Is there any way to clone a 1TB to a 4TB HDD

[AssaultSugar]

while making sure all 4TB is usable on my WD Black 4TB i"ve tried cloning before but it always resets the drive back to default leaving half of it unallocated.

 

[Uneventful]

while making sure all 4TB is usable on my WD Black 4TB i"ve tried cloning before but it always resets the drive back to default leaving half of it unallocated.

The answer is a tentative yes. Booting from a 4 TB drive and having more then 2 TB available requires several factors, the major of which is that the drive is partitioned using GUID Partition Table (GPT) and not Master Boot Record (MBR) to allow partition sizes larger then 2 TB. Other factors include correct setup in the BIOS and OS support.

Some additional details about the computer, BIOS settings, HDD partition info, software being used to perform the clone and the OS in use would be helpful in troubleshooting your problems. -Dave

 

[AssaultSugar]

while making sure all 4TB is usable on my WD Black 4TB i"ve tried cloning before but it always resets the drive back to default leaving half of it unallocated.

The answer is a tentative yes. Booting from a 4 TB drive and having more then 2 TB available requires several factors, the major of which is that the drive is partitioned using GUID Partition Table (GPT) and not Master Boot Record (MBR) to allow partition sizes larger then 2 TB. Other factors include correct setup in the BIOS and OS support.

Some additional details about the computer, BIOS settings, HDD partition info, software being used to perform the clone and the OS in use would be helpful in troubleshooting your problems. -Dave

my problem isnt booting it copy my entire 1TB to my 4TB without it reverting and only using 2TB

 

[Paperdoc]

Uneventful pointed to some important things you need to have, but you did not catch the meaning.

1. To be able to use over 2 TB of a large HDD, that drive MUST be Partitioned using the GPT system, not the older MBR system. If you only need to use this HDD for data, and NOT to BOOT from, then this can be done in a Win 7 or 8 environment.

2. IF you want to be able to BOOT from this 4 TB unit, you must have two more things. First, your mobo's BIOS must have UEFI support so that it knows how to read the GPT Partition Table on the large drive. Then, your Windows OS MUST be a 64-bit version. 32-bit versions of Win 7 and 8 cannot boot from a HDD with the GPT Partition system.

3. If you have those two items satisfied, now you need a cloning utility that can make the copy this way. Since you have a WD HDD of 4 TB, download and install on your C: drive their free utility Acronis True Image WD Edition. It does many things, so read the manual document that comes with it. Concentrate on the chapter on Cloning. Check carefully whether it can take the SOURCE data from an MBR-type unit and place the clone on a GPT-Partitioned unit. (This includes the ability to create the GPT Partition first.) I expect it can, but I don't know for sure. If in doubt, call WF Tech Support.

4. When you use this utility it will ask you to specify which unit is the SOURCE and which is DESTINATION. Make SURE you get them right - the Destination unit will lose ALL its previous data, if any.

5. Next step often is the software will present you with a default group of settings and ask you to approve so it can proceed. DO NOT approve! Very often the default settings include making the Partition on the new HDD the SAME size as the old one was, and that it precisely what you do NOT want. This is where reading the manual helps. You should use the menu system of the software to change the settings so that the new HDD has one huge Partition of the full unit's size, AND it will be done with a GPT Partition system. Most of the other default settings are OK - make the unit bootable, use Full Format and an NTFS File System. Once the settings are all the way YOU want them, then approve for processing. This job will take MANY hours, especially the Full Format process, so just be patient and do something else.

6. When you're all finished you can disconnect the old 1 TB unit. When you boot up you will need to make sure the BIOS Setup configuration includes using the UEFI support features for that 4 TB unit to boot from, and setting the Boot Priority Sequence to use the new HDD.

 

[AssaultSugar]

Uneventful pointed to some important things you need to have, but you did not catch the meaning.

1. To be able to use over 2 TB of a large HDD, that drive MUST be Partitioned using the GPT system, not the older MBR system. If you only need to use this HDD for data, and NOT to BOOT from, then this can be done in a Win 7 or 8 environment.

2. IF you want to be able to BOOT from this 4 TB unit, you must have two more things. First, your mobo's BIOS must have UEFI support so that it knows how to read the GPT Partition Table on the large drive. Then, your Windows OS MUST be a 64-bit version. 32-bit versions of Win 7 and 8 cannot boot from a HDD with the GPT Partition system.

3. If you have those two items satisfied, now you need a cloning utility that can make the copy this way. Since you have a WD HDD of 4 TB, download and install on your C: drive their free utility Acronis True Image WD Edition. It does many things, so read the manual document that comes with it. Concentrate on the chapter on Cloning. Check carefully whether it can take the SOURCE data from an MBR-type unit and place the clone on a GPT-Partitioned unit. (This includes the ability to create the GPT Partition first.) I expect it can, but I don't know for sure. If in doubt, call WF Tech Support.

4. When you use this utility it will ask you to specify which unit is the SOURCE and which is DESTINATION. Make SURE you get them right - the Destination unit will lose ALL its previous data, if any.

5. Next step often is the software will present you with a default group of settings and ask you to approve so it can proceed. DO NOT approve! Very often the default settings include making the Partition on the new HDD the SAME size as the old one was, and that it precisely what you do NOT want. This is where reading the manual helps. You should use the menu system of the software to change the settings so that the new HDD has one huge Partition of the full unit's size, AND it will be done with a GPT Partition system. Most of the other default settings are OK - make the unit bootable, use Full Format and an NTFS File System. Once the settings are all the way YOU want them, then approve for processing. This job will take MANY hours, especially the Full Format process, so just be patient and do something else.

6. When you're all finished you can disconnect the old 1 TB unit. When you boot up you will need to make sure the BIOS Setup configuration includes using the UEFI support features for that 4 TB unit to boot from, and setting the Boot Priority Sequence to use the new HDD.

*headdesk* I've been so stupid this whole time I already have windows installed on this Western digital Blue I dont need to clone the drive I can simply move my steam/origin folders to the Black one and run them through that *headesk again*


but thanks guys anyway