Cloning an SSD C: drive

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Apodida

Apodida

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Jan 12, 2015
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HWiNFO just reported "Remaining Life:0" for my 128Gb SSD C: drive. CrystalDiskInfo confirms this sorry state.

I take daily C: drive images with Macrium Reflect, and I'm wondering if I can go to the local store, buy a 250Gb SSD (might as well upgrade whilst I'm at it), replace my C: drive, then use the Reflect standalone bootable CD to restore my image to the new drive...

Problems I anticipate:
1. I might end up with a 128Gb partition on my new 250Gb SSD
2. Windows might notice that it's running from a different drive and give me the "Activating Windows" runaround
3. Some other vile problem

Do you rate my chances of success?
 
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D
It's incredibly easy to replace a system drive via cloning and you shouldn't have any issues as long as your images are good (no data corruption). Yes, if you clone a smaller drive to a larger drive, it will initially show up as only that smaller size with a bunch of blank unallocated space, but you can reclaim that instantly by using disk management in windows to expand the partition to the rest of the blank space. You won't have any issues with Windows activation either. I've never used Macrium Reflect, I personally use EaseUS TODO backup for these small jobs.
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doubletake

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Sep 30, 2012
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It's incredibly easy to replace a system drive via cloning and you shouldn't have any issues as long as your images are good (no data corruption). Yes, if you clone a smaller drive to a larger drive, it will initially show up as only that smaller size with a bunch of blank unallocated space, but you can reclaim that instantly by using disk management in windows to expand the partition to the rest of the blank space. You won't have any issues with Windows activation either. I've never used Macrium Reflect, I personally use EaseUS TODO backup for these small jobs.
 
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Apodida

Apodida

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Jan 12, 2015
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Thanks for the support.

I've installed EaseUS TODO, and taken a backup of my C: drive. So now I have two images, and two rescue disks.
I'm now taking an EaseUS backup onto my DVD drive, just in case I have problems accessing the D: drive in my PC... the way things are going, that's a possibility.
 
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Apodida

Apodida

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Jan 12, 2015
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Now I have a puzzle... The box containing my 256Gb OCZ \vertex450 SSD has a label "Acronis cloning software inside". As far as I can see, I have the SSD itself, a 3.5" tray, and a bag of small screws. I see nothing else. So do I add the new SSD to my system and find the software on the new SSD?
I can probaby attach the new SSD without removing the existing SSD by mounting the new SSD in my IcyBox USB3 caddy. That would allow me to get at the Acronis software, but I'm wondering if I can clone from old to new when the new device is on USB.

I suppose there's one way to find out...

The main problem I face is that I'm reluctant to use the standalone bootable CDs (for Macrium Reflect and EaseUS Todo, as I suspect I'll run into a problem with my USB2 keyboard/mouse. The BIOS doesn't always recognise it...
 
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doubletake

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If you have an external dock, all you have to do is clone the drive then shutdown and swap them out, no need to image them through a bootable program. As for the inclusion of Acronis, I think they just provide a link and a key for a free copy of it no? Rather than a physical disc. Not sure about that one.
 
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Apodida

Apodida

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Jan 12, 2015
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I've used the external dock to copy my old SSD to the one I bought yesterday. It's around 06:00 where I am, so I'm waiting until 09:00 before swapping out the old SSD and swapping in the new/larger SSD from the external dock. See http://www.swiftys.org.uk/Phases_of_the_day.html for my reason for waiting...

OCZ provides an "Acronis True Image HD" key, and downloads of the software from their site. I missed the slip of paper containing the details. The font on it was so tiny that (a) I couldn't read it even with a magnifying glass, and (b) I assumed it was the saftety/service information that you get with most devices.
 
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