So I have a 2TB HDD drive that is about to fail. I have around 1.5TB of used space. Now I want to copy all the files from my Big drive to smaller ones. I have 3 500GB drives. The problem is that there are a lot of scattered folders and I can't exactly figure out how to split all my drive to 3. Is there any solution, or any tips that would make this job easier? P.S the big drive is not my boot drive. Only use it as storage and for big apps and games. I need to solve it fast cause I am still under warranty :)
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1There is no easy way, well there is, buy another 2tb hard drive.– MoabCommented Jul 1, 2020 at 11:37
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It sounds like you want to keep the current filesystem as a whole, is that true? What operating system? Device Mapper would be a logical solution if you're able to use Linux, or Dynamic Disks on a supported version of Windows. Depending on the exact figures, you may require more than the 3x 500GB disks to store your data.– AttieCommented Jul 1, 2020 at 11:45
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i dont mind keeping the file system i just want to back up everything, and when I get my replacement copy everything back. Also, I am using windows 10– Michael SelvesakisCommented Jul 1, 2020 at 11:53
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In that case, either A) purchase a new 2TB+ disk, or B) perhaps use something like WinDirStat to get a good insight into the directory sizes, and distribute them accordingly?– AttieCommented Jul 1, 2020 at 12:01
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1You can use an archive program like 7Zip that can split the created archive into multiple smaller parts and the spread them among the available drives.– RobertCommented Jul 1, 2020 at 12:31
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1 Answer
Accessing a failing drive on file level for copying purposes is risky because it puts the drive under more stress than a linear sector-wise copy operation which has to read a sector just once (unless it's not broken). Therefore splitting the content by copying files and folders to three separate drives is not a safe way to rescue your content.
1st solution (best)
ddrescue under linux has been designed for drives such as yours. Use it duplicate it on a second drive with has at least as much space as your failing drive.
2nd solution
The second best solution is to combine those 3x500GB drives into a single volume. You could then try to ddrescue your drive into a single file of that new combined volume.
The third and worst solution
When really splitting the files at risk onto 3 different drives, their space may not be sufficient when operating with big files. In such a case you might need additional free space as a safety margin.
To examine this problem note the space used by your folders on your failing drive (will stress your failing drive) and compare it to the sum of the free space of each of the three 500GB drives. Be aware that due to metadata overhead and slack you should also take a note how much your files on your failing drive consume in terms of disk space. Please show the figures!
Depending on the size and number of your big files splitting your folder collection onto three different drives may work or not.
To prepare the copy process make a list of folder size as can be seen using "Treesize Free". The professional version supports export of such a list into xls-format.
Using Excel or Libreoffice Calc you can then figure out how to split using a table consisting of folder/file name and size at root level of your failing drive. If you only have few go down to the level below root (within your folder at root level).
4th solution (as bad as solution 3)
Use a backup program that allows you to limit the backup size. Using compression might be helpful not to exceed your given limit of free space. My old version of Acronis True Image supports that feature but it's not free.
