Will this work? (If not, maybe a better suggestion?)

[Jas00555]

So I want to take everything from my Pro to my Pro 3. Now, I usually just back up my files and have to manually reinstall programs (although I'll admit that I don't have many. Most of my big files are games), BUT I got a crazy idea. I have 130GB of OneDrive storage and I kinda just wanted to.... Copy/paste one Surface to the other. I don't pay for a backup program like Carbonite or something like that, but can I just copy everything to my OneDrive then paste it to my Pro 3 and then have that basically be a clone of my old Pro? If there's a better way to do that, it would be appreciated.

 

[berty6294]

That should work for your files, how ever games would need to be reinstalled regardless. Backing up the games/program files are pointless.

But yes what you are saying will work, it will just take quite some time (and bandwidth) so I personally prefer an external HDD or flash drive.

 

[WanderingTraveler]

You /can/ copy-paste programs from one PC to another, but DRM will make life slightly harder for you. (I pulled this off with various Touhou games and various other indie games with no DRM.) Win8 apps are obviously a different beast.

As much as possible, I don't use an online service. I know it sounds backwards, but having a spare hard drive around makes life a lot easier. The faster, the better.

EDIT: If you're copying games, make sure to not only copy the program files, but to copy the save files as well. Actually, prioritize the save files. If your games are linked to a client, reinstall.

 

[Jas00555]

Thanks you guys! I didn't know if it was possible. I figured that I would have to reinstall my steam games, but I didn't know if Onedrive had a maximum file size limit or something like that.

 

[acsn]

I think you will have a better chance of success if you are able to get ImageX or Clonezilla to work and do the cloning.

 

[berty6294]

It does, the max size a single file can be is 2GB.

 

[Jas00555]

It does, the max size a single file can be is 2GB.

Sorry, I mistyped. I meant to say if there was a maximum amount of data that you could transfer at once. Like 25GB a day or something like that.

I may just be over thinking it, I just wanted to basically clone my Surface as easy as possible.

 

[WanderingTraveler]

Sorry, I mistyped. I meant to say if there was a maximum amount of data that you could transfer at once. Like 25GB a day or something like that.

I may just be over thinking it, I just wanted to basically clone my Surface as easy as possible.

I don't think they've put up a max amount of data that can be transferred in a day, as they've already put up a max file size.

That said, I could be wrong.

 

[hopmedic]

No max bandwidth, just max file size and of course max storage depending on your account.

 

[Cleavitt76]

You would be a lot better off skipping the internet connection and transferring the files directly from one device to the other via your wifi network. Create a share on one device's C drive, browse to it from the other device, and copy/paste the appropriate files.

 

[jedge]

You would be a lot better off skipping the internet connection and transferring the files directly from one device to the other via your wifi network. Create a share on one device's C drive, browse to it from the other device, and copy/paste the appropriate files.

Yup.
Even better, create a HomeGroup on your primary pc. It will give you a code so they can access each other on the network directly. It's super easy (at least in Win7 and Win8). In addition to the normal defaults, i also shared my desktop pc's dvd-rw drive, so now i can access dvds on my Surface... and don't say you'll never need it cause one day you will.:winktongue: Heck, it even automatically installed my Espon printer on my Surface, and that's just plugged into the desktop via usb.

 

[hopmedic]

You would be a lot better off skipping the internet connection and transferring the files directly from one device to the other via your wifi network. Create a share on one device's C drive, browse to it from the other device, and copy/paste the appropriate files.

I run a domain at home, so that makes it even easier. I just browse to whatever computer using the admin shares (if there isn't already a share set up), and go at it. :wink:

 

[Krishanu Khatri]

Is there an option for system image file in SP..??

 

[Krishanu Khatri]

http://mobile.thingsthatmightintere...rds.com/surfacepro_fixsystemimagebackup/#2824
Give this a shot

 

[viper1986]

I think you may have an improved likelihood of success if you're able to get ImageX or Clonezilla to figure and do the biological research.

 

[astondg]

File History is built in to Windows 8 and great for file backups & restores and it can perform a full image if you want as well. I reset my SP recently and having a file history backup made it very easy.

 

[BaritoneGuy]

What about the built in Windows transfer utility?