If you don't mind spending some cash, and believe me, if you have ever lost everything to a failed drive, the price will seem small, most of us here use Acronis True Image. For free ones, Macrium is almost an Acronis clone. (Don't forget to make a CD with a bootable operating system so you have a place to work from when the machine won't boot otherwise - that needs to be made as soon as you install the backup software and tested to be sure it can access your backups and has drivers for your hardware.)Īcronis is popular here (I use Backup & Recovery rather than True Image, but they are similar). Then you can even dispense with System Restore if you want and you'll always be able to just pop in a new drive and be back to where you were in less than an hour. With images, you can greatly reduce the size of your backup because page files and other unnecessary things are not backed up, and you can make "incremental" backups after the first full one that only include changes from the original, so they are quick to make and thus more likely to be recent. A clone would be an identical drive set up identically. Just FYI: What you want is not a "clone" but an image or full backup. My questions are can this be done, can it be done with my docking station (or would I need a specific driver perhaps) and can it be done freely with software I can find on the internet. The problem I have is that is seems like a mine-field in terms of software, do's and don'ts, can and cant's and each time I try do this I get bogged down in reading hundreds of different and contradicting posts, and give up. Which incidentally has done in the past and why I'm trying to be pro-active now. What I really want it to do is take an image of the whole operating system and data and transplant it onto the USB hard drive so that if I get a problem with my laptop, I can just transfer it all back on to it, or a new hard drive I've put in it if it happens to die. I have actually not really used it seriously because when I realised the software it came with (PC clone EX Lite) does not really clone, it only has a facility to back up user specified data, I was somewhat disappointed and gave up. Unfortunately I only have info from the 871 - 876 All in 1 HDD docking stations, but will endeavour to find out more info on the other models.I wonder if any one can help with my scenario regarding backing up / imaging and the relevant software.to explain, I bought a one touch backup system a few years ago so I could back up my laptop data onto a seperate hard drive. It will tell you if it is compatible with USB3. See table below the download links for more info on your specific model of all in 1 HDD docking station. This applies to any electrical device - the voltage has to be correct +/- 5% but the Ampage can be much higher and won't harm your device as long as it at least the minimum required to turn on your electronic device. The device may light up, but won't work and the PSU will get hot and eventually fail. The Amps can be anything because the device will only draw what it needs, so if it is 12v and 3A/4A/5A then it's fine, but if the current (Amps) is too low, it will still try and draw what it needs from the power supply and this will cause problems. So another thing to try before sending your All in 1 HDD Docking Station back to your supplier is to try a higher rated PSU. I misplaced my power supply and tried a 12v 1A supply which I thought came with the docking station but it didn't read drives, so i used a 12v 3A power supply, plugged it into the rear of the PC (not a hub) and hey presto. I'm not sure if the power supply is rated at a high enough Ampage for all in 1 HDD docking stations listed here.
![pcclone ex lite software download pcclone ex lite software download](https://regmedia.co.uk/2009/06/18/xd2_4.png)
I have tested a later SATA WD drive and they work fine. Just a side note for those that have an IDE WD drive and you can't access it - Western Digital IDE drives are NOT compatible.
![pcclone ex lite software download pcclone ex lite software download](http://www.gotofnet.com/Big5/products/PCClone_EX/image/PCClone_EX_top.gif)
However, there is the possibility it may not work with USB3 ports depending on your model so bear these in mind. If your All-in-1 docking station is not recognised when you plug it in, then you have another problem, I have now tested the 875 on Windows 10 and it works just fine. Please note - Drivers for the All in 1 HDD docking station listed on this page are not needed in order for the docking station to be recognised by your PC/Laptop if you use the following OS's: Compatible with SATA I, SATA II, SATA II transfer rate up to 3Gb/s Features XD/CF/TF/SD/MS card reader and eSATA port High Speed USB 2.0 up to 480Mbps data transfer rates (USB 1.1 Backwards compatible) Supports all 2.5"/3.5" SATA/IDE Hard Disk Drive of any capacity up to 2TB (Not WD IDE) FREE Dropbox online storage - click here All in 1 HDD Docking station Features