cloning a pc - 100%

[khushy]

I want to COMPLETELY clone a PC we use to control a number of CNC machines.

All the CNC software is on it - and without it - we would be buggered!!! We obvs have all the disks/licences etc and 2 of the 3 CNC use dongles

It all works perfectly - Win 8.1 pro - and the 2 sets of HDD's are configured RAID 1

I would ideally like to buy another PC (can even get all the same hardware - motherboard etc - and have it working EXACTLY the same as our current machine - but keep it as a redundant backup!

The CNC Machines are connected via USB

Is this possible - if so - how can I get this done ASAP

Thanks

[mattley]

Providing you can actually get the same hardware take a disk out of the current machine, use a spare port or USB caddy and acronis to clone it onto the new pc.

Your biggest problem with a clone was the hardware will have to be identical with low level system devices like disk controller and PCI controller's being the same or you'll have all sorts of driver problems.

Windows won't activate so you'll have to get hold of an 8.1 licence.

[imck]

I do this sort of thing at Work from time to time.
Normal method is to Boot the Master Machine from USB and capture the Image onto USB.
Use a wide variety of Tools usually dependant on what the Customer is licensed for.

Is it an Off the Shelf PC?
Used HP, etc. Business Machines are usually available from Ebay and elsewhere.

Does it have a RAID Card or is it on Board (usually Intel) ?
You may need to load a RAID Driver to be able to capture if not on Board.

[khushy]

imck said:

I do this sort of thing at Work from time to time.
Normal method is to Boot the Master Machine from USB and capture the Image onto USB.
Use a wide variety of Tools usually dependant on what the Customer is licensed for.

Is it an Off the Shelf PC?
Used HP, etc. Business Machines are usually available from Ebay and elsewhere.

Does it have a RAID Card or is it on Board (usually Intel) ?
You may need to load a RAID Driver to be able to capture if not on Board.

its a custom built pc - by me - no raid card - just using onboard RAID - we are licensed for windows + the 3 x CNC software packages - and thats all I need

[Funk]

A couple of things to check and which might cause you issues. Check the drive being cloned isn't BitLocker encrypted, it can make it a pain to clone. If it's not, you may still run into issues trying clone the drive it's running from (ie. it can't clone whilst in use)

I have one of these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Inateck-Docking-Station-F...

Pop the drive you want to clone in Slot A and the target drive in Slot B. Hit the 'Clone' button and it'll make an exact copy (even if encrypted) including the boot partition. Pop the newly cloned disk in the machine to check it boots and works as expected and keep the older worn drive as the backup (or take another copy - hard drives are cheap and the hassle of data loss for you sounds high).

[khushy]

can you run a CLONE of the PC you want to duplicate on another PC?? Like in a virtual machine while still retaining USB functionality and dongles etc

[Funk]

Technically yes but you'd be in breach of the licence key and if it's Windows 10 it would probably deactivate as the PC's fingerprint wouldn't match the one with the key held by Microsoft. If you cloned, booted and then changed the licence key to another one you'd purchased that would be OK.

Settings > System > About > Change the product key or upgrade your edition of Windows > Change product key

[devnull]

mattley said:

Providing you can actually get the same hardware take a disk out of the current machine, use a spare port or USB caddy and acronis to clone it onto the new pc.

Your biggest problem with a clone was the hardware will have to be identical with low level system devices like disk controller and PCI controller's being the same or you'll have all sorts of driver problems.

Windows won't activate so you'll have to get hold of an 8.1 licence.

^^ This is the core problem you will run into.

My Dad had some CNC equipment and he had this exact same request.

I think the easiest solution is actually to get a second PC, and rebuild it with all of the software required to run the CNC machine. That's what I did. If the primary PC died, then all he had to do was boot up the redundant PC, transfer the software license over for the control software, plug in and off he went.

Cloning is certainly possible, but you will encounter driver problems unless it's the *exact* same model machine.

[snuffy]

Buy another PC, buy another W8.1 licence. Then install your CNC software on said new machine. You say those licencees are on USB dongles, so that is fine, you can only run that software on the machine with the dongles plugged in.

Then if your original PC turns its toes up, just unplug the dongles, unplug the USB CNC connections, pop the new PC in the dead ones place, plug the USB cables and dongles back in and away you go.

[Funk]

devnull said:

mattley said:

Providing you can actually get the same hardware take a disk out of the current machine, use a spare port or USB caddy and acronis to clone it onto the new pc.

Your biggest problem with a clone was the hardware will have to be identical with low level system devices like disk controller and PCI controller's being the same or you'll have all sorts of driver problems.

Windows won't activate so you'll have to get hold of an 8.1 licence.

^^ This is the core problem you will run into.

My Dad had some CNC equipment and he had this exact same request.

I think the easiest solution is actually to get a second PC, and rebuild it with all of the software required to run the CNC machine. That's what I did. If the primary PC died, then all he had to do was boot up the redundant PC, transfer the software license over for the control software, plug in and off he went.

Cloning is certainly possible, but you will encounter driver problems unless it's the *exact* same model machine.

Not necessarily; on first boot a machine with different underlying hardware would usually automatically install Windows drivers for it (or you could do it manually using the right drivers yourself to ensure no issues). However at this stage you might as well just build a new PC properly and have done...

One thing they MIGHT run into I didn't think of with cloning or running a clone as a VM would be licensing of the software used by the CNC etc - it may be single-instance only etc and again, the sharing of the key would be the issue.

[Mr Pointy]

One thing I'd consider is breaking the RAID array & then it's much easier to play around with cloning the resulting single HDD PC on to a new one. Having a RAID array involved can complicate things.

[khushy]

last q - I promise

In order to build some kind of safeguard - if I were to purchase a spare - motherboard and a spare processor - say if one on the machine were to break - can I just slot the new one in and would it then work ok?

[Funk]

Mr Pointy said:

One thing I'd consider is breaking the RAID array & then it's much easier to play around with cloning the resulting single HDD PC on to a new one. Having a RAID array involved can complicate things.

I'd agree if it wasn't RAID 1 which is just a straight mirror. Should be a bit less of an issue...

khushy said:

last q - I promise

In order to build some kind of safeguard - if I were to purchase a spare - motherboard and a spare processor - say if one on the machine were to break - can I just slot the new one in and would it then work ok?

It would need to be identical, also I'd recommend making sure it was on the same BIOS firmware etc but yes in theory it should work.

[Mr Pointy]

khushy said:

last q - I promise

In order to build some kind of safeguard - if I were to purchase a spare - motherboard and a spare processor - say if one on the machine were to break - can I just slot the new one in and would it then work ok?

It depends what you are trying to protect against - you're guessing which bit is going to break. It's perfectly possible that the PSU will go tits up & take the motherboard out as well. Personally I think you're on the right road getting a different PC & getting that into a state where you can swap it in in a couple of minutes.

What are the specs of the current PC? Does the software have to run under Windows 8 or can it run under Windows 10? Is it a normal PC or built into an industrial case? Do you have the software to load onto another PC?

[srappy]

khushy said:

last q - I promise

In order to build some kind of safeguard - if I were to purchase a spare - motherboard and a spare processor - say if one on the machine were to break - can I just slot the new one in and would it then work ok?

While it would 'work' you'd have issues with Windows licencing. Changing the motherboard triggers windows activation.

[Funk]

srappy said:

khushy said:

last q - I promise

In order to build some kind of safeguard - if I were to purchase a spare - motherboard and a spare processor - say if one on the machine were to break - can I just slot the new one in and would it then work ok?

While it would 'work' you'd have issues with Windows licencing. Changing the motherboard triggers windows activation.

This is probably true but if it's just the motherboard that's changed he should be able to reactivate if it asks, either through Settings or using the automated phone option.

[Mr Pointy]

Funk said:

srappy said:

khushy said:

last q - I promise

In order to build some kind of safeguard - if I were to purchase a spare - motherboard and a spare processor - say if one on the machine were to break - can I just slot the new one in and would it then work ok?

While it would 'work' you'd have issues with Windows licencing. Changing the motherboard triggers windows activation.

This is probably true but if it's just the motherboard that's changed he should be able to reactivate if it asks, either through Settings or using the automated phone option.

But this is all taking time while his CNC machines are not working.

[snuffy]

So this is a mission critical (great term !) bit of equipment that you said would bugger you right up if it failed ? I'd not be pissing around for the sake of a few hundred shekels then.

[khushy]

snuffy said:

So this is a mission critical (great term !) bit of equipment that you said would bugger you right up if it failed ? I'd not be pissing around for the sake of a few hundred shekels then.

I did not once mention budget - in fact budget is not the issue - the mission is making a machine that works without any hassle - ideally NOT having to reload software etc

Dont mind spending money - dont mind buying an extra windows licence

[geeks]

Haven't we been through this with you before?

I don't mean to sound harsh but please just find a local (or otherwise) IT Services company and engage them for the assistance.