Will this copy the C: drive (or partition) as it may be to an external drive that is partitioned without deleting everything on the external drive and the partition? In other words, will it copy to a partition leaving the rest of the drive intact?

I downloaded this app in both the x32 and x64 version.
I was emailed a product & serial number for ONLY the x64 version.

I emailed TWICE asking for the x32 version product/serial number of the Paragon Drive Copy.

I NEVER RECEIVED AN EMAIL WITH THE PRODUCT/SERIAL KEY for my request for Paragon Drive Copy 10. I have downloaded the ZIP file, but could someone PLEASE email me the Product AND Serial Key for this App. ?

Thanks
lazlatko@gmail.com

gaotd description: P2V Copy. Migrate a Win2K+ physical system to a virtual environment
i *think* that's the only way you can "copy" an installed windows os to a different pc. you can copy only into a vm. btw, "win2k+" is shorthand for "win2000, winxp, vista, win7" (and perhaps win2003, win2008). "copying" into a vm is an added feature since traditionally, hdd copy were for backing up.
joybar For permanent "move", doing fresh install on win7 is best. move your docs and some things like passwords and bookmarks into the new profiles.
will this work if i plug the USB with my data on it, into a Mac computer ??? -Jamster Mc
pdc10 description implies the copied windows will run in a vm, so bootcamp? parallels? or a vm that runs in the bsd subsystem? (I'm not a mac user)
Neal - i think you must run the winxp from old laptop inside the new win7, as if it were the old laptop. i don't think pdc can independently "copy" an installed app.

Jancio: What for should I make a copy of my computer to use it on some other computer?
To avoid paying for a second copy of certain software. Drawback is that the new pc (host vm) will need better hardware...
pdc is not just a partition imager (i used driveimagexml for that. simple.)
fubar... V2P? doesn't the source win os in source vm need to be as if installed on the destination pc's hardware?

for pdc10 to move p2p, i think both pcs need to have the same chipset. windows will have trouble "healing" itself if it starts up in very different hardware (example I'd expect fail: an intel install starting up in amd hardware)

Ashraf's reviews are second rate outdated under knowledged good and bad lists and that's all they are so as a couple hundred of you listen to him here's more knowledge about todays program...

Key features:

* Windows 7 Support (32/64-bit). Accomplish 'any' operation listed under Windows 7 x64

* Copy Features. Copy a full hard disk or a separate partition, and resize a partition while copying

* Scheduling for copy operations. Set up a timetable for copy operations with new flexibility.

* Refined User Interface. Improved two-level user interface (Easy/Advanced) to satisfy the needs of every customer.

* Support for major virtual machines. MS Virtual PC, VMware Workstation, VMware Fusion.

VMWare is standard i wouldn't suggest using any other Virtual Machine as many are just jokes ie: sun systems wannabe VM Ware... thanks.

-

I don't see Ashraf's review as being very conductive, nor thorough this day. It's derogatory, very incomplete and negates most of this program's outstanding abilities, 'The Bad' is not at all so bad in all honesty. Thanks for ok reviews, but just having 'The Good' list and 'The Bad' list is not at all a complete and unabashed review at all. And one shouldn't begin to review the software if they have not 100% thoroughly and completly reviewed the software ( that would make it a review and not just good/bad list of comments now wouldn't it. Anyway thanks for the efforts but more full-on knowledge would be more helpful. That being said, I just bought a 500GB USB Seagate thin & slim drive that this program will work great with. And WinPE Needed? Great! I'll burn a copy...'Not So Bad' afterall,....WinPE bootable burns fine, while I am at it i will just make the WinPE autoboot from my USB HD, oh and auto .exe booter will be nice also.

+Enjoy.zZz~"Avid PC Enthusiast Since 1982..."

Out of the last five or six Paragon offers here at GotD in the last year or two, I have only been able to try ONE, because for all the others, including today's, I never got an email with a registration code, even though each time I tried multiple times with different email addresses. A couple of time, including this one, I even started trying early enough in the day that I was able to send an email request direct to Paragon's customer service for this, but never got a response of any kind, hours later.

You can certainly bet I'll never purchase a Paragon product. They may have good software, but customer service reliability is key for me.

I have downloaded and installed 3 different times and it says successfully activated bot it didn't show the form to fill out for the key and when I checked, it didn't install the program but it did start Windows Explorer that I don't use, I use Firefox and it did download and install a program that monitors software updates that I had to uninstall that I didn't want.....how do I get the code key please
thank you, Tony Rome

Downloaded and installed fine WIN XP SP3 PRO, ....but does not work:
Tried to clone my C HD to another HD, which I have done before with other software, but Drive Copy reboots back into WINDOWS, not doing the cloning. Checking the FAQ, I found for this problem: "Do chkdsk /f", which I did - but got the same result, no change!
Perhaps someone can help?
Thanks, Eldad

#52, no i have a true dual boot and virtual machine on my computer. under Windows i use Wubi to run Linux in a dual boot.

Under Linux I use Sun's Virtualbox to run Windows.

It's a testbed computer in case you're wondering about the goofy setup, but I couldn't get Paragon to recognize Windows under Linux or Linux under Windows even though Wubi treats Linux as a separate program.

Nothing against Paragon, it's just a warning to those with VM or Wubi to take heed

#37: "... The issue is M.S. Windows licencing. If you have an OEM copy of windows which means Dell, HP, and others then you will not be able to transfer your operating system to another computer without paying for a new retail copy of windows."

Microsoft has changed their licensing for VMs a few times, & I'd recommend checking their site for the latest if in doubt about the legal fine points. Dell I've read also adds a hardware key so install simply won't work elsewhere. OTOH talk to people &/or research on-line -- Microsoft isn't always interested in playing Grinch, & people have *very* often activated Windows successfully while appearing to be in violation of their license, whether installing to a new system, a VM, or both. AFAIK in most cases when activation didn't work, it just took a phone call.

* * *

#44: "1) My PC came with Vista pre-installed on it so I was never given the M$ install discs. Can Drive Copy make a copy of my already installed Vista-OS to use on the any of the virtual machines it supports (I plan to use Oracle’s VirtualBox) ?"

Yes. Vista HP 32 seems to run quite nicely that way, but read up on VBox if you've got Vista 64.

"2) ... Is today’s offering updated?"

Far as I can tell, it's the same -- In the "program" folder all .exe files are dated 9/15/2010, same as the earlier version I had installed, plus running ParagonDC10_Pers_x32.msi brought up the installshield dialog to modify, repair, or remove the existing version.

* * *

#47: "...they have yet to develop a proper image verification routine. ... If you want to use Paragon, then I would strongly suggest that you make multiple backups (at least 2 full backups) and compare them to each other. In testing Paragon, I have twice come across a bad backup in around 80 image creations..."

FWIW I've used Paragon disk image backups for years without nary a problem. Their apps do include image verification, both as an option setting up backups I believe & definitely as a separate operation. That said, Both Windows & drives can & do screw up [I've had problems once or twice *copying* images from one drive to an USB external], so I make it a practice to always store 3 backups, deleting the oldest before I start a new one. I store these on an installed old drive [normally left over from upgrades/replacements] as restore is *much* faster, then archive a copy on an eSATA external. While these *older* drives are less reliable, for home use they're good enough IMHO considering their occasional use & the redundancy of the external. I've done it this way for years, with Paragon & Acronis, and so far it's worked very well.

"... I have gotten Paragon to work with some “hidden” system recovery partitions by temporarily changing the partition type to a standard NTFS or FAT-32 file type (as appropriate to the system), but this requires a disk editor..."

Also FWIW, while admittedly I've only worked with recovery partitions to extract content & get rid of the things [they're often just a convenience for usually lousy tech support iMHO], I've always been able [so far] to use other tools without resorting to an editor. That said I've always been more concerned with recovering usable disk space & using IMHO better solutions [OEM hidden partitions often include stuff for other models/options wasting all sorts of space], so I never saw a need to back one up or copy the partition separately -- a bit by bit entire disk backup does grab everything to *put back exactly* in case of warranty returns, rather than try to reconstruct &/or re-mod anything.

* * *

#51: "... When it boots it will probably ask for drivers for no critical components like sound chip and video card etc but the core HAL will be corrected so will not prevent you from booting, which is the whole point!..."

FWIW I've booted into Safe Mode, removed critical drivers in Device Mgr., then rebooted into regular Windows with pretty much the same effect Paragon apps offer, except they tend to just delete the registry references rather than the files I got rid of my way. That said, their driver injection, adding needed driver setups before the fact might make a difference to IT, because of less hands-on.

As far as migrating everything from 1 PC/laptop to another, personally I've found the benefits from a fresh install usually outweigh the convenience of not starting from scratch -- you don't have as much garbage left behind, including from software updates, & there's always quite a few apps I've installed, never used, & so do without this time round.

* * *

#53: "do you need to uninstall version drive copy 9.5 before installing this version"

**Most** Paragon apps are self-contained so no problems from installing one next to an existing version. There are exceptions however -- many of their apps use prgiso.dll, they may/may not install it to Windows' system folder, & not all versions are compatible with all versions of all their apps. I've run into one of their apps installing a version that broke several other, unrelated programs from Paragon, so as a precaution I would either backup or save a copy of that file somewhere.

Otherwise in my experience it's a matter of whether you want both apps installed or not. Unless it's the same version [e.g. today's GOTD & the earlier GOTD I had installed], I don't recall ever getting a prompt to uninstall an earlier version during setup.

i managed to clone AND backup a failing laptop with apricorn but i am unable to use the programs and data in a practical sense because there is no longer a functioning orig laptop to restore backup to(or switch out hd). will this program be able to migrate my clone/backup to a newer computer?? thanks.

I had the previous copy, but uninstalled it before trying to install this one. But I am getting "Wrong Serial Number" despite copy/ pasting. (and being careful not to add spaces before or after the serial #). What can I do about this? I have tried 3 times to install with no go.

@03. But u can use it if the os is on a hdd u've connected externally n aren't currently running from. Or if u boot from an OS on an external hdd then u can copy ur primary. You don't actually have to set up a standard dual-boot system.

This giveaway arrived just in time for me. My old laptop suffered hardware failure due to a liquid spillage that damaged the keyboard and the display.

I obtained a 'cheapie' replacement witha small hard drive, preinstalled with Win7.

Using my desktop to house the old disc from the damaged laptop and the preinstalled Win7 disk from the new laptop, I was able to transfer the new copy of Win7 to the old hard disk and boot up my bargain with the older, bigger disk.

Very pleased.

Stuart

If it helps...

To migrate Windows to a VM [P2V] you want to get rid of the extra free space on the original drive -- that's usually essential for a Microsoft VM, & just good, efficient practice with others. Working with a copy of the original system disk works well since the original is left unaltered, but if you're moving away from the original there's no reason you can't resize that partition & do any other prep work there. A disk copy can be on a regular drive/partition or you can copy the drive/partition to a virtual disk, which can be more convenient, but is usually somewhat slower. Win7's handy with its support of VHDs [Virtual Hard Drives or Disks], though you can use most virtual disk software -- TrueCrypt can be used because while it's focus is on stealth & security, it does create virtual disks.

To create a VHD in 7 go to Admin. Tools (under Control Panel) & start Computer Mgmt. -> select Disk Mgmt. (under Storage) -> right-click Disk Mgmt. & select Create VHD -> in the dialog that opens select a location, I usually select Dynamically expanding but some prefer Fixed size, & enter a size for your new VHD -- for creating a VM use a size at least as big as the original Windows system disk/partition -> you'll see the new VHD listed in the lower right window, & you need to right-click where it says: Disk n & select Initialize. At this point you may want to Rescan Disks [Action menu] so you can right click the new VHD & create a New Simple Volume, which allows you to assign a drive letter, format the VHD etc., making it visible in Windows Explorer, usable by Drive Copy's Migration wizards & so on. OTOH you may want to leave it as unallocated space, & Drive Copy's Partition Copy will see & use it as-is -- whether you want your VHD as a formatted drive visible in Windows Explorer or not depends on what you're going to do with the VHD... you can always right click the VHD in Disk Mgmt & delete the volume or add it again as need be. You can also right-click to mount/unmount a VHD as needed.

Now you have to fill the VHD... One easy way to do it is to restore a disk/partition image backup to the VHD -- note that paragon apps might add the VHD to win7's boot menu, & the free, EasyBCD is a quick & easy way to remove it [assuming you want to]. Or you can clone a drive/partition, copy a partition & so on. For a separate, not connected PC/laptop you might use a bootable disc from Acronis or Paragon etc., or use one of those apps or similar running in a bootable mini-Windows like Live XP or WinPE, storing a backup image on external storage, then restore that to the VHD. Or as above clone the disk/partition to an external drive & don't bother with creating/restoring a compressed disk/partition image... I want to emphasize that there are a lot of options because for example not everyone has the same software, nor does everyone have large, empty external drives, and certainly not everyone wants to accomplish the same things. Some Paragon apps will accept a backup image as a disk/partition source, which is handy *if/when you don't need to reduce partition size*.

Once you have a copy of the original disk/partition on mounted a VHD, you can use installed partitioning software like that from Paragon or EASEUS to make the partition smaller -- I usually size it just above the used figure you get from right-clicking the drive & selecting properties in Windows Explorer, then later create a dynamically expanding virtual disk for the destination VM, allowing ample room for eventual expansion if or as needed. You can usually access other virtual disks the same way. The next step *I* use [it certainly isn't mandatory] is to rename folders for AV software & most anything else that starts with Windows, & you can also add any apps that you think you might need before everything's set up with full connectivity, so you can get files in/out of your VM -- many apps like AV software may work quite well in your new VM, but ties everything up in knots during all the new hardware installation, or you can restore the folder name, restart with the AV software working, & uninstall. Now it's time to just follow the wizards in Paragon Drive Copy to convert the disk/partition copy to a VM. Afterward, when you 1st start your new VM, Windows will install drivers, but don't worry yet if anything doesn't go right -- in fact you might cancel installations that give you a choice until you can install the helper apps/drivers [Additions] supplied by the VM developers. At this stage look in Device Mgr. make sure everything's cool, & make sure there aren't any drivers or devices that obviously shouldn't be there -- a good example, I've had Paragon apps leave the AMD pci express drivers in place, which needs to be changed to std pci as 1) there's no virtual pci express, & 2) there's no AMD emulation in VM host software [device drivers need to match the hardware emulation your choice of vm host uses]. I also like to run Autoruns [Sysinternals at Microsoft], looking for any drivers & related services/apps that are running with Windows & don't need to be.

Final words of caution, don't over complicate things when you can help it. When you can copy the virtual disk file for your VM [e.g. .vdi for VBox], just copy it rather than use the host app to duplicate it or whatever -- the latter usually changes the MAC address which helps Windows decide to ask you to activate, again. When you can help it, don't convert a vm from one brand to another -- garbage that tends to get left behind not only clutters but can cause poor performance & bad behavior.

do you need to uninstall version drive copy 9.5 before installing this version

Those of you who are wondering why today's GOTD is a repeat, have forgotten what the GOTD team promised: they said they would be randomly repeating few of the (popular) giveaways of 2010. Those who missed the previous Paragon Drive Copy 10 GOTD offer, will relish the chance to download and try it today.

I like Paragon products, they make very professional tools. Some people who are comparing today's offer to other commercial equivalents seem to be a bit harsh in their feedback. I would request them to get their favorite software (that they praising so much) offered here. Somehow, I don't think that's gonna happen soon. :-)

Unless (and even if) that happens, let us remember the spirit behind GOTD. It gives lower-tiered software vendors to reach a huge untapped audience, take a big risk in giving away their hard work for free for a whole day (and thereby risking chances of piracy and hacks), facing sudden deluge of visitors to their website (which their web host might not even be capable of handling), etc. And the only benefits they want are goodwill, honest feedback (positive and constructive criticism), good suggestions and workarounds, and if you like the giveaway and can afford it, you please buy it. It is a win-win situation for everyone (including GOTD), and if you don't like something and just came here to crib or troll, just remember no one's forcing anything down your throat.

For me, lack of WinPE might turn out be a deal-breaker, as I tend to look for it for crash recovery. Still I am gonna install Drive Copy and give it a go.

Like many of us here, I always refer to Ashraf's comments. In fact, his daily tests/reviews seem to be taking so much time that he is not able to focus much on expanding it (he seems to be more "mobile" these days). Maybe, GOTD should pay him and other frequent GOTD reviewers (thanks Mike!) some kind of bonus for their contributions to this community.

We wish the GOTD team and the GOTD reviewers (and your families) a very Happy New Year 2011 !

Paragon's Drive Copy 10 PSE is a cool app & using it isn't difficult -- it's just a case where too much is said/written [I'm as guilty there as many others] with not nearly enough focus on Step 1 -> Step n = Done. Today's GOTD version BTW appears to be a repeat of an earlier offer. What Drive Copy 10 PSE does is allow you to Move everything on a system hard drive/partition to another drive/partition [system drive/partition = where Windows is]. If origin & target are on the same PC/laptop, it'll adjust things so Windows will boot from the new location. If origin & target are on 2 different PCs/laptops, Drive Copy 10 PSE will try to delete registry entries that refer to the original core hardware, so that when Windows starts on the new machine it'll start looking for & installing the correct drivers. A lot's said about Paragon's WinPE disc ISO that's included in the pay versions -- in this case it allows you to add specific drivers etc. [I believe they call it Driver Injection] to make those installations sometimes easier. Other Drive Copy 10 PSE functions include backup images, drive cloning, & partition copy [useful as an alternative to cloning or restoring a backup image when you want new file tables, particularly with NTFS].

There's talk here & in Paragon's forums etc. about using BartPE & other mini-versions of Windows in place of the Paragon WinPE disc... unless it includes Paragon's driver injection (& then only if you need Driver Injection), a lot of that can be an unnecessary PITA to put it bluntly. If you just want a bootable Windows environment, which is BTW faster than the included *nix rescue disc (the boot-land site domain has changed) go here for a How-To with links & pretty much everything you'll need [minus a Windows install disc/ISO]: http://reboot.pro/4111/ . Generally speaking it should take about 15 minutes to 1/2 hour to have a bootable LiveXP CD, with a bunch of apps ready to use both on CD & external media like a USB stick, including Paragon. The site also has what you need to set up win7 & Vista discs/USB sticks, but XP's simply smaller, & small in this case is good.

SO OK, you want to move Windows onto another drive/partition, what next? If you're moving from a physical hard drive to another physical hard drive, **as long as the destination is at least as big** there's not much to it other than following the wizards. You can also restore a backup disk/partition image to the new location. If the destination's smaller, at least using Paragon software, reduce the size of the partition, eliminating free space as possible -- this applies 10-fold if you're going virtual. TO reduce partition size you can either reduce the original partition before copy/move, or you can copy it as-is to a virtual drive & reduce the partition there. The 2nd is my preferred method for virtual machines since there's other work you'll want to do that would otherwise screw up your working installation. You DO NOT want your AV software running when you first boot into a new vm, nor do you want apps autostarting that depend on hardware, like ATI's CCC -- an easy out is to rename the folders for that stuff & deal with it later, re-enabling & uninstalling or using it once things are setup.

Next, Why would you move Windows? If you swapping drives or moving to a new PC/laptop the answer's because it can be easier. If you're going virtual, it's time for a reality check... Unless you're running VMs off a server host, it's very often going to be like going back 5-10 years in time to the slow PCs you'd gladly forgotten. If you're in win7 & need occasional access to old apps & stuff, &/or you want to make sure in case you forgot to archive something, then it's cool, but a full-tilt Windows install migrated to vm is not going to be like it was/is running in hardware. A minimal Windows install OTOH isn't bad, without all the software & registry bloat you don't notice on real hardware.

As far as the promise of carrying a runnable version of Windows in your pocket, I've done it & it is very workable, but I use a minimal install of win7 set up as a VirtualBox VM, running Portable VirtualBox from a minimal LiveXP setup [one I linked to above]. I boot into LiveXP, which uses a RAM disk, either from CD or USB stick, & start the portable VBox from a shortcut on the desktop, then start the win7 VM. OTOH I've virtualized the XP Pro install I'm working in right now, & frankly I don't like to run it even in win7 with plenty of memory & other resources, because it's such a dog with all the apps etc. I've got installed.

A final note, be careful if virtualizing Vista HP [& possibly non-Pro versions of XP] -- you probably do not want to use Microsoft's Virtual/Windows PC hosting software, as it depends on remote desktop so heavily, & that's not included in all versions of Windows. Also, don't expect to create a VMWare vm & run it 1st time in the free player.

Paragon destroyed 2 hard drives in one swoop (computer tech 20+ years) but despite that I decided to give this a try. It is now hung on Windows 7 x64 and looking at task manager the install has 6 (six!) copies of the installation going at once. I did download the OS 64 bit version as shown above. thumbs down again on Paragon

For those like me who have slower access at home, downloading 100MB can take some time. So, here's the registration page link: http://www.paragon-software.com/registration/dc10pers-se.html. Go and register now, before 24 hours is up in case your download takes you too close to the time limit. I still seem to occasionally run into the problem of the giveaway wrapper running out of time trying to connect & get authorization when "disgorging" large giveaways on slower machines.

For those confused by Paragon's multi-pronged approach, here goes for an explanation: So this particular variant can copy drive contents from one drive to another (its basic task) and make a backup image (the primary task of Paragon's Backup family). It can also create images for use with virtual machines (the basic features from its Virtualization Manager product). Of course, it does have basic Partition Manager capabilities. When they try to sell you the full package of utilities, it's much smaller than adding up individual products by a huge amount.

I would wholeheartedly recommend Paragon as a competent maker of drive manipulation & backup tools except for one major issue: they have yet to develop a proper image verification routine. One of the key aspects of backup is that you must be able to verify that your backup is valid. If you want to use Paragon, then I would strongly suggest that you make multiple backups (at least 2 full backups) and compare them to each other. In testing Paragon, I have twice come across a bad backup in around 80 image creations.

Yes, Fubar is correct that Paragon does have a problem identifying non-standard partitions. I have gotten Paragon to work with some "hidden" system recovery partitions by temporarily changing the partition type to a standard NTFS or FAT-32 file type (as appropriate to the system), but this requires a disk editor and somebody who knows exactly what they are doing.

For those with x64 issues: Make sure you are downloading the correct version, not the usual download link, but the link in the text in bold above the summary box. Install & run as administrator is a MUST! (You otta know this by now...)

If you have been paying attention in the past, you will know that Paragon has gone to a weird numbering scheme that they don't always pay attention to. The main program is released with a given version number. The "Personal", "Special", "Giveaway", "Cover Disk" or "Free" edition is often given a 0.5 version number demotion. Thus, for Drive Copy 10, this Personal Special edition has portions that report a version number of 9.5 and others that report 10. Both are valid. Confusing, isn't it?

After reading Fubar's endorsement, I checked out ShadowProtect. It does seem impressive, but it should be noted that a single copy is $89 and a bundle of 3 is $209. That may put Paragon in perspective.

I'll tell you why I endorse this software and it's because of 1 feature: the ability to copy EVERYTHING. This may not seem like a big deal but I've tried other cloning software and it won't copy everything, especially, if it's in use but this does. That may not seem important to some but when you're trying to copy your boot drive and it WON'T, what's the point...

Another thing, while I may not be happy about giving up an email address and getting offers from them, I've never been disappointed by their software (Everything that they've offered). Far too many pros vs cons and you can't say that about everything that is downloaded from here. I'm not dissing on the other software but I am saying that pound for pound, they provide the highest quality of anyone that offers here. I would recommend their software to anyone.

1) My PC came with Vista pre-installed on it so I was never given the M$ install discs. Can Drive Copy make a copy of my already installed Vista-OS to use on the any of the virtual machines it supports (I plan to use Oracle's VirtualBox) ?

2) This is the version I have from the last GAOTD:
Paragon Drive Copy™, version 10, build 9409 (22.01.10 ) Personal SE
Is today's offering updated?

Thanks!
Dan

I used this software to make a virtual machine of my old laptop running under VirtualBox a little more than a month ago. It allows me to use the old system with ALL its programs as if the old laptop never died its rightful death.

It was wonderfully easy and and worked without flaws. Instead of having an old backup of a computer that any new backup software is unlikely able to restore, I now have my old system in the form of a virtual machine (VMDK format) so that I can use it anytime I desire AND performance is much better than it ever was on that old dog.

GREAT software!

@30.
For this purpose you need a Paragon product providing a WinPE RCD and P2P functionality. Boot from RCD and insert the appropriate drivers before starting the computer.

This is the exact version that was here before which they last updated April, 2010 according to their website:

21.04.2010 10.0


Paragon Drive Copy 10.0 is released with new functionality:

* Windows 7 Support (32/64-bit)
* Refined User Interface
* Support for major virtual machines
* Wide migration options
* P2V Copy
* P2P Adjust OS
* Smart Driver Injector
* Simple Backup Wizard
* Restore Wizard
* WinPE 2.1 recovery environment
* The latest Linux kernel for Linux-based recovery environment
* Support for Linux Ext4FS
* Support for GUID Partition Table (GPT)
* Better support for 64-bit platforms

1. Installed 64 bit version
2. Ran MSI
3. Installed to Program Files (86) which I thought was unusual being a 64 bit program

4. It hung at the end of the installation for 15 minutes when it became obvious it wasn't going to move.

5. There were about 10 msiexec.exe showing up in my task scheduler.
6. I tried the install again, since an install was in progress, it said no.

7. Tried Repair option, again no.
8. Restarted the computer and got the blue screen. Something about a driver.

9. Unplugged and restarted. Program ran but I did what #19 suggested and then ran repair again.

10. It is hanging as I am typing. Another 15 minutes.

Anyone experiencing anything similar? Any help, please?

To #22: I think your thinking thumb drives. USB hard drives can be had for 1 to 2 TB for not a whole lot of money. Plenty of space for back up.

To those who say it is impossible to back up 1.5 GB, or 750 GB, they make 2 TB USB drives that are very common.

I have looked at this type of software many times and would like to mention a few facts about limitations of P2P Adjust OS feature. The issue is M.S. Windows licencing. If you have an OEM copy of windows which means Dell, HP, and others then you will not be able to transfer your operating system to another computer without paying for a new retail copy of windows. So that means 80% of users will never be able to use it. I contacted Paragon and all they said was to contact Microsoft. Just my two cents worth.......

When I first saw this offer I was excited but after reading more about it I'm now confused as to what it does and as it's not bootable I think for us non techies it may be a stretch too far so I am not going to try this. It sounds too scarey....

This *might* be just what I've needed. I'm running XP Pro SP3 on an 8 year old self-built puter. The 40Gb hard drive was partitioned into three partitions; system, storage, storage. I have a 120Gb drive that I want to partition 60/30/30, and then move everything onto it from the old 40Gb drive. I've had the new drive a while and haven't used it yet because I don't want to do a fresh install. I just want to move everything from the 40Gb drive, exactly as it is, including the OS. So, will this program allow me to do exactly this?

Downloaded and installed with no issues (x64 version). I'm attempting to perform a simple backup, however I'm getting the following error:

"Bad parameter of function, source: Hard Disk Manager"

Any suggestions?

I forgot to mention, if you have an account at Paragon, you can get your registration keys/serial numbers from there without waiting for an email message.

Unlike many developers, I think that the programmers at Paragon are competent. Their use of the Microsoft Installer permitted a driver update without rebooting when I updated another of their products. Most updates fail on Vista/Win7 because updated drivers will get deleted when you restart Windows, if you didn't use the Microsoft Installer (or didn't use it correctly).

I talked about ShadowProtect because it's what I use, I have neither the time nor the incentive to do full backups/restores, etc., with Paragon Drive Copy. Paragon Drive Copy does have a number of features which ShadowProtect doesn't have, and it's supposed to be about copying drives, not backing them up. I just wish that Paragon would spend more time making the core functionality solid rather than throwing in all kinds of unrelated features. They can sell a single product with all of the features of most of their other products.

I am just amazed by some of the comments here. If you don't understand what this suite does, you shouldn't be using it. There is no need to dumb down software so morons can use it. I prefer software vendors that keep things precise and technical so anyone with two brain cells can know whats going on.

"Herp Derp, Can this USB my screen savors from XP on my iPad?"

Also any comments that contain the phrase "Will it work with..." should be deleted.

People are cleary misunderstanding what migrating to new hardware means. What it means is that if your computer fails or you decide to upgrade to a computer with better hardware, you may be able to migrate your entire OS, programs, data, etc., to the new computer. You can't migrate the programs and data alone (there are utilities which claim to do that, but I would never trust them). You can always copy your data over.

Paragon Drive Copy is far less sophisticated than StorageCraft ShadowProtect Desktop which I use, but I can give you examples with ShadowProtect. You can do the same with Paragon Drive Copy, it's just much more cumbersome. In the first place, I have tons of storage (currently 8TB raw internal and 7.5TB raw external attached, lots more unattached). I have backups of my Windows Vista environment available internally and externally (internal is faster, but external isn't bad) on my Windows 7 environment. With ShadowProtect, I usually just point at the most recent incremental backup (actually, I used ShadowProtect's ability to write to existing backups, and wrote out a new incremental image after taking permission as Win7 administrator to access my old Vista data, since NTFS security prohibits Windows access to data from another computer/installation), right-click the backup file, and select Quick Mount. ShadowProtect reads back through the chain of incremental snapshots to the full image, and mounts the composite image as a virtual drive, accessible though Windows Explorer like any other drive. When finished, I just right-click any file/folder and select Quick Dismount. You would be able to do something similar with Paragon software, but it may involve a great many more manual steps, and you might only have access to your data from the recovery environment. Similarly in ShadowProtect, I could just right-click any backup image and boot it in a virtual machine, ShadowProtect handles all of the adjustments. Paragon also permits use of virtual machines, which is the best way to run your old programs, but again it involves a lot more manual work than ShadowProtect.

Does this tool can resolve the STOP 7B bugcheck for Windows XP/Vista/7? For example, to restore windows boot when hard disk drive inserted in computer with another IDE/SATA hardware.

To #22 (Jancio): you probably mean 1.5 TB, don't you?
You seem to limit your thinking to USB memory sticks, but nowadays you can connect any hard drive via USB (using a disk enclosure or just cables), and this way you can have a 2TB USB drive easily. So when you find a purpose for this software ;-), you can clone any disk you have to a new disk of the same type connected via USB (bad luck only if you use RAID other than RAID-1).

When I go to install the 32-bit version, the install panel state it is installing version 9.5! Does the file point to the wrong version?

Sparky

Okay, here's what I think this thing does:

First, imagine that you've got your desktop configured the way you'd like it. (I know, never happens, but still.)

Now imagine getting a shiny new laptop with comparable specs and OS, but not wanting to go through the bother of installing everything to it.

Use PDC10 to back your system up onto, say, a 500 GB external USB drive, and then plug that drive into the laptop (which, I presume, also has PDC10). Voila! You can run everything on your desktop on your laptop without going through all that reinstalling and reconfiguring.

Let's further say that, at some point, your desktop HD crashes. If you've been using PDC10, all you have to do is get a new internal HD, and then reinstall from the external USB drive.

Is that close? Or am I reading this completely wrong?

While Paragon remains a second-tier developer, unlike much of the junk offered here they may eventually become a top-tier developer. While Paragon offers a good price point, I find that their offerings are muddled, trying to make each a jack-of-all-trades while being a master of none. It's also confusing to try to figure out what products you need, since there's so much overlap. They should concentrate on the core features of each product.

I'll illustrate with concrete examples. Paragon Drive Copy tries to do all sorts of stuff, so the comparison with a product which does some of the same things but has a different focus is fair. As I mentioned previously, when I tried to copy a special system recovery partition, Paragon couldn't do it, but EASEUS and StorageCraft ShadowProtect Desktop could. ShadowProtect doesn't try to be all things to all people. They're a top-tier provider of Windows backup solutions, they don't do Linux, etc., yet ShadowProtect was easily able to copy a partition of an unknown type. Some people who post here seem to live in their own little worlds with very distorted views of reality. ShadowProtect could do Hardware Independent Restore, P2P, P2V, V2P, etc., write to existing backup images, etc., years before anyone else; look up reviews for older versions of backup products. I can't stand the way that Paragon installs their useless HotCore3 partial-VSS obsolete driver which intercepts all of your disk access for no reason (it served a function many years ago, not on any of the last several versions of Windows). ShadowProtect (and all of the major backup packages) also install something similar, but ShadowProtect's is a registered VSS provider which serves a function. ShadowProtect is able to easily see all of my RAID visible and hidden volumes (and of course Windows Disk Management can), Paragon is only able to see one small RAID volume, it knows that there is other stuff but doesn't know what it is and can't handle it.

The giveaway version of Paragon Drive Copy doesn't include WinPE because of licensing restrictions (Paragon would have to pay Microsoft), but even if you buy Drive Copy, you only get WinPE 2.1, which is quite limited (there's WinPE 2.2 and WinPE 3). Now, Paragon will have a new version of Drive Copy which may have WinPE 3, but everyone else who still has active businesses are also working on new versions. ShadowProtect has included WinPE 3, Windows 7 support, 64-bit support, etc., for some time. The ShadowProtect Recovery Environment ISO actually includes WinPE 3 and WinPE 2.1. Unlike some others, ShadowProtect doesn't require you to burn a new CD/DVD/BD/USB flash drive, etc., recovery environment with particular drivers for particular hardware. If you have any recent version of Windows, their recovery disc is already likely to contain sufficient drivers to boot, and if it doesn't, you can either remove the ShadowProtect Recovery Environment disc from the drive (or pull the flash drive) and insert a CD, etc., with drivers, or access USB drives, or network storage, etc. Without their WinPE disc, I can't test Paragon's P2P function, but the documentation indicates that it's all manual and you have to supply the drivers. ShadowProtect can usually automatically supply the correct drivers for you. ShadowProtect doesn't try to be a Swiss Army Knife, but it does have an extensive set of tools in the Recovery Environment for getting a computer to boot.

I think that Paragon is making good use of GOTD and that they may eventually become top-tier, but they're not there yet. The giveaways are a good deal (although I still hate the HotCore3 installation). If you're considering purchasing their products, you'll have to consider whether the low prices makes up for occasional deficiencies, it may be worth it to you.

Quite a few commentors have no idea what this software does.
It copies your C: drive so that should the drive fail or you want to install a larger drive you can copy it all back and run as if nothing had happened!
There are several freeware's available that do this, the payed for versions are simply faster.
I recently increased my C: drive from 160GB to 320GB. It took 5 hours to complete the task with HD Clone.
What we need to know is how fast Paragon Drive Copy 10 Personal is compared to the freeware versions. But whats the hurry?

Well I didn't get a button "get free serial" while installing, to click so I can't fill in any online registration form to get the product key and serial number, I've repeated twice with the same result. :( Dunno what is wrong.

If I may, software like this, recovery software/backup software, is that you really have no idea if it works unless you take the chance and destroy your OS and then try to restore it. That's a BIG risk to take. You really need to create a full backup of an installed system when you first install it, so that you have a good starting image to rely on. Right after the initial install, you make the image, perhaps with this software, and then wipe it out and reinstall from the image, in order to test its reliability. My system is now years old, with almost 750GB of programs and data, and there's no way I am backing it up or restoring it. If it goes, I start over. There's nowhere to store a backup that big. Even if I just backup the OS it's still a huge collection of files, so I don't bother with these programs, I have all the original software in one place for that day when it goes. My own plan is to buy a terabyte drive and clone everything onto it; by then this would be one good way to do that, but I can't do it today, so thanks for the offer GOTD!

I must admit that I don't understand the idea of this software. What for should I make a copy of my computer to use it on some other computer? How it is possible to store all data of my computer on USB drive? All my data including system disk is over 1,5 GB - no USB drive has this capacity. I appreciate and understand the idea of making a copy of system and data to clone them to a new hard drive, but as far as I understand this software can't do it.

I have a new computer. Would like to copy everything from existing to new. Includes all the wonderful programs I have downloaded from giveaway. Have 4,000 songs on ITunes and 90 favorties which have not been able to back up.
Also have an existing lap top which would like to also wipe everything and copy total system to.
Will this work? Comment to Josh in 12 above. As a novice I really appreciated your comment.

It stated it was for 32 and 64 bit Windows 7. It only copied with 32 bit programing and could not be installed. HELP

Ref my message (14)I went to Paragon's web site. Read product manual. It has the answer to this error. Run command prompt as administrator. Then run regsvr32 jscript.dll. After that installation went OK. Hope this helps if anyone else encounters this error message.

On download of the 64bit version, after opening the rar file the file:ParagonDC10_Pers_x64.msi is not available to run. I have always been able to download and install Paragon programmes from GAOTD.

Any help.

I immediately thought of an important potential use for this, if I understand correctly what it does, but I am not sure if it will work. If the manufacturer is reading these posts, feedback would be sincerely appreciated. I bought a new computer, but don't want to give up my ability to use the programs on my old laptop that I've downloaded from GAOTD. They cannot be reinstalled on another computer. Hooking my old laptop up to my new laptop would be unwieldy. It sounds like this program might allow me to instead clone the relevant portions of my old laptop onto a sleeker storage device that could be accessed on my new computer via USB connection. (They make them so small these days!) If so, this would allow me to continue to use favorite programs that can't be moved. Is this correct? And if so, what portions of my old computer would I need to copy in order to this to work? My old computer has Windows XP Pro and my new computer has a dual Windows 7 and XP program. I am very eager to learn if and how this can be done. Thank you.