Fast and safe way to copy data partition onto new disk?

Winfried · 17 Aug 2023

Hello,

To move to Windows10 safely, I need to copy my computer's ~500GB data directory (D:) onto the new drive running Windows10.

Should I perform this by using Linux-based Clonezilla, or start Windows10 and simply copy the partition onto the free section of the new drive, possibly after having pre-created an empty D: drive?

Thank you.

OS Name: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate
OS Version: 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Build 7601
System Type: X86-based PC

Samuria · 17 Aug 2023

It's safer to create the partition on the new drive then use robocopy to copy data over via network using partition copy runs the risk of errors and copying over wrong partition

spunk · 17 Aug 2023

If not comfortable in the Command Prompt running Robocopy
You can also select all the files on the Data drive and drag an drop or copy and paste to the new partition. Be patient, it will take a while if you have a lot of data.
You may want to use a 3rd party app like FastCopy

Paul Black · 17 Aug 2023

Hello @spunk,

spunk said:

You may want to use a 3rd party app like FastCopy The Ultimate Guide to Robocopy

Did you mean > FastCopy ?

spunk · 17 Aug 2023

My Bad, Paul, I have reedited my post.

hsehestedt · 18 Aug 2023

Maybe it's just me because I do this so often, but I find it super simple to copy everything from a partition on one drive to another. Simply do this (make sure to read the notes following the command before running):

Scenario One - Copying the entire drive

robocopy E:\ D:\ /mir /xd "system volume information" $recycle.bin

In the above command, E: is the source drive that you are copying from and D: is the destination that you are copying to. Just change as needed.

Scenario Two - Your question sounded like you wanted to copy the contents of the data drive to the actual Windows drive. In that case you could modify the command just slightly so you are copying to a folder on the Windows drive like this:

robocopy E:\ D:\MyData /mir /xd "system volume information" $recycle.bin

If you want to preview what the command would do so that you can see if any errors would result but without actually copying any files, just a "/L" to the end of the command.

Winfried · 18 Aug 2023

Thanks for the infos. I'm comfortable with the CLI.

Like the old drive, the new drive will have two partitions: C for Windows and the apps, D for the data.

Besides reliability, I was also looking for the fastest way to copy from one drive to the other. For maximum performance, they'll be physically plugged into the computer, instead of going through the network.

I'll read up on robocopy and FastCopy.

hsehestedt · 18 Aug 2023

Winfried said:

Besides reliability, I was also looking for the fastest way to copy from one drive to the other.

Question: Was this going to a one-time copy or were you planning to sync the one drive over to the other drive repeatedly?

Winfried · 25 Aug 2023

One-time copy while migrating from W7 to W10.

Winfried · 04 Sep 2023

After installing a fresh Windows 10 on the target computer (which only has a single SATA connector), moved its drive to temporary desktop computer (that has two) to copy the source's data partition (F:) to the target's data partition (D:)

As admin, I ran:

Code:

robocopy.exe F:\ D:\ /e /copyall /xd $RECYCLE.BIN "System Volume Information" /LOG:robocopy.error.txt /tee

Still on the desktop computer, I notice two issues on the D: drive: 1) directories are read-only, and 2) some require admin rights to open ("Access denied on file")

Right-click on any off-limit folder > Properties:
General tab: Read-only
Security: "You must have Read permissions to view the properties of this object

Any idea what it could be?
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Edit:

For the read-only thing: Turns out some files on the source target were already read-only, so it doesn't look like robocopy is to blame.

As for the access rights… Come to think of it: Since each file is told what users can perform what tasks on it… isn't it a bit naïve to think you can you just copy files into a new computer without first creating the same user accounts? It doesn't explain why some folders work fine while others require admin rights for access, though. :sarc:

Fast and safe way to copy data partition onto new disk?-39053968-d0bc-422e-aaf4-92368e69548a.png

- - - Updated - - -

/COPYALL = /COPY:DATSOU, where D=Data, A=Attributes, T=Timestamps, S=Security=NTFS ACLs, O=Owner info, U=Auditing info

Would ignoring the extra bits (SOU; I don't know what they do) solve the problem?

→

Code:

robocopy.exe F: D: /E /DCOPY:DAT /COPY:DAT /XD $RECYCLE.BIN "System Volume Information" /LOG:robocopy.error.txt /TEE

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Edit: Much better. At least, I can now open a sub-folder and launch an app found within.