[SOLVED] Copying C Drive from old HDD to new HDD

BeginnerBuilder · Dec 9, 2018

Alright, so I got myself a shining new 3TB HDD during black friday and finally had the time to sit down and to get it into my machine to breathe more space into my machine's storage capacity.

I didn't want to clone, because I don't need Windows 7 anymore as I have Windows 10 installed onto an SSD that I plan on using as my primary drive once this is all done. I just want to copy my data: all my games, photos, videos, etc off the old HDD and paste it all onto the new one.

So I got a USB 2 (I have an old case with USB 2 front ports) to SATA adapter and have my new HDD formatted and partitioned already. However, I can't figure this out. I have the fresh hard drive hooked up to the machine with the old one attached via adapter and the old hard drive is not recognized by the machine.

This is the same when the old drive is hooked up and the fresh one is linked via USB.

Both drives work, as both of them are detected by diskmgmt and BIOS.

What should I do here to get my C Drive from my old HDD onto my new one? Again, I don't want to move the OS from the old HDD onto the new one.

JimBob12378 · Dec 9, 2018

I would suspect there is something wrong with your HDD external adapter. What model is it? Chances are if its USB 2.0 it is quite old/outdated. There are plenty of docking stations/adapters that I've gotten to work with this, might just be a bad one.

USAFRet · Dec 9, 2018

BeginnerBuilder :

Alright, so I got myself a shining new 3TB HDD during black friday and finally had the time to sit down and to get it into my machine to breathe more space into my machine's storage capacity.

I didn't want to clone, because I don't need Windows 7 anymore as I have Windows 10 installed onto an SSD that I plan on using as my primary drive once this is all done. I just want to copy my data: all my games, photos, videos, etc off the old HDD and paste it all onto the new one.

So I got a USB 2 (I have an old case with USB 2 front ports) to SATA adapter and have my new HDD formatted and partitioned already. However, I can't figure this out. I have the fresh hard drive hooked up to the machine with the old one attached via adapter and the old hard drive is not recognized by the machine.

This is the same when the old drive is hooked up and the fresh one is linked via USB.

Both drives work, as both of them are detected by diskmgmt and BIOS.

What should I do here to get my C Drive from my old HDD onto my new one? Again, I don't want to move the OS from the old HDD onto the new one.

So what is happening that prevents this?
What have you tried?

BeginnerBuilder · Dec 9, 2018

JimBob12378 :

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA8HV4SD8680&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC-_-pla-Kingwin-_-Memory+%28USB+Flash+Drive%29-_-9SIA8HV4SD8680&gclid=CjwKCAiAl7PgBRBWEiwAzFhmmsp5XNqoEIN8mAG0KY3B2TM0CLzDu2i_hdHJvP0vb8ALGKM_4hiK2RoCIMcQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

That is the adapter I am using. I had a thought it might be the adapter, naturally I hope it is. Should I go out and get the 3.0?

BeginnerBuilder · Dec 9, 2018

USAFRet :

BeginnerBuilder :

So what is happening that prevents this?
What have you tried?

What I do is fire up the machine, plug either hard drive into the adapter and plug the adapter into the USB ports as if it were any old USB stick.

USAFRet · Dec 9, 2018

BeginnerBuilder :

That adapter will absolutely NOT work for a 3.5" HDD.
Not ever.

That USB adapter cannot provide the proper power to that drive.

You need a dock that also plugs into the wall. Like this:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153066

JimBob12378 · Dec 9, 2018

BeginnerBuilder :

Is your hard drive a 2.5 or 3.5? Basically was it in a laptop or desktop? If its a 3.5 (desktop), you'll need an external power for it to work. That one will only work with a 2.5. I would recommened this one: https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Duplicator-Function-EC-HD2B/dp/B0759567JT/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1544398542&sr=8-3&keywords=hdd+docking+station. Its a lot more than the one you got, but it will work great, and it should fit both 2.5 and 3.5 drives.

BeginnerBuilder · Dec 9, 2018

USAFRet :

BeginnerBuilder :

That adapter will absolutely NOT work for a 3.5" HDD.
Not ever.

That USB adapter cannot provide the proper power to that drive.

You need a dock that also plugs into the wall. Like this:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153066

Makes sense. I'll pick up that adapter and give it a go then.

BeginnerBuilder · Dec 9, 2018

JimBob12378 :

BeginnerBuilder :

Is your hard drive a 2.5 or 3.5? Basically was it in a laptop or desktop? If its a 3.5 (desktop), you'll need an external power for it to work. That one will only work with a 2.5. I would recommened this one: https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Duplicator-Function-EC-HD2B/dp/B0759567JT/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1544398542&sr=8-3&keywords=hdd+docking+station. Its a lot more than the one you got, but it will work great, and it should fit both 2.5 and 3.5 drives.

It is a 3.5. That is a pretty significant detail I glossed over. I'm going to grab one of these adapters you guys have suggested as those will be able to do what it is I need.

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[SOLVED] Copying C Drive from old HDD to new HDD

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