Cloning HD using External Drive

[ronbo613]

I've read some information about cloning a Thinkpad hard drive to another laptop drive in a 2.5" enclosure using Acronis. I always have a backup cloned boot drive for my desktops, made with Acronis.
Does it work to make a clone of a 2.5" Thinkpad drive on a standard 3.5" hard drive in an external enclosure, then install and format a new 2.5" drive in the Thinkpad, then clone the drive from the external enclosure? I've got tons of 3.5" drives, but am new to the wonderful world of laptop drives. Man, those babies are SMALL.
I've also read about the firmware issues with some standard laptop drives installed in Thinkpads. Is that issue only with the Thinkpad models listed with the documentation of the problem. I didn't see the T30 listed there, so will any 2.5" drive work with the T30?

[carbon_unit]

Sure! Just use acronis to make an image file of the Thinkpad hd. Then use acronis to write the image back to the Thinkpad after you change drives. That way you can store more than just the Thinkpad image on that external hard drive.

[ronbo613]

My plan was to clone the 40G, 5400rpm drive in my Thinkpad, which is in mint condition, nothing installed other than what came from the factory, to one of my external USB drives, buy a new 7200rpm drive, schlap it in the T30 and clone that drive from the external USB drive and save the original 5400rpm drive as a backup.
I'm a firm believer in backups, I'm getting old, I don't have time to keep reformatting and reinstalling Windows.
Once I'm sure a hard drive like a Seagate Momentus 100G, 7200rpm drive or one of the Hitachi 100G models will work without firmware issues, I may do it.

[GomJabbar]

FYI, there is a cloning FAQ in the ** New ** HOW TO's & FAQ's ** forum.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=27721

[ronbo613]

Yes, I did read the FAQ about hard drives, but I don't like to mess with disc images, even with Acronis. I want to clone the drive that is currently in my Thinkpad to a 3.5" hard drive that is currently in a USB enclosure, take the 2.5" drive out of the laptop, put in a new drive, transfer the cloned drive from the external drive to the new laptop drive, then save the old laptop drive as a backup. I don't want to buy a 2.5" external enclosure since I have tons of 3.5" drives I can use.
Being a Seagate drive fan, I asked them if a Momentus 100G, 7200rpm drive would work in the T30. They seemed to think the drive would run too hot for the stock cooling fans and there might be compatibility issues as well. Darn.