The software is called Hard Disk Manager 11 Suite and can be downloaded, as a trial, at http://www.paragon-software.com/
I chose to purchase the software rather download the trial for the following reasons:
1. "No Recovery CD included in the [trial] installation package" (this, in my view, makes the trial worthless)
2. Peru stated in Chuck's thread that the (different) version that he has used has worked well for him and
3. Until Dec. 25, for an extra $10 (total of $59.95), one can download 3 copies of the software for home use (for $10 more, one can also receive in the mail a disc containing the program).
Note that the boxed version can also be bought on Amazon for $49.95, however, I don't see any offer to download 3 copies there. Also with regard to Amazon, please note that all 3 reviews of the software are highly negative. Mine, on the other hand, is postive.
My immediate goal was to clone my C drive to a second internal drive, and I was able to accomplish that in about 3.5 hours, including the time taken to build the WinPE3.0 Recovery CD. The software needed to accomplish this build comes with the paid download, and in my view it is essential to have this media on hand before beginning the process of cloning, and here is why: If ever one's C drive crashes, then one will need to boot from the recovery media, the reason being that the installed progam will be unavailable.
I disagree with the reviewer on Amazon who stated that the documentation is inadequate. If you go to the site, you can download it as a pdf file and see for yourself that it is [url]very[/url] detailed (239 pages).
Here is the simple procedure that I followed to create the clone:
1. create the WinPE3.0 recovery media on CD (p.20)
2. boot with the recovery media and then go to p.73 for the details regarding how to accomplish the clone
3. choose the source HDD (your current C drive)
4. choose the target disk (your second internal drive--note that the software will delete everything on the target drive)
5. when the copy finishes, remove the recovery media before shutting down*
6. shut down
7. remove the power and data cables from the source drive
8, boot the machine with the target drive (the driver for this drive was automatically installed during the boot process)
9. test your new C drive--mine, so far, appears to an actual, yes, clone of the original source drive
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*If you shut down and reboot with the WinPE3.0 media still in the drive, you may, like me, not find any option to proceed to open Windows on your MBR 0 drive. You do have the option, from within the installed program, to build a LINUX-based DVD that does offer the option to go to Windows on your C drive, however, my understanding is that, for the specific process of cloning, the WinPE3.0 media is a better choice. I've now created both of the media.
Question for the tecchies: once I've created a "backup capsule" of my current C drive, is there any reason that I cannot use it to restore to the other internal drive in the event my current C drive crashes, assuming that my work can wait for the 3 hours that it takes to accomplish a restore?
In other words, won't I have two choice in the event of a crash, namely:
1. If I need to get back to work immediatly, simply power up the second internal drive or
2. if it's more imporant that the second drive be up to before I begin to work again, then I should first restore from the externao eSATA drive that will contain my backups?
