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How to clone bootable USB drive

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 2:20 am
by netgod
I have a Centon 128GB USB Key that windows sees as a removable drive and a 16GB Sandisk Extreme USB Key that Windows sees as a fixed drive (I hate Sandisk for this). I have a >8GB partition on the Centon to restore my Alienware laptop, it is of course bootable.

I need to clone this on the Sandisk somehow. I keep getting 128GB images from software like this one and cannot obviously burn those on the Sandisk.

So my question is how to clone the drive? Copy files and somehow the MBR? I tried and no game. Maybe I did it wrong.


Any ideas?

Re: How to clone bootable USB drive

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 7:43 pm
by Alex
You could try to use the truncate option, to write the first 16 GB of the 128 GB Centon image to the Sandisk (use device mode to copy the MBR and also check USB HDD option, if it's a fixed drive). However, the partition table on the Sandisk will not be correct. Maybe some other tools are able to repair the MBR, perhaps it will work without the correct MBR data, when the first partition is ok.

Re: How to clone bootable USB drive

Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 11:36 pm
by netgod
Alex wrote:You could try to use the truncate option, to write the first 16 GB of the 128 GB Centon image to the Sandisk (use device mode to copy the MBR and also check USB HDD option, if it's a fixed drive). However, the partition table on the Sandisk will not be correct. Maybe some other tools are able to repair the MBR, perhaps it will work without the correct MBR data, when the first partition is ok.
I shrunk the Centon partition to 8GB and used truncate option, but still get a 124GB file. How does it work?

Re: How to clone bootable USB drive

Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 6:22 pm
by Alex
The image ist still 124GB. The truncate option will let you write it on the 8 GB drive. If you want, to reduce the image file size, you have to use a tool to split files (or Total Commander, which has this as a built in function).