to a system with different machines. convert MBR to GPT files. The software supports the latest disk technologies including GPT
and Windows dynamic disks.

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Features: Macrium Reflect can be used for cloning & imaging disks, partitions, and individual files. The
• Recovery of lost partitions and files. application can be used to recover damaged disks and partitions. You can use the application to create
an exact copy as well as compressed archival files.
• Supports MBR and GPT formats.
• Assess disk performance and fix system errors.
Cons: The software can restore exact images of partitions by allowing you to upgrade hard drives or back up
files. This software can also mount images of the files and folders as a virtual image thereby allowing
• Cluttered user interface. you to restore them in the event of a system failure.
Verdict: Minitool Partition Wizard is a competent disk management tool that lets you do
more than just cloning and disk back up. The new users may find difficulty in navigating
through the features of the disk management application. Features:
• Clone entire disks
#4) Macrium Reflect
Best for: Commercial and non-commercial use for creating a copy of disks,
• Create backup images of files and folders.
individual partitions, and files on Windows XP and later. • GPT and MBR support allows the creation of bootable drives.
Price: Macrium Reflect is offered at separate pricing plans for business and • Pre-defined backup template
personal use. The single license package for personal use is offered at $69.95. For • Support for SSD trim
business use, there are nine different pricing plans as shown below. A 30-day trial Cons:
version is also available for commercial editions. • No support for incremental backup.
Additionally, a free version with limited features is available for both personal and • No backup sync
home use Verdict: Macrium Reflect is a great cloning and imaging app that can quickly process and backup disks
and files. The free version can satisfy the data copying needs of most users. Professional users and
businesses should consider the paid version.
Website: Macrium Reflect
Recommended Reading => Keys Differences Between FAT32 vs exFAT vs NTFS
#5) EaseUS Todo Backup
Best for: Commercial and Non-commercial use for creating a backup of files, folders, and partitions on
Windows and Mac systems.
Price: EaseUS Todo Backup is offered in two versions. There is a basic free version for personal use. The
paid version for commercial and non-commercial use is offered in three different pricing plans as
shown below. A 30-day free trial is also available for the paid version.

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EaseUS ToDo Backup is a simple to use disk imaging and backup tool. The free non-commercial Features:
version software supports incremental and differential backup. The paid version supports advanced • Disk cloning and mirror imaging
features including system cloning, smart backup, email backup, and offsite copy.
Features: • Cloud backup management
• Disk cloning • Incremental backups
• Image backup • Blockchain verification
• Incremental and differential backup • End-to-end AES-256 encryption
• Cloud backup
Cons:
• MBR clone function • Heavy resource usage
Cons: Verdict: Acronis True Image 2020 is a fast and powerful disk cloning and imaging application.
• File sync and mirroring not supported. The application is a great choice for personal users to back up and protect their systems.
Website: Acronis True Image 2020
• No support for GPT/GUID partition table.
Verdict: EaseUS Todo Backup is a reliable image backup and disk cloning software. As per the online #7) Clonezilla
user reviews, the software outpaced AOMEI Backupper Standard in backing up files. The software Best for: Personal and commercial use for disk cloning & imaging on Linux, Mac, and Windows
will meet the needs of average users. But the professionals might be disappointed with this systems for free.
software. Price: Free Cloning Software and open-source.

=> Visit EaseUS ToDo Backup Website

#6) Acronis True Image 2020
Best for: Personal use for creating a copy of disks, individual partitions, and files on Windows 7+,
macOS 10.11+, iOS 10.3+ and android 5.0+ mobile devices.
Price: Acronis True Image is offered at three different pricing plans as shown below. A 30-day trial
version is available to test the features of the software.

Clonezilla is a free, open-source hard drive cloning and imaging application. The software is
one of the few free cloning software tools that work on drives with bad sectors. This application
Acronis True Image 2020 is a versatile disk cloning and mirror imaging software. allows the system admins to carry on bare backup and entire system deployment. It supports
The application supports cloud disk cloning and backup management. It also the simultaneous cloning of 40+ systems.
features advanced AI technologies and blockchain data notarization that provides
real-time protection against crypto-jacking and ransomware.

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Features: Cons:
• Multicast cloning • No Incremental/Differential backups.
• BitTorrent support Verdict: It comes with the basic functionalities for backup up and migrating data. The
• AES 256 encryption application is great both for professional and personal use.
Website: Paragon Software
• MBR and GPT partition supports.
Lesson 6: Disk Cloning using GHOST
Cons:
• Differential/Incremental backup not supported.
When a hard drive has constant problems or is running out of storage space, you
• Online imaging/cloning not supported.
may want to replace it with an SSD to get larger capacity and better performance. But
Verdict: Clonezilla is a great open-source disk cloning and imaging software. According
what about the operating system and all the personal files?
to most of the reviewers, the app supports fast backup and cloning of disks and files.
However, some users have also complained about the user interface that is difficult to
If you don't want to reinstall Windows and have a brand new start, the best idea is to
navigate.
ghost hard drive to SSD, which means migrating OS and data directly. Thus you can
Website: Clonezilla
use the new SSD just as using the old hard drive, but with faster startup and
#8) Paragon Software Hard Disk Manager operation speed.
Best for: Commercial and non-commercial cloning of disks on Windows 7+ operation
systems.
Price: For personal use, it costs $79.95. The business version is offered in four different Can you use Norton Ghost to clone hard drive to SSD?
packages as shown below. There is no trial or free version available.
Speaking of "Ghost", you may think of a clone and backup tool named Norton Ghost.
It provided several options including Partition to Partition, Disk to Disk, Partition to
Image, Disk to Image, Image to Partition and Image to Disk. That is, you can clone
hard drive to SSD, or create a disk image and restore it to another disk.

Norton Ghost used to be so popular that till today many people still refer to clone
hard drive or image hard drive as “ghost” hard drive. But unfortunately, it was
discontinued since 2013, because it couldn't keep up with the times. Though you can
still download Norton Ghost 15 from the internet, it only offers 30-day free trial. If
you are okay with it, here is how to use Norton Ghost.

Paragon Software Hard Disc Manager can back up large files and entire disks in a fast and
reliable way. The software supports a full range of professional disk cloning and imaging. It
allows cloning the hard disk to a larger drive.

Features:
• Data backup and migration
• Basic partitions
• MBR and GPT support
• Microsoft Dynamic Disk Support

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But for users who need an efficient and up-to-date solution, the following freeware
would be a better choice.

Reliable software to ghost hard drive to SSD

If you simply want to ghost hard drive as a backup, then you can use a built-in or 3rd
party backup software. But to ghost hard drive to SSD or another HDD, the most
efficient way is to use disk clone software.

Among the dazzling array of options, AOMEI Backupper Standard is a remarkable one
because of its compatibility and usability. It’s a freeware supporting Windows
10/8/7/XP/Vista and allowing you to transfer data between any HDDs and SSDs via the
powerful clone functions. You can choose the entire disk or only selected partitions to
ghost.

In most cases, the target disk may not be equally large as the source disk and that’s
okay, because AOMEI Backupper copies only used sectors by default, which allows you
to clone larger HDD to smaller SSD. If the target drive is larger, you can also perform
sector-by-sector clone to copy the hard drive bit by bit.

As for image backup, this software supports File Backup, Partition Backup, System
Backup and Disk Backup. Besides, you can schedule automatic backup to implement the
task daily, weekly, monthly, etc.
2. Select the source hard drive and click Next. Then specify the
Steps | How to ghost hard drive to SSD via disk clone?
target SSD and click Next to continue.
Note: AOMEI Backupper Standard supports cloning data disks and MBR system
disks. If you want to clone system disk GPT to GPT, GPT to MBR or MBR to GPT,
you will need to upgrade to Professional edition.

How to ghost HDD to SSD:

1. Open the software, go to Clone tab and choose Disk Clone. If you want to
ghost only operating system to SSD, please choose System Clone (supported by
Pro edition) instead.

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3. Tick SSD Alignment to accelerate the reading & writing

speed of the target SSD, and click Start Clone to implement the
 Lesson 7: Common disk cloning errors
3. Tick SSD Alignment to accelerate the reading & writing speed of the target
SSD, and click Start Clone to implement the hard drive ghosting. Samsung Data Migration is a software that allows users to clone HDD or SSD to Samsung
branded SSD. It is the easiest way to switch if you are changing, just the hard drive. When I
Sector By Sector Clone: Copy all the sectors and therefore create an intact copy was trying to clone my primary partition, I received a message — Cloning Failed, An error
of the hard drive. It applies to cloning disk to larger or equal-sized disk. occurred while reading the disk. It was surprising because I had cloned it earlier, and this
Edit Partition: Resize and rename partitions on the target disk. It’s available in was my second time. So I was sure that it has nothing to do with the drive. It took me a
advanced editions and can help you assign unallocated space on a larger disk. while to figure out, so here is how you can fix this issue, and clone without any problem.

1] Change SATA Port on Motherboard

After the completion, you can shut down the computer, replace the HDD with the
The motherboard of my computer has four SATA ports. Out of which two are eSATA
cloned SSD and boot from it.
ports, while the rest two are marked as SATA. While I assumed something is wrong
Alternatively, you can boot from the SSD and keep the HDD as a secondary with my wire, I first chose to change the port. So I connected it with the red port or
storage drive. This doesn’t require you to replace the hard drive physically, just eSATA port, which you see in the above image. Next, I rebooted the computer,
restart the PC, press the required key to enter BIOS and set the SSD as the first launched the Software Data Migration tool, and it worked.
boot option.
What still mind boggles me that SATA is used for an internal device connector while
After booting from the SSD successfully, you could wipe the hard drive to free up
more storage space. Just switch to Tools tab and select Disk Wipe to proceed. eSATA is used as an external device connector. I assume that it is a limitation of
Samsung Data Migration software, which might need it to be on the same type of
ports, or it looks only for 1st and 2nd drives. The target drive should likely be the
secondary internal drive connection.

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2] Run Check Disk tool Please submit this to eclasspap.xyz

Check Disk is an inbuilt tool from Microsoft which can repair disk issues which Performance Task 1
windows can resolve. To run Check Disk on your System Drive (C), using the
command line, type the following and press Enter key. 1.Explain The Different Ways Of Hard Drive Failure?

2.What Is Bad Sectors?

chkdsk /f C:
If required, restart your computer. Chkdsk command can repair bad sectors if they 3.What Is Stiction?
can be repaired.
4.What Is Circuit Failure?

3] Check for Bad sectors on HDD 5.Explain The Different Types Of Disk Interfaces Used In Computers?

6.Explain The Purpose Of Interleave?

Bad Sectors are part of hard drives that cannot be used to store data. If you have
a bad sector on your HDD, then the Migration tool will not clone it. Tools 7.What You Understand By Access Time. Explain Different Types Of Timings In A Hard Disk
like Hard Disk Validator can help you find and confirm. Download the software Drive?
from the website, and confirm. There are many third-party tools slike Windows
Surface Scanner, HD Tune, Macrorit Disk Scanner, EaseUS Partition Master Free, 8.Explain The Various Form Factors In Which The Hard Disks Are Available?
AbelsSoft CheckDrive, HDDScan that delivers a better experience.
9.What You Understand By Formatting In Reference To Hard Disks?

I hope the post truly helped you to fix the problem with the Samsung Data 10.Which Errors Can Be Handled By Hard Disks?
Migration tool, which gives the error — Cloning Failed, An error occurred while
reading the disk. The baseline is to switch the ports and see what works for you. 11.How Data Is Read And Written On A Hard Disk?
Make sure to power down the computer when you do that. It’s going to be
tedious, but cloning is the fastest way to switch the hard drive. 12.Explain Structure Of A Hard Drive?

Performance Task 2

1.Explain how data is read and written on a hard disk?

2.What was the purpose of interleave? - Hard Disks.

3.Briefly tell us about the different market segments for Hard Disks.

4.Describe the power consumption statistics of the hard disks.

5.What do you understand by a hard disk and how are they classified?

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Performance Task 3

1. What are the different ways of hard drive failure? - Hard Disks.

2. What do you understand by SMART? - Hard disk

3. What do you understand by Controller and what are its primary functions? - Hard disk

4. What are the characteristics of SSD's? - Hard disk

5. What are the characteristics of conventional HDD's? - Hard disk

6. What are the applications of Disk Cloning? - Hard disk

7. Mention the steps involved in disk cloning. - Hard disk

Assessment Task 1

SSD Clone

Note: please provide screenshots and summary of your work

Assessment Task 2

HDD Clone

Note: please provide screenshots and summary of your work

Reference

www.tesda.gov.ph

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Reference

www.tesda.gov.ph

Module 3| Chapter 5: Input devices 26

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