I want to replace the HDD in my laptop with a larger, faster one. But I can’t afford the downtime to re-install the OS and all software. Can I put the new drive in a USB enclosure and connect it, use Norton Ghost or some other disk imaging software to copy the entire content of the disk, swap the drives and continue work as if nothing happened? Or would I run into problems with drivers, license, etc.? If it does (or should) work, which disk imaging program do you recommend?
You shouldn’t run into any problems ghosting data from one drive to another and then booting from it if all you’re doing is replacing a hard drive. I’ve done that without any major issues. Ghosting creates an exact replica of the data from one drive on another; other than detecting a new hard drive installed, Windows wouldn’t be any the wiser.
Here’s a free imaging program that’s worth a try.
Should work OK. Only caveat is to make sure that new drive is able to fit into old drive cradle and is not too thick.
Acronis True Image software has a Disk Clone feature which will accomplish what you desire.
Actually, there is another caveat - it should work, but it might not. Have a plan B ready in case it decides to apply Murphy’s law to you. In other words, get all the install disks ready and make sure you have enough slack in your schedule to recover from a situation where you bet nothing but BSOD from both drives.
All the major hard drive manufacturers have free utilities available expressly for this purpose. Maxtor’s, for instance, is called MaxBlast. They aren’t as slick or versatile as Acronis True Image or Ghost, but they will get the job done most of the time.
If you buy a retail (as opposed to OEM or “bare drive”) HD package then it will usually come with the utility on a floppy. If not, download it from the manufacturer’s website.
I recommend Acronis True Image.