First off, Hiren’s BootCD…it’s, like, a legendary thing. Think of it as a Swiss Army Knife for your computer. Got a problem? Chances are Hiren’s has a tool for it. Cloning hard drives? Yep, it’s got a few options. The “classic” versions (like the 10.1 version mentioned) often include Norton Ghost, which, back in the day, was THE cloning software. Drive Image 2002 is another oldie but goodie in there. These are, like, ancient relics now, but can still get the job done… sometimes.
Now, here’s the thing, and this is kinda important: the original Hiren’s BootCD hasn’t been updated since, like, forever ago. We’re talking 2012. That means it might not play nice with modern hardware, especially if you’ve got a fancy new motherboard with UEFI. That’s where Hiren’s BootCD PE comes in. It’s a fan-made project that keeps the spirit alive, with newer tools and support for UEFI booting. You’ll need at least 4GB of RAM to run it properly, though.
But, here’s where things get tricky and where I kinda went through a whole headache trying to help my buddy Jerry. He wanted to clone his old hard drive, and we figured Hiren’s PE was the ticket. We burned it to a USB drive (you’ll need to make the USB bootable, which is a whole other thing you can Google – just search for “Rufus” or “Ventoy”). Booted up, but guess what? The darn drive wasn’t showing up! Total bummer.
According to some guy online, that’s not uncommon. The “HDD Not Detected” issue is a real thing, apparently. And you know what’s annoying? Figuring out if it’s a driver issue, a BIOS setting, or just plain incompatibility. Jerry was using Legacy boot mode but it didn’t help him. It can be a real pain in the rear.
So, what are your options if your drive isn’t showing up? Well, you could try different boot modes (UEFI vs. Legacy), check your BIOS settings to make sure the drive is recognized, and look for driver issues. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of fiddling around until something clicks. Or, you can throw your hands up and try a different cloning method altogether. There are plenty of other cloning programs out there, some of which might be more compatible with your hardware. Acronis True Image, Clonezilla, Macrium Reflect – these are all popular alternatives.
As for actually using Hiren’s, assuming your drive *does* show up, the process is pretty straightforward. Boot from the CD (or USB), navigate to the Backup Tools section, and choose either Norton Ghost or Drive Image. Then, just follow the on-screen prompts. You’ll have to select your source disk (the one you’re cloning *from*) and your destination disk (the one you’re cloning *to*). Just be *absolutely sure* you pick the right disks, or you could end up wiping the wrong drive. Trust me, that’s a mistake you only make once. Been there.
The Indonesian articles I found were mostly about using Norton Ghost from Hiren’s, so that seems to be the preferred method for many.
