Copying files to new hard drive

[Capn Stabby]

Hey CAGs,
I need some advice on the best way to copy files over to a newer hard drive.
Currently, my setup is a 74GB Raptor as my main boot drive (C:/) and a 320GB hard drive as a data/programs/random drive (D:/). I was thinking of just backing up the data and swapping the hard drives, and reassigning the new hard drive D:/. Would there be anything wrong with my thinking?

If I wanted to upgrade D:/, which does have some startup programs on there (just not the OS), what are my options?

I've tried (after revealing all hidden files) simply copying over all files from D:/ to my external hard drive, but there's still a 60GB discrepancy.

Should I just find a program to make an image of it? Not sure how that works.

 

[Can't Take It Easy]

For what you want to do, yes, making a disc image is the best option.

Here's a guide with a good freeware program: hxxp://lifehacker.com/326086/hot-image-your-pcs-hard-drive-with-driveimage-xml