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Cloned an SSD; new one works, but original doesn't
I've got a problem I'd like to solve. I don't have to solve it for reasons that are clear below, but I'd really like to know what happened. Call it an exercise for exercise's sake. I've searched the forum but can't find any threads on this issue.
Recently I cloned my existing SSD to a new SSD to give the Windows 10 free upgrade a try without risking my original configuration. I'm running W7 Pro 64-bit SP1, and I cloned the drive with the Acronis software that came with the new SSD.
The new SSD booted up to W7 without a hitch. The upgrade to W10 didn't work (I tried 3 times) but the SSD was returned to W7 without alteration, so the only thing I lost was time.
But here's the thing: the original SSD will no longer boot up. There's no message about a missing system disk, just a black screen with a blinking cursor at top left. And when I look in the BIOS with that SSD connected, the Windows Boot Manager that used to appear in the boot options is missing.
Some searching and testing revealed that the BOOTMGR was installed on my D drive, but the D drive had been connected and running all along. Moreover, when I re-connected the new SSD, it worked as it should.
It would appear that BOOTMGR location has something to do with the original SSD not booting, but I can't see how unless the cloning software altered the original SSD, and that doesn't make sense. I tried using the Repair function from the W7 installation disk, but it gave me a message about the version being wrong, which I'm guessing occurred because my PC has SP1. I have a Rescue Disk I made with Windows, but it won't boot (I expect I'm missing a step there).
For what it's worth, the original SSD is a Crucial M4 256 gb which is a little over three years old but has not given me a second's trouble until now. The new SSD is a Crucial MX200 250 gb.
Once again, the new SSD works, so I don't have to solve this puzzle, but I want to. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.
BTW, I expect that the BOOTMGR location was the reason the Windows 10 upgrade didn't work. I had no idea that Windows installation would load it on a second drive when present, and I'll be darned if I know why, but that seems to be common. I've since fixed it with EasyBCD, thanks to a post on this forum.