HDD Imaging?

Hey guys,

Just a question - When you Image a Drive and Restore from it does it cause any Errors like the Activation key or Registry ...etc?

Also If not is there any software that you could Recommend to use?

Many Thanks,
Josh

The image should be a complete replica, its like a picture.
I would suggest macrium reflect.
http://download.cnet.com/Macrium-Reflect-Free/3000-2242_4-10845728.html

If you have any questions on Macrium, I will get the help of an expert in the area to answer your questions.

Thank you Rich - Have you ever Restored using This Program?

I was able to get the paid version of Paragon for free. I use that. I made an image, but never had to use it. I hope that I never do. In the event that I had to, I know its there. I also have my Seven install DVD. Im in good shape.
If interested let me know Ill hook you up with an expert in Macrium.

I do feel Interested how it doesn't mess up Things like the Master Boot Record ...etc

Josh,
I left a message with a member of both the Seven and Vista forum. I consider him to be THE expert with Macrium. Start thinking about all your questions. They will all be answered and more.

Hi Shadowjk, Richard asks me to answer your questions.

I have used many imaging programs (e.g. Norton Ghost for 2 years on Vista), but after using and trying them all out, I found free Macrium to be the easiest, fastest and most reliable.

I have made 40 or 50 recoveries (many for real and some for demo) and used it in XP, Vista and Windows7. I never had a recovery failure yet (knock on wood).

There is absolutely no problem with activation (if you stay on the same box), the bootmgr, etc. You just pull your image in with the help of the bootable recovery CD and wait for 20 to 30 minutes. Then you are back to where you were when the image was taken - for the system, the programs, the settings and the user data (if that is on the C partition and not an independent data partition).

I have made a video tutorial: Imaging with free Macrium - Windows 7 Forums Don't worry that it comes from Win7 - it is the same for Vista.

There is also a short written tutorial on this forum, but that is really only a "starter set": http://www.vistax64.com/software/261727-image-your-system-free-macrium.html