How to: Copy Partition to Another Drive on Server 2008 (R2)

Why copy partition in Windows Server 2008 (R2)?

In most situations, hard drive or partition cloning on Windows Server 2008 (R2) is done for two reasons: data backup and transfer. Backup and clone drives are useful means to transport systems or data to secure locations when it comes to server security. As a dedicated backup, some users transfer the system and data partitions to an external hard disk. When awful things happen, they may quickly bring everything back to life.

Besides, hard drive failure is a common issue during computer management. After a couple of years’ use, it is necessary to upgrade the old hard drive to a new disk to guarantee a smooth running of Windows Server OS. In addition, a part of users who running Server 2008 (R2) want to copy the partition to another partition just for better and more effective disk partition management.

You may hold other reasons in mind for cloning volume in Windows 2008 (R2), but what counts next is to find out how to copy partition steadily and safely.

How to clone partition in Windows Server 2008 (R2) step by step?

This operation can be finished via two different tools. One is Server snap-in utility, Windows Server Backup, and the other is a professional Server manager, AOMEI Partition Assistant Server. 

When you need to clone a disk on the Server, a reliable and secure tool is necessary. AOMEI Partition Assistant Server is a reliable and easy partition manager that allows you to copy the partition on Server 2008 (R2)/2003/2012 (R2)/2016/2019/2022 to another partition on the same hard drive or another disk with ease. It provides 2 methods for you. Each has its own traits that can help you choose the most suitable way to copy the target disk and partition.

Copy partition in Windows Server 2008 with AOMEI Partition Assistant

Step 1. Run AOMEI Partition Assistant. To clone the drive on Windows Server 2008, click "Clone" in the top toolbar and choose "Clone Partition".

Step 2. Select a copying method according to your requirements and click “Next”. Here we select the first one to only copy used space to another place.

Step 3. Select source partition to clone from the given list.

Step 4. Select destination partition/space to clone to. You can tick “Optimize the performance of SSD” if you want to clone the partition to SSD.

Step 5. You can edit cloned partition including partition size, partition type, and drive letter on Server 2008 before you start.

Step 6. Back to the main interface, click "Apply" and then "Proceed" to execute the pending operations.

Bonus highlight: copy Windows Server 2008 (R2) boot partition

Above is how to copy a data partition to another disk in Windows Server 2008. If you plan to copy the system partition to a new disk on Server 2008 (R2), it is strongly recommended to use “Migrate OS to SSD”. With that feature, all system-related partitions will be copied simultaneously and the successful boot is ensured.

Below are the detailed steps to clone Windows Server 2008 system partition to the new disk. Before you do, please make sure there is no unallocated space on the target hard drive.

Step 1. Launch the AOMEI Partition Assistant Server. Click “All Tools” and then “Migrate OS to SSD”. In the next pop-out window, click “Next” to continue.

Step 2. Select an unallocated space on the target SSD or HDD. Click “Next”.

Step 3. Here you can edit the system partition size and change the drive letter. Then, click “Next”.

Step 4. Then a note on how to boot from the cloned hard drive will appear, and you can read it carefully when necessary. Then click “Finish”.

Step 5. At last, click “Apply” and “Proceed” to actually start cloning Windows Server 2008 partition to another disk.

Clone (Windows Server 2008) partition via Windows Server Backup

Compared with AOMEI Partition Assistant Server, Windows Server Backup provides a roundabout solution for partition cloning. It is a native and complete solution for day-to-day backup and recovery on Server 2008 (R2). It supports full computer backups which can be used to perform a bare-metal restore. You can use this utility to back up all volumes, selected volumes, or the system partition.

In a nutshell, you make a backup for a partition on the hard drive, restore the backup image to the other disk, and then delete the old partition (optional). That is an acceptable way to realize partition clone or backup.

Please note that Windows Server Backup only supports recovering system backup images to different local drives. That is to say, you can only restore the partition to the location it was if you make a backup for a data partition. Then, there is no possibility for data partition copy to different drives. Anyway, go and learn the specific steps.

Step 1. Open Server Manager on Windows Server 2008. Click on Storage and you’ll see Windows Server Backup ready. Double click it. In the right Actions pane, you have options to backup Server 2008 once or scheduled. Take Backup Once Wizard for example. The following steps will copy the C drive to another hard drive.

Step 2. On the Select backup configuration page, you need to decide whether to backup the full server or not. To back up only the C drive, you need to choose Custom.

Step 3. On the Select backup items page, the C drive is selected by default. Then, select a destination and complete the backup. Please note that you cannot store backups on USB flash drives or pen drives.

Step 4. Now, go to Disk Management to create a new partition, for example, E, on the destination disk, so that you can recover the system image too.

Step 5. Click on Recovery Wizard in Windows Server Backup this time. On the Select recovery type page, you need to choose Volumes. Next, tick C drive and select the newly created E drive in the drop-down menu as destination volume. All data on the E drive will be lost.

Step 6. Go to Disk Management again after the recovery completes, and mark the E drive as an Active partition.

Step 7. Shut down Windows Server 2008 (R2) and press F2 to enter BIOS. You need to change boot priority to the new disk if you want to boot from that disk. A better way is to remove the old hard drive to test if you can boot successfully.

Summary

To copy the partition on Windows Server 2008 (R2), both tools are workable. However, it can be easily told that AOMEI Partition Assistant offers a simpler solution. For instance, you don’t need that many operating steps. Windows Server Backup also does not support copying data partition to another drive through that method.

Moreover, many useful features are added in AOMEI Partition Assistant such as merging partitions on Server 2008, cloning an entire disk, recovering lost partitions, and converting MBR to GPT without data loss.