Samsung Magician driver

whs · 20 Feb 2014

csjag said:

Thanks, guys, for the answers. I am going to use a program called Mini-Tool Partition Wizard. It has the ability to clone my HDD to my SSD with the correct alignment at the same time. It looks like an easy to use program and is very versatile in what all it can do. The Home version, 8.1.1, is a free download and can be used for lots of things. This will be my weekend project, so I'll post back next week and let you all know how it turned out.

I know Partition Wizard can align partitions, but where did you see a cloning function in PW. I never saw that.

Britton30 · 20 Feb 2014

I see no cloning function mentioned for Partition Wizard, maybe you mistook Partition Copy as clone, it's not the same thing.
I would still recommend Macrium, whs has done a good tutorial for it and it works very well.
Better yet would be a nice fresh install.

Whichever situation suits you.

Clean Install : Factory COA Activation Key

Clean Install Windows 7

Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7

csjag · 20 Feb 2014

Guys, look at the main menu page on Mini Tool. On the left side is a list of Wizards and a list of Operations. The second wizard on the list is "Copy Disc Wizard". After selecting this, you go through several steps of selecting source and target discs. On step 5, you review your changes and have several options at the bottom of the page. One is to fit partition to entire disc. This can work both ways - you can go up or down, depending on whether your SSD is larger or smaller than the source disc. At the bottom of this page, there is a box, that if checked, forces partition alignment while copying. After all of this, just reboot your PC and the cloning operation begins.

Yes, a clean install would be "better", but , frankly, it would be a pain in the butt, having to reinstall everything! I've already had one reactivation session with Microsoft when I upgraded my mobo last year, and I'm not ready to do that again. I've used cloning several times when upgrading HDD's in the past , and so long as I follow the instructions to the letter, I have never had a problem. There, I've said my peace about cloning.

whs · 20 Feb 2014

Hmm, my Wizards are different.

csjag · 20 Feb 2014

This page is for the several downloads available. If you download the Home Edition (freeware), then double-click on the exe file, you should have the page I mentioned. I downloaded my copy 3 days ago and got version 8.1.1

whs · 20 Feb 2014

OK - not that I need it because I only use Macrium for imaging.

Britton30 · 20 Feb 2014

While a clean install is a pain, it's a bigger pain to continue with problems or have unknown ones lurking, waiting to attack. I have been told by Crucial that OS installing puts the most wear on a SSD, so the fewer the better. Having a clone in a drawer is great if you have to be back and running within 5 minutes, but it's not a backup plan.

That's why I prefer the imaging method and clean installs when replacing an OS drive, especially with a SSD. A clone will store only one version of a particular install, while that same drive could store 10-15 versions, any of which can be restored within 10-15 minutes and 2-3 clicks.