I really appreciate this product. I used it to make a backup drive for my laptop computer. Cloning was surprisingly quick. The newly cloned hard drive booted the computer and everything worked just fine. I next used the product to clone a (jam-packed) desktop drive to a larger hard drive. Again, everything worked great. This product is unbelievably easy to use. A recommendation: Read the product manual before you clone.
MICROSOFT DE-ACTIVATION:
I discovered that a new hard drive causes Windows 8.1 and Microsoft Office to become deactivated ("activated" status might be lost on the cloned drive). Your Microsoft products might re-activate over the internet; but you might need to call Microsoft (and convince a real person) to re-activate Windows or Office. This deactivation is NOT a fault in the Apricorn software; it is a function of the Microsoft software detecting that the drive has been changed. By the way, Windows 8.1 also deactivated itself when I added more memory to my computer.
YOU MAY NEED TO RE-LOAD DRIVERS:
After I installed the cloned drive, the computer's LAN connection did not work until I reloaded the motherboard's LAN driver. You might want to have a flash drive loaded with your computer's drivers (at least the LAN and/or Wi-Fi driver) before you clone.
A FEW TIPS AND HINTS:
Before you clone, backup your important files to an external hard drive, a flash drive, a network drive, cloud drive, DVDs, etc. (Just in case something goes wrong.)
You can download the product manual from the Apricorn website (as a PDF file). It is really worth the time and effort to read through the manual first.
On the Apricorn webpage for the kit, you can find some troubleshooting tips (frequently asked questions).
You can also download the latest version of the cloning software (EZ GIG IV) as:
(1) The Windows-based program to load on your computer, and
(2) A disc image (ISO) file that you can burn to CD to produce a bootable disc ("burn to CD," not copy to CD).
I chose to boot the computer to the Apricorn CD. To do this, you may need to go into your computer's BIOS to set it to boot from CD.
The Apricorn software won't work unless it senses the Apricorn "SATA Wire" adapter.
This product will make an exact (sector-by-sector) copy of your hard drive. Therefore, it would be good if you did two things before you clone:
(1) Instruct Windows to perform a "disk check" of the hard drive to be cloned
(2) Defrag (or "optimize") the hard drive to be cloned
Before you start cloning, you need to instruct windows:
(1) Never go to sleep (never hibernate)
(2) Never turn screen off (turn off screen saver)
Don't use the full-auto cloning option unless both the "Source" drive and the "Destination" drive are exactly the same size. If they are NOT the same size, I would recommend that you enter the manual setup ("Advanced Options") part of the software to set the desired partition sizes. For example, if you are going to clone to a larger drive, you'll want to enter "Advanced Options" to specify the size of each partition. You can also specify files and folders to omit from the cloning.
The instructions state that you should connect the new hard drive to the "SATA Wire" adapter. Actually, the cloning software will work no matter which drive (old or new) is connected to the "SATA Wire" adapter and which is in the computer. You will identify which drive is the "Source" (old) drive and which is the "Destination" (new) drive in the software.
CLONING 3.5-INCH DRIVES
This product is specifically designed to be connected to a 2.5-inch drive; however, it is possible to use it to clone a 3.5-inch drive.
You can easily clone a 3.5-inch drive to a 2.5-inch drive (or vice versus) by attaching the 2.5-inch drive to the "SATA Wire" socket and having the 3.5-inch drive installed in the computer. In this case, you just instruct the software that the 3.5-inch drive is the source and the 2.5-inch drive is the destination (or vice versus).
To clone a 3.5-inch drive to another 3.5 inch drive requires an adapter cable to connect the 3.5-inch drive's data port to the data socket on the Apricorn "SATA wire" adapter. Also, you must provide power to the 3.5-inch drive to be cloned (since the 12 VDC it needs cannot be supplied via a USB cable). You can do this in one of two ways: (1) with your computer unplugged, you can connect one of your computer's SATA power supply connectors to the drive; or (2) you can connect a SATA power supply from a kit like the
SABRENT USB 3.0 TO SATA/IDE 2.5/3.5/5.25-INCH Hard Drive Converter With Power Supply & LED Activity Lights (USB-DSC8)
. I used the
NSI LK-13526 7-pin internal SATA Male to SATA Female Extension cable - 7 pin SATA M/F - 20 inch (50 cm)
to connect the Apricorn "SATA wire" adapter to the 3.5-inch drive's data port. To make this work, I had to snip off the hard plastic locking pieces on either side of the male end of the connector.
You can also use the Apricorn "SATA Wire" adapter (without the software) to read and write to 2.5 inch (notebook-sized) hard drives via a USB connection. That means, you can use this device to recover data off of an old hard drive. Just connect the drive to the adapter, plug the adapter into a USB port, and use file manager to copy files.
| Brand | Apricorn |
|---|---|
| Item model number | ASW-USB3-25 |
| Hardware Platform | laptop |
| Item Weight | 1 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 4.5 x 0.2 x 1 inches |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 4.5 x 0.2 x 1 inches |
| Color | Grey |
| Flash Memory Size | 160 |
| Hard Drive Interface | USB |
| Manufacturer | APRICORN MASS STORAGE |
| ASIN | B005C983NA |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | July 7, 2011 |
