hdd to ssd cloning or imaging

TechUnited · May 30, 2017

alright,
here is the thing, i don't know what to do.
a mod told me to use macrium reflect
but should i clone or image?

transferring:
from=120 gb of data from a 500 gb hdd
to=250gb ssd (samsung 850 evo)

1.how to do it?
2.safely?

Ra_V_en · May 30, 2017

"Data"? What is so special with this data that copy function is not good enough?

sirstinky · May 30, 2017

You could go either way, but are you moving to a bare drive or just transferring files? Imaging is more of a backup method in the event that you lose your drive or want to backup the entire host drive to extract files from later. You just mount the image and transfer the ones you want. A clone is a copy of everything, like if you are moving an entire OS to another drive. So if you're just moving files then I say image, but if you're moving everything to another drive, clone.

R_1 · May 30, 2017

copy will break the boot record and require a windows re-installation.
Cloning the drive will transfer the boot record and everything else to the new device, at the end both drives will contain the same data and both will boot up in your system.
imaging is when you need to backup to a device other than a hard drive, or you want several backups on a single hard drive. an image must be written to a blank device before the data can be utilized. the image will be a single file that can be split up or left intact.
Clone the drive.
shut down the system, install the SSD to the system
boot to hard drive and launch macrium reflect.
clone from the hard drive to the ssd.
After the procedure, shut down the system and disconnect the hard drive.
boot system into the BIOS/UEFI and verify the system is set to boot to the new ssd.
load windows and verify that the clone is working, play a game, launch some programs make sure your happy.
you can now shut down and connect the hard drive and format it when you are sure all data has been copied

USAFRet · May 30, 2017

TechUnited :

Is this the C drive or just a secondary drive?

If just a secondary drive, just copy the data from one drive to the other
If this is the C drive, then cloning is what you are looking for.

These steps:
-----------------------------
Verify the actual used space on the current drive is significantly below the size of the new SSD
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive
Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD
Swap the SATA cables around so that the new drive is connected to the same SATA port as the old drive
Power up, and verify the BIOS boot order
If good, continue the power up

It should boot from the new drive, just like the old drive.
Maybe reboot a time or two, just to make sure.

If it works, and it should, all is good.

Later, reconnect the old drive and wipe as necessary.
Delete the original boot partitions, here:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/4f1b84ac-b193-40e3-943a-f45d52e23685/cant-delete-extra-healthy-recovery-partitions-and-healthy-efi-system-partition?forum=w8itproinstall
-----------------------------

TechUnited · May 30, 2017

USAFRet :

TechUnited :

Is this the C drive or just a secondary drive?

If just a secondary drive, just copy the data from one drive to the other
If this is the C drive, then cloning is what you are looking for.

These steps:
-----------------------------
Verify the actual used space on the current drive is significantly below the size of the new SSD
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive
Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD
Swap the SATA cables around so that the new drive is connected to the same SATA port as the old drive
Power up, and verify the BIOS boot order
If good, continue the power up

It should boot from the new drive, just like the old drive.
Maybe reboot a time or two, just to make sure.

If it works, and it should, all is good.

Later, reconnect the old drive and wipe as necessary.
Delete the original boot partitions, here:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/4f1b84ac-b193-40e3-943a-f45d52e23685/cant-delete-extra-healthy-recovery-partitions-and-healthy-efi-system-partition?forum=w8itproinstall
-----------------------------

you are like a friggin teacher to me! thanks! you are the best! you answered all my questions lmao.

Search

hdd to ssd cloning or imaging

TechUnited

Prominent

USAFRet

Ra_V_en

Honorable

sirstinky

Distinguished

R_1

Expert

USAFRet

Titan

TechUnited

Prominent

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page