* Note: An operating system drive copied this way, won't boot.
It will. And yet it won't.
Windows will boot from a bootable disk. Trouble is, simply copying the files won't make your disk bootable.
However, if you configure your disk to be bootable, then copy the files, the disk will boot. If there's a hidden "Gotcha" in all of this, it's that not only does the files' data need to be copied, but the "extra" stuff too. For example: Hidden files, Files with Alternate Data Streams, Files with "Special" owners and security settings, stuff that looks like files but aren't -- like HardLinks, Junctions, Reparse Points, etc.
It's for this (these) reasons most people use Disk Clone Software. By cloning, the "extra" stuff gets dealt with properly.
Cheers, PW.
P.S. Just a thought. . .
Most file copy programs, when encountering a HardLink, will copy the original data and not the HardLink itself. If this "mistake" is made while copying an OS, the extra disk space consumed could be in the tens of Gigabytes. (Another reason to use Clone or Image software.) One can always defrag later. |
