Help needed. How to copy content of one Ext HD to another

Hi Guys,
Firstly, apologies if this isn't the correct place for this thread.
I need some help re: Ext HD Storage.
Basically, I have a 1TB Ext HD which is just about full. I have now bought a 2TB Ext HD and want to copy ALL the content of my 1TB HD to the new 2TB one (both Western Digital), so that I have an exact copy of it, plus space left over for other storage purposes.
Are there any know (easy) methods by which I can completely copy and transfer my files & folders efficiently and quite quickly to the new HD?

My first thought was to just 'drag and drop' or 'copy and paste' everything but given that there are tens of thousands of files, I'm guessing this would take forever. I'm also guessing that I'll need to download some kind of program to help me do this.

Anyone have any smart (but not too difficult, lol) ideas?

Many thanks in advance for any help.
Skinno

 

An easy way is to make a clone of your 1TB disk onto the 2TB disk. This will be an identical copy of the files. Most programs which do this permit cloning of a smaller disk onto a larger one. This is not a compressed version of the original, which you may prefer.
I am not able to recommend a program, but searching the MG forum should show up many good and free ones. See also the downloads section at the MG home page, This may require you make a bootable CD/DVD containing the cloning program. It will take of the order of 24hrs I am guessing.
Ensure you clone the correct disks in the right direction else you will lose your data.

You can copy large directories fairly easily and all the files should come over (e.g., the folder My Documents), unless you get files/paths that are too long or read only files, where 'copy. will pause (select files/directories in Explorer using shift +click or ctrl +click as necessary to select multiple files, and click the 'copy' icon from the toolbar at the top - it will ask you to choose a destination for the selected files/directories: choose a location you 2TB HD. This process will also take a very ...long...time, and may pause for the reasons quoted above) [this is just an outline].

There may be other options also, but those are the first two that spring to my mind.

Dumb_Question
13.February.2013

 

As Dumb_question stated, cloning the drive would be your best option.

The program I prefer to use is AOMEI Backupper because of it's relative speed compared to other backup software I've used and it's simple interface.

You would launch the program and click on the Clone tab on the left then select Disk Clone(see att'd). Select the 1TB drive as the source and the 2TB drive as the destination and let Backupper do it's thing.

 

Just go to start and type cmd
When the blackbox pops up type robocopy and hit enter. If the command is not found, you're not on Win 7, you'll need to download it
you'll use the command like
robocopy e: f: /s /copyall
assuming e: is the source (1TB) and f: is the destination aka new drive.

That is how I copy drives when upgrading.

If the drive had boot sectors or hidden partitions, then I'd make an actual image or disk copy or clone, but with data, you just want the files copied.
If you need a GUI try robomirror
http://sourceforge.net/projects/robomirror/

more GUI info
http://www.howtogeek.com/130729/add...-to-the-microsoft-robocopy-command-line-tool/

 

Thanks a lot for the replies, guys.
I think i'll try the AOMEI Backupper suggestion first and then if I get no joy with that, maybe opt for the robocopy suggestion.
I'll let you know how I get on.
Thanks:
Skinno

 

Hi guys,
Just a quick message to say that I have now successfully cloned my Ext HDD to the larger one.
(Thanks to mdonah's original recommendation) I used AOMEI Backupper. It was very simple to use, ran quietly in the background and completed the job perfectly.

Admittedly, it did take ages (approx. 27 hours) to fully transfer the 1 TB data to the new 2 TB HDD. However, during that time, I was able to use my computer as and when I needed to throughout the whole process without any signs of other programs / webpages being slowed down.

Overall, I was very happy with AOMEI Backupper and would use it again but it got me wondering if there are any other faster programs available, for future reference, should I ever need to repeat the process when I have less time on my hands.

Once again, thanks everyone for all your suggestions and help.
Regards:
Skinno

 

This is just data no "OS", I have not had a problem just simply dragging one to the other. Seems most wish to complicate it.

 

I agree to a point, cloning software to copy DATA is a bit much (it copied the recycle folder and any hidden recovery too), but just plain old Windows file copy was never good for lots of data, hence Microsoft's Robocopy tool. Heck even installing Teracopy is better than Windows default file copy handler.