ok, so i ended up getting a x-25m for christmas and i was wondering if you guys ever came to a concensus about the best way to go about this.
acronis can clone the C: partition onto my new drive, and then i just boot from that drive and wipe the C: partition from my old spinner? or am i missing something?
I tried out the Paragon Migration Tool yesterday to move Win7 from a HDD to a SSD. It worked flawlessly and is super easy to operate. It transported the 100MB partition automatically and made the alignment. For the $20 you pay for it, it is worth having. I could have done it with the free tools, but I like my creature comforts.
I'd try cloning using Acronis in Auto mode to adjust to size differentials if any.
After cloning, unplug the source HD and try booting the clone after setting it as first HD to boot (after DVD) in BIOS setup.
If it fails to boot, make sure (if you have it) the 100mb Sys Reserved or Win 7 partition are marked Active, boot the Win7 DVD Repair console or Repair CD to run Startup Repair up to 3 separate times with reboots to repair or write the MBR until it starts. Startup Repair - Run 3 Separate Times
I don't know what Acronis app or version you have, but if you have a WD or Seagate somewhere in your PC, you can get the free Acronis version from those drive manufacturers.
I looked at mine the other day and it looks like "cloning" is included. This free Acronis version might be more recent or capable than whatever paid Acronis you might have now?
Cloning bypasses the complexity of imaging and would be my first choice, barring evidence to the contrary. I don't have an SSD now, but likely will within 6 months, so I am trying to stay on top of this question.
i have a wd caviar black in my machine now which i use.. where do i get the acronis free version?
edit: i will also want to remove the C: partition from my wd caviar black and add it to another partition on my drive.. acronis can easily accomplish this once i am running off of the ssd correct? even if the partition is to the left in the disk management screen?
WD Acronis here:
WD Support
Assuming you are moving your operating system to the SSD, I would get the SSD up and running first.
You can remove partitions on the Caviar black with Disk Management, but it won't expand a partition to the left into unallocated space.
Normally, C is to the left, so if you deleted it, the unallocated space would be to the left in disk management, as you imply.
I don't think Acronis True Image or the WD is the tool for expanding partitions.
Look at Paragon products or Partition Wizard, the free editions. There may be others?
I thought you were referring to the Acronis free cloning/imaging app linked earlier in the thread.
To Move a partition on your System, use free Partition Wizard bootable CD: Free Download Magic Partition Manager Software - Partition Wizard Online
Or use Acronis imaging to backup the partition, then reimage it to the target partition.
im not so worried about the extra 100 gigs of space on my 1 tb drive, i can extend the "left" partition later.. i just want to get the OS up and running on the SSD
I think Acronis' free WD app will let you clone just your OS partition to whatever space you select on the target HD. You would manually set up cloning instead of choosing Auto in that case.
If not, once cloned you can Move the unneeded partition elsewhere using free Partition Wizard CD, delete the original, then Resize the adjacent partition into the space.
Save the source HD until it is all set up and running perfectly then you can plug it in a wipe it using Diskpart from elevated Command Line: Disk - Clean and Clean All with Diskpart Command
Here are the 2 menu choices in WD Acronis for cloning.
The first is auto. The second is manual. Note the different wording.
I went 2 steps beyond these screens. You choose the source at the first step and the destination at the second step.
Neither of those steps said anything about "partitions". The choices were about "disks".
I can only assume that the manual choice lets you specify particular partitions at step 3 or 4 and that you are NOT restricted to cloning an entire drive, as opposed to a partition.
Any confirmation on this?
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