I use a StarTech external dual-bay duplicator, which has USB and eSATA i/o. I remove my system drive and use the StarTech's cloning feature to make a backup HD. It does not even need to be connected to the computer to do this---it works as a complete standalone cloner. Very little software uses the HD ID (although Windows 10 does reference it)---most of it, including windows, uses the CPU ID to reference the system integrity. When I'm not using the cloning function, I have it loaded with two 4TB GPT-formatted SATA drives, one for my Kontakt, UVI, Ueberschall, FXpansion, Steven Slate, etc., factory libraries and one for my third-party Kontakt libraries. I have backup drives for all of my data drives. I'll either keep new purchases in a holding directory on my D: drive and periodically transfer them to the library drives or just clone a drive I've checked and I'm satisfied with.

No matter how you do it, it's a pain---but nothing like losing data or a hard drive.

Paj
8^)