Create 2 Bootable Window Backups to 1 External Hard Drive

[xtiti24]

Hi,

I would like to know if it's possible to create 2 bootable backups/clones of 2 different window computers onto 2 separate partitions in 1 external hard drives?
The programs I have used erase my partitions whenever I backup one computer. Thus, I am unable to keep my partitions to backup the other windows computer.

Thank you!

 

[giantbucket]

eh, sort of, yeah. i've copied a Win7 or Win8.1 partition to another drive for safety, and then copied it back and used it as if nothing happened. MiniTool Partition Wizard could be helpful for this.

i have one machine that has 3 partitions (XP, 8.1, and 7) and for 7, i swap 7-32 and 7-64 from another drive, and boot into whatever i just copied. of course, you have to do a first install of SOMETHING to make sure that the boot record knows there's an OS out there, but once that's done, you should be OK to copy it elsewhere and back.

specifically for your case:

install Win 7-32 (for example), and once it's up and running, use MiniTool to copy the entire partition to another drive.
then install Win 7-64 (for example), overwriting the existing 7-32. once that's up and running how you like it, use MT again to copy the entire partition to another drive (could be the same drive as before, which will now hold TWO partitions).

when needed, copy back either the 7-32 or 7-64 partition from that other drive to the OS drive, overwriting whatever is there. BAM. back to where you were N weeks ago.

 

[ArtPog]

When you refer to "creat(ing) 2 bootable backups/clones of 2 different window's (OS)" to an external (USB) HDD, are you requiring that each of those OS clones should be capable of booting from the USB external device?

Or do you just want those clones to serve as comprehensive backups of your two OSs so that each OS is POTENTIALLY bootable in the event it is later used for restoration purposes when cloned back to an INTERNALLY-CONNECTED drive?

 

[xtiti24]

When you refer to "creat(ing) 2 bootable backups/clones of 2 different window's (OS)" to an external (USB) HDD, are you requiring that each of those OS clones should be capable of booting from the USB external device?

Or do you just want those clones to serve as comprehensive backups of your two OSs so that each OS is POTENTIALLY bootable in the event it is later used for restoration purposes when cloned back to an INTERNALLY-CONNECTED drive?

Hi, thanks for answering. The first option; I would like to booth from the external drive,.

 

[ArtPog]

There's no inherent problem in cloning the contents of two different OSs on two different PCs to a single USB external HDD (SSD). It would simply be a matter of creating two partitions on the USBEHD, each one large enough to contain the contents of the source disk from each PC.

In the event restoration of one (or both) of the source PC(s) would be necessary at some future date because the PC's source drive has become defective or the OS on that drive has become so corrupt that it is no longer functional, the clone residing on the destination disk, i.e., the USB external device, could be used for the recovery process.

However...

Booting from the cloned disk in this situation could be problematical. It could work...or it might not for one or the other PCs.

In any event, regardless of whether none, or one, or both clones would be bootable while installed in the USBEHD it's still an excellent idea to use the USBEHD as the destination disk to contain the cloned contents of the two PCs along the lines noted above. You would be doing yourself a service by creating (and hopefully maintaining, i.e., updating) comprehensive backups of your two systems along the lines you have indicated.