Solved System won't boot from new SSD after cloning OS

[javic]

I followed the tutorial "SSD - Install and Transfer the Operating System" to install a Samsung EVO 860 SSD. I chose to keep the 100 MB boot partition (B just to minimize changes.

I cloned the OS to the SSD using Samsung's Data Migration software, then changed the BIOS HD boot order. My system was already configured for AHCI so I didn't need to do that. I then rebooted and the SSD's OS partition became my C: drive. Everything seemed fine except for one thing: the 100 MB boot partition B: was still on my old HDD. Samsung Data Migration created a 100 MB partition on the SSD but it was empty.

To address this issue, I decided to restore a system image to the SSD. (I had earlier created one of the proper size for just this purpose.) To avoid potentially overwriting the wrong drive, I unplugged all my HDDs leaving only the SSD, and went through the restore process using my Windows installation disk. Upon rebooting, I now had B: and C: on my SSD.

I then plugged my HDDs back in. But now the system won't boot from the SSD. Instead, it's back to booting from the old HDD.

I've attached a pic of Disk Management. Disk 0 is the HDD where I previously had Windows installed. Disk 3 is the SSD I'd like to boot from. The system boots from Disk 0 even though it appears after Disk 3 in the BIOS boot order.

How can I boot from the SSD without unplugging my old HDD? (Eventually, I want to reformat it and use it for data.)

 

[SIW2]

at cmd prompt type:

bcdboot g:\windows
then press enter

restart and you will have two boot menu entries

boot into the disk 3 win7, (if it gets stuck at preparing desktop, you will have to fix the os letter to the new device )

[ Best to fix the letter first ( see next post) ]


To remove the entry for the other os, type msconfig in start box. Click the boot tab and delete the entry for the other os.

 

[Snick]

SIW2

Always enjoy learning from your posts.

 

[SIW2]

If you need to fix the os letter

https://www.sevenforums.com/attachm...l-boot-drive-wont-boot-win7-nt6repair9x86.zip






.

 

[Snick]

Yea, SIW2 I remember you posting same on another thread.
I was going there and you preempted my continued post, so I deleted it.
OPs screenshot was pretty clear as to the issue.
Thanks again for sharing your knowledge & handy tools!
You Rock!

Snick

 

[javic]

Thank you all for the rapid and thorough response. As it turns out, I found another solution: destroy the old HDD . Seriously, while waiting for an answer to my original post (which I didn't expect so quickly), I decided to restore another older system image (containing a bare-bones Win7 installation) to the old HDD so I could resize it to fit the SSD and then squirrel it away again for future use. Apparently, during this process my old HDD died (it was 10 years old anyway) and my system now won't boot even from a repair disk while that HDD is connected. Removing that HDD allows Windows to boot properly from the SSD. I'll buy a new drive for the extra data space I need--they're cheap enough these days.

For future reference though, I did have one follow-up question. When you say "fix the os letter to the new device", do you mean assign B: and C: to the respective partitions on the SSD? Is that what the "NT6Repair" utility is for? This is the first time I've performed this "OS transfer" operation, so I'd like to make sure I understand the process for future use.

 

[SIW2]

I decided to restore another older system image (containing a bare-bones Win7 installation) to the old HDD

What did you use to do that ? Whatever you used seems to have fixed the bcd entry on the system partition.

 

[javic]

I used my Windows installation disk and did a normal system image restore. FWIW restoring the older image worked, and I was able to shrink it and save it again. It's when I then tried to restore to the latest image (the one cloned to the SSD) that things went bad. (Windows system restore told me it couldn't find a hard drive on my computer even though the HDD I wanted to restore to was the only one connected.)

 

[javic]

Whatever you used seems to have fixed the bcd entry on the system partition.

Maybe. But I was also able to boot from the SSD previously just by disconnecting the old HDD. It was only when I had both the old HDD and the new SSD connected (both with Win7 installations) that I ran into problems.

 

[TechnoMage2016]

Booting from a HD is controlled by the BIOS. The rule of thumb is that the bios will boot the first drive it comes to, from port 0 (zero) on the motherboard, to port 1, etc.
So if you have two bootable drives connected to the same motherboard, the one on the lowest numbered SATA port will be the one that the bios will try to boot from.
The port numbers will usually be printed close to the actual ports, somewhere on the motherboard.*


* So, always put the drive you want to boot from on SATA port #0 (zero).



Just for safety, I never have two bootable drives connected to the motherboard when booting up my system.



Cheers Mate!
TM

 

[javic]

Re. boot drives and SATA port numbers: I suspected that was the case but wasn't certain. Thanks for the detail. Even though I now have only one bootable drive, I'll probably move it to port 0 as you suggest. (I have the user manual for my MB which shows the port nos. if they're not on the board itself.)

Thanks again to everyone who responded. I learned a lot from this experience.

 

[Snick]

javic
This should help you understand bios, boot order and sata connections.

I agree withTechnoMage2016 regarding the order. Your sata connections are, in my case there are 4 of them, usually marked in different colors. Usually, the color that has the most ports are the Primary SATA controller ports (usually black). The color that has even number of ports (usually 2) are RAID-capable (if your motherboard supports it, and I've seen yellow and red), and the secondary SATA controller ports are usually red in color.

You can also change the boot order in the Bios as TM suggested. I triple boot Win10, Win 7 & Linux Lite so I have to run it a bit different. Linux requires GRUB Bootloader, which I place on the Linux partition and point Win Boot to that.

Also consider that windows wants to boot from C drive, as your screenshot of disk management showed. When you disconnect all but one of the drives, windows seeks a bootable drive, auto assigns C and tries to boot. When you reconnect the other drives, if you leave them in the same order in the bios, and sata connections on your mobo, the first drive in the boot order is the drive attempted to boot from, and of course it is assigned the drive letter C.

If you disconnect all but one of the drives windows will try to boot from that and if you peruse disk management again, it will show C drive.

 

[SIW2]

Re. boot drives and SATA port numbers: I suspected that was the case but wasn't certain. Thanks for the detail. Even though I now have only one bootable drive, I'll probably move it to port 0 as you suggest. (I have the user manual for my MB which shows the port nos. if they're not on the board itself.)

Thanks again to everyone who responded. I learned a lot from this experience.

javic

Look closely at disk3 partition1 in your screenshot on first post.