HD image then boot from other HD?

[germanjulian]

quick and simple question. If i create and image of a hard disk1 and then copy that image onto another hard disk2 and then set hard disk 2 to my master HD, can i then boot from my disk2????
This is with hard disk 2 being freshly formated!
and do i have to create and image or is it called something else, i know copy past wont work cause i wont copy some HIDDEN stuff.

And what free program does that out there??
any tips??

[Sterling_Aug]

Look on the hard drive manufacturers website. They all allow you to download a utility program for "ghosting" an image from one drive to a new drive.

A properly done image file will include ALL boot up files and installed programs. It will be an exact replica of the original drive.