This article explains how to copy the operating system from an existing boot drive to a new drive using DiscWizard. The procedure will copy the entire contents of the old drive, which includes all the partitions, programs, files, operating system, etc., to the new targeted drive.

Always Back Up First - Whenever you make a significant change to your system, be absolutely sure to back up your critical files.

1. Physically install the new drive as a secondary drive in your system.
   
   If the original and new drive are ATA drives, add the new drive as a slave to the primary master and set both drives' jumpers to Cable Select, or make it a secondary master or secondary slave on the second IDE controller.
   
   If the original and new drive are SATA drives, leave the original drive on the first SATA controller and add the new drive to a second SATA controller.
   
   If the original drive is an ATA drive, and the new drive is a SATA drive, add the new drive to any SATA controller. Once you have added the drive, power on your system, enter your system s BIOS, and configure your boot priority so that the computer boots to the ATA hard drive before it boots to the SATA hard drive, otherwise your computer will not boot up properly.
   
   If you are using an Ultra ATA or SATA PCI adapter, please make sure that both hard drives are connected to the adapter card.
   
   For further information on how to physically install an ATA hard drive, please see Document ID: 196291.
   For further information on how to physically install a SATA hard drive, please see Document ID: 196169.
2. Confirm that the new hard drive is installed and detected by the system BIOS.
   
   Adding a new drive may require BIOS configuration, refer to your system manual for BIOS settings to Auto-detect the new drive.
   
   The system BIOS will not detect drives that are connected to an Ultra ATA or SATA PCI card. The Ultra ATA or SATA PCI card uses its own BIOS and should display the drives that are connected to it during boot.
3. Start your computer. Once Windows has finished loading, if DiscWizard is installed already, open the DiscWizard software.
   
   If DiscWizard is not yet installed, launch the DiscWizard Setup program to install it.  The setup will place a DiscWizard icon on your desktop and add it to the Start button program groups.  The setup will require a reboot of Windows at the end of the software installation.
   
   This software also runs from a bootable CD-ROM and has the same screens as shown below. If you encounter compatibility issues that prevent you from using the Windows version or that cause the software to be confused about the system hardware, then running the bootable CD-ROM version of DiscWizard may clear it up. For instructions on how to make a bootable DiscWizard CD see Document ID: 201951.
4. Select Tools & Utilities at the top, then select Clone Disc.
   
   
    
5. The Clone Disc Wizard screen will display, and you will be at the Clone Mode step in the cloning process.
   
   It is recommended that you select the Automatic disc clone mode. This will copy everything on your original drive, including the operating system, to proportionally-sized partitions on the new hard drive, without deleting anything from the original drive.
   This article covers cloning your system in the Automatic disc clone mode.
   
   For further information on the Manual mode, which includes options to delete information on your original drive, create new partitions on the old drive once the cloning procedure finishes, set the size for the copied partitions on the new drive, and other features, please consult the DiscWizard User Guide.
   
   To continue, click on the Automatic radio button and select Next.
   
   
    
6. The Source Disc screen will display, where you choose the drive you want to clone. Select the drive you wish to clone to your new drive and then select Next.
   
   
    
7. The Destination Disc screen will display. Select the new drive to which you want to clone your original drive, then select Next.
   
   
    
8. The Finish screen will now display. In this window, you will see a list of the operations that will be performed while cloning your hard drive. After verifying the operations to be performed, select Proceed.
   
   
    
9. Because you are cloning an operating system that is currently active, DiscWizard will require a system reboot before proceeding.
   
   
   
   Choose Reboot to continue. Canceling the reboot will cancel the entire cloning procedure.
   
    The software will show a progress bar.  The time to complete will vary depending on the amount of data to copy. Once you click on Reboot, your computer will restart and clone your original drive to your new drive. Once the procedure has finished, you will be offered an option to shut down the computer by pressing any key.
10. Once the system has completely shut down, disconnect your original hard drive. Connect the new drive as the primary drive. If it is an ATA hard drive, connect it as the primary master. If it is a SATA hard drive, connect it in the first SATA controller.
11. Once the new drive has been installed as the primary drive, power on your computer. Verify that the Windows operating system boots correctly, that you can access all your applications, and that your data is available. Once you have done this, you can shut down your computer and connect your original drive as a secondary drive which you can then use as additional storage if you so choose.

If there are too many errors or fragmented files on the old drive, the copy procedure may fail. If this happens, run error-check and defragment the old drive.

Sometimes the DiscWizard software will determine that the Source drive file system has too many errors and that it should be cleaned up before beginning the copy.  If you notice a red C on the yellow Source drive information bar, that signifies the file system on the drive should be error checked.