Is there a cloning software that will create a snapshot and restore to Dell laptops

Tech Talk Software
1

Hello Twit community,
I need your help finding a cloning solution. I would like to create a “snapshot” backup of everything on a Dell 7420 laptop and be able to restore the snapshot to a Dell 7440.

7420 - Intel Core i7 1185G7 - vPro

7440 - Intel i7-1365U vPro (12Mb cache, 10 cores, 12 threads to 5.2Ghz)

In the past I used Ghost, Acronis and Clonezilla, but it has been a few years, since I have needed to perform a “snapshot” backup.

Thank you for your suggestions.

2

I know Steve Gibson has high regards for https://www.terabyteunlimited.com/

3

I’ve used Acronis in the past to perform this kind of work. Sounds like you’re familiar with that vendor already.

I’m sure it goes without saying, but make sure your destination disk is at least as large as the source disk.

4

I was told that Acronis will not work due to the different chipsets ? Is this the case ?

5

It has nothing to do with Acronis not being able to do it. Because of different chipsets, you will need to install all the correct drivers for it to work correctly. The imaging software can’t do anything about that.

6

ah okay. from your experience what is the best way to the drivers of the 7440 ? is there a method to include it in the acronis restore ? or let it boot into windows and then have the drivers on a subsequent usb ? and install from there ?

7

If you know the final destination platform (as you seem to) then you could download the drivers you’re going to need into the system (obviously not install them) in to a “temporary” folder so they’re there when you do the installation of the image on the new platform. That way they’ll be ready and waiting, in case it’s otherwise difficult to get them downloaded (say for example because the network drivers are needed to get a network working.)

There is one issue you should be aware of before you go down this route, BTW. If your license for Windows was an OEM license (as they frequently are with DELL machines) then you may not be able to activate your new machine without purchasing a new Windows license. If both machines came with one, you should be okay though, but you’ll need to input the correct Windows key into the machine to get it to activate.

1 Like
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thanks for the great advice !