Solved Need to clone HDD to SSd

[Eric3742]

Hi

May i add to what being mentioned below.
Continue below the quote.
Do read first before continue...

Layback Bear earlier posted:
1. Install the hard drive you want to make a clone of.
2. Install the SSD you want to clone to.

Allow me to add something:
1. Install the hard drive you want to make a clone of. Make sure it is labeled something like "OldHD"
2. Install the SSD you want to clone to. Make sure it is labeled something like "NewSSD"
The reason I bring that up is that you want to make absolutely sure you are cloning from the original "old" hard-drive onto the SSD, the "new" hard-drive. USB or DVD boots often "shuffle" the drive letters, what you see may not be the normal lettering you are used to seeing during your normal Windows boot and load.

The link to the free version;

Macrium Reflect Free


You need to install this free software to your current /existing Windows.

About the label, is your computer a OEM version or Retail version.
For OEM version, you cannot change the label of the active partition of the Windows.

For example: My laptop is OEM version, the label is: S3A8571D007 and another laptop S3A8571D001, Toshiba but different models.
As for Retail, you can use the label as in the quote.


When you start the clone, the Windows will shutdown and restart.
During restart, this is to start the operation of cloning.
This will not have any problem, as i done before.

After completed, it may restart the computer.
At this point, while booting, you can press the shutdown button to turn off the computer.

You need to remove the existing HDD first, leaving the SSD as connected.
Then turn on to check if the procedure is complete and without any problem.


If you encountered any problem, do stop and post here, as someone would reply to you.

Hope you understand.

 

[mjf]

Changing Label name.
Drive - Rename

 

[Layback Bear]

I change drive names using the Brink tutorial posted by mjf

Example:

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I cloned the HDDs that came in two notebooks to SSDs without any trouble using Macrium Reflect. Both SSDs had been working just fine for a few years until recently when one got messed up trying to fix a slow MS update issue (that problem was due to the games misbegotten MS had been playing with their updates and some bad advice I followed, not the cloning process itself).

I strongly recommend cloning instead of imaging for moving the contents of a drive to another drive since it is and easy one step, set it and forget it process.

 

[mjf]

I strongly recommend cloning instead of imaging for moving the contents of a drive to another drive since it is and easy one step, set it and forget it process.

Everyone has their preferences but I find transferring an image to a new SSD using Macrium so simple. Also, remember every image you make is a candidate to transfer to an existing or new HDD/SSD. Another advantage is that you remove your original SSD before doing an image restore. It's difficult to muck things up since you still have your original SSD disconnected.

Out of interest I don't own a notebook/Laptop but don't you need an external SSD drive enclosure as well to clone.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I strongly recommend cloning instead of imaging for moving the contents of a drive to another drive since it is and easy one step, set it and forget it process.

Everyone has their preferences but I find transferring an image to a new SSD using Macrium so simple. Also, remember every image you make is a candidate to transfer to an existing or new HDD/SSD. Another advantage is that you remove your original SSD before doing an image restore. It's difficult to muck things up since you still have your original SSD disconnected...

I fail to see how one can muck up the original drive while making a clone any more than one could do with imaging. Unless you have room on the original drive, an intermediate drive is needed to hold the image. Imaging is at least a two step process where as cloning is a one step process that does not require the extra, intermediary drive.

...Out of interest I don't own a notebook/Laptop but don't you need an external SSD drive enclosure as well to clone.

Some laptops have room for a second drive but, usually, one would need an enclosure or a dock for the destination drive. That shouldn't be an issue since one should already have one to put a backup drive into when making backups.

 

[mjf]

I fail to see how one can muck up the original drive while making a clone any more than one could do with imaging.

I already said with imaging your original drive is disconnected so it is impossible to overwrite it. With cloning you could potentially clone the "new drive" to the original one. If you have a bit of experience this is unlikely but if you are totally new to the process then it is possible. See the discussion earlier re labels/drive naming.

Given all this cloning is fine if that's what you want. I have an internal 1 TB HDD divided into 2 partitions containing containing valuable data and I periodically clone the partitions to an external sata 1 TB in a docking station. It is quite a fast transfer but I'm very careful when I do it.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I fail to see how one can muck up the original drive while making a clone any more than one could do with imaging.

I already said with imaging your original drive is disconnected so it is impossible to overwrite it. With cloning you could potentially clone the "new drive" to the original one. If you have a bit of experience this is unlikely but if you are totally new to the process then it is possible. See the discussion earlier re labels/drive naming.

Given all this cloning is fine if that's what you want. I have an internal 1 TB HDD divided into 2 partitions containing containing valuable data and I periodically clone the partitions to an external sata 1 TB in a docking station. It is quite a fast transfer but I'm very careful when I do it.

Even when imaging, I never disconnect the drive being imaged. It simply isn't necessary. I've been imaging for years and have yet to damage a source drive doing so. I don't understand how you can do anything with a drive unless it is connected to something.

Also, I do not believe it is possible to clone a drive back on itself.

 

[mjf]

Even when imaging, I never disconnect the drive being imaged. It simply isn't necessary. I've been imaging for years and have yet to damage a source drive doing so. I don't understand how you can do anything with a drive unless it is connected to something.

Also, I do not believe it is possible to clone a drive back on itself.

I better make this my final comment or it'll end up a tennis match.
I have reimaged 100's of times. When I do a system restore to an existing OS drive I don't disconnect any of my other internal drives. When I (rarely) do a system image restore to a new drive (eg. when I went from a 120 to a 256GB SSD) I disconnect all but the new drive just to be safe. Given I don't restore to new OS drives very often the extra imaging step is no big deal.

In cloning you have 2 drives connected. Say drive A (the source OS drive) and drive B (the destination drive). You want to clone A to B. Maybe when you run the installed Macrium vs the restore pe you are unable to accidentally clone B to A since A is the running OS.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
I don't leave backup drives connected all of the time not sure why anyone would that makes them just as corruptible as the primary drives from viruses/ malware/ worms.....

 

[mjf]

Hi,
I don't leave backup drives connected all of the time not sure why anyone would that makes them just as corruptible as the primary drives from viruses/ malware/ worms.....

Neither would I. I backup system images to sata drives in docking stations. When the jobs done they get disconnected.

Of course my general data drives are always connected.

Say my OS drive suddenly fails. Cloning isn't going to help. I'd connect a new OS drive, connect my docking station with the images on the sata drive. Boot the restore pe device and select the image I want then I'm back in business.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...Maybe when you run the installed Macrium vs the restore pe you are unable to accidentally clone B to A since A is the running OS.

Bingo! It doesn't make sense to run the win PE when the installed Macrium will do it just as well and faster without any danger to the source installation. I do, however, have the source disk backed up before cloning (I run a fresh back up before doing anything anyway; such as before installing updates, new programs, changing settings, etc.).

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Hi,
I don't leave backup drives connected all of the time not sure why anyone would that makes them just as corruptible as the primary drives from viruses/ malware/ worms.....

People do it for convenience, especially iff they want to do scheduled, automatic backups. I totally agree it is a very bad idea f0r the very reasons you gave plus other issues like power surges, PSU failures, operator error (hey, we all do it), natural disasters, etc.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Hi,
I don't leave backup drives connected all of the time not sure why anyone would that makes them just as corruptible as the primary drives from viruses/ malware/ worms.....

Neither would I. I backup system images to sata drives in docking stations. When the jobs done they get disconnected.

Of course my general data drives are always connected.

Say my OS drive suddenly fails. Cloning isn't going to help. I'd connect a new OS drive, connect my docking station with the images on the sata drive. Boot the restore pe device and select the image I want then I'm back in business.

That would prexactly be my procedure except I would initialize and format the new drive on another computer (one of my notebooks) first.

 

[ThrashZone]

Hi,
I don't leave backup drives connected all of the time not sure why anyone would that makes them just as corruptible as the primary drives from viruses/ malware/ worms.....

Neither would I. I backup system images to sata drives in docking stations. When the jobs done they get disconnected.

Of course my general data drives are always connected.

Say my OS drive suddenly fails. Cloning isn't going to help. I'd connect a new OS drive, connect my docking station with the images on the sata drive. Boot the restore pe device and select the image I want then I'm back in business.

Hi,