Putting my old SSD into a new laptop.

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andythomascw

Mar 5, 2018
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I bought a new laptop and want to move the SSD, from my old laptop (which no longer turns on) into my new laptop which has an HDD.

Ideally I want to be able to just plug my old SSD, into the new laptop and start working. I understand this won't work though?

I have:

a) Cloning software.
b) A caddy for holding an internal hard drive externally.
c) A large external hard drive with plenty of room for back up.
d) The HHD drive my original laptop came with (I cloned this onto the SSD previously).
e) The HDD in the new laptop.

Is the only way to do this to back up all my files and clone the new HDD on the SSD hence losing access of MS Office etc or can I get my SSD into the new laptop intact with all data and applications?

 
Solution
USAFRet


Right.
If you clone the HDD in the new laptop to the SSD, then that should be OK. (assuming it works)
No clean install needed.

You can only do one or the other.

(adjust slightly for being a laptop with a USB caddy for the new drive)
Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
-----------------------------
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...
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Apr 16, 2015
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It *might* work, just plug & play, but its far from ideal. Potential driver conflicts etc, and if you're running an OS prior to Windows 10, it's likely tied to the motherboard.

A clean install of your OS (for the laptop) would be preferred. You should be able to backup data and license keys for Office etc, then reinstall.

 
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A

andythomascw

Mar 5, 2018
7
0
10


Thanks for your help. I got MS Office 2010 for £10 through my work when they rolled it out across the firm. The company's contract with MS no longer gives employees this option unfortunately so I can't enter the licensing key.

I think I will do clean install and then get Office 365, which looks quite reasonably priced. I am intending to:

a) Back up all important files from the SSD
b) Format the SSD drive.
c) Clone the laptop HHD onto the SSD
d) Put the SSD into the new laptop
e) Re-install all my apps on the SSD and get Office 365.

Does this about cover it?
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

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Mar 16, 2013
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Cloning the laptop HDD onto the SSD serves no purpose here.
A clean install and cloning do not go together. One wipes out the other.

Put the SSD into the new laptop, and do the clean install.
 
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A

andythomascw

Mar 5, 2018
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I figured that if cloned the HDD onto the SSD I wouldn't have all the problems with driver conflicts etc as the HHD OS is configured to work with all the drivers in the Laptop.
 
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USAFRet

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Mar 16, 2013
171,455
17,911
184,590


Right.
If you clone the HDD in the new laptop to the SSD, then that should be OK. (assuming it works)
No clean install needed.

You can only do one or the other.

(adjust slightly for being a laptop with a USB caddy for the new drive)
Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
-----------------------------
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
This is to allow the system to try to boot from ONLY the 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 450MB Recovery Partition, 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
-----------------------------

 
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Solution
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andythomascw

Mar 5, 2018
7
0
10
Thanks for you help, just to confirm it worked!

I had a bit of trouble with Macrium Reflect trying to put a 900gb partition onto a 250gb disk but after unticking the copy partitions tickbox it all worked ok. I thought you would needs smaller version of the same partitions for it to work, but it was fine.
 
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