Hardware Cloning Window 10 OS partition to a new SSD

The Real Jdbye

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So you're saying that I do the following:


1 - Install the new SSD (to whatever SATA port is available, there are x2 2.5" drive bays in my case)
2 - Boot up to Windows 10
3 - Load up any good cloning software, like Acronis, Easeus, etc and format with MBR
4 - Clone drive (from 90 GB drive to the new SSD)
5 - Reboot machine to ensure it clones it during boot up, as most videos show what happens
6 - Turn PC off, put the former Win 10 drive in a new SATA slot
7 - Put SSD where the former drive was in its SATA slot

Sounds pretty simple :P
Switch Step 6 and 7 around, and before plugging the old drive back in, test that Windows still boots correctly.
 
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the_randomizer

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Switch Step 6 and 7 around, and before plugging the old drive back in, test that Windows still boots correctly.

Wouldn't changing the boot order temporarily suffice, as long as I knew what boot order it was before? And what happens once I know the SSD boots up and I want to use the former HDD that had 10 on it? I boot up the new Win 10 drive and format the old Win 10 partition? I think that I could probably go to Windows 7 and format it there.
 

Captain_N

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So you're saying that I do the following:


1 - Install the new SSD (to whatever SATA port is available, there are x2 2.5" drive bays in my case)
2 - Boot up to Windows 10
3 - Load up any good cloning software, like Acronis, Easeus, etc and format with MBR
4 - Clone drive (from 90 GB drive to the new SSD)
5 - Reboot machine to ensure it clones it during boot up, as most videos show what happens
6 - Turn PC off, put the former Win 10 drive in a new SATA slot
7 - Put SSD where the former drive was in its SATA slot



Sounds pretty simple :P

Yeah it is simple. you can format the old windows 10 drive after the new one is booting fine. With al the data drives you have you might want to set up a file server. An older computer running windows server will do.
I normally put my boot drive on the first sata port. ON my mobo its printed next to the port. I have 6
 
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the_randomizer

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Yeah it is simple. you can format the old windows 10 drive after the new one is booting fine. With al the data drives you have you might want to set up a file server. An older computer running windows server will do.
I normally put my boot drive on the first sata port. ON my mobo its printed next to the port. I have 6

I don't have any other machines to use, so this is my primary PC :P My question though is, once the SSD is labeled as the C drive (90 GB or so in the current partition for 10), what will the former C drive be labeled as? The thing is, the Windows 10 I have now isn't the entire HDD, it's a data drive with a 90 GB partition, so really, I'd just format the older drive's partition. What I don't understand is how the OS will load the SSD instead of the HDD with the Win 10 "drive", does that make sense? Also, I said "screw it" and bought an EVO 860 drive on sale from Newegg (250 GB) :D

The HDD I use for Win 10 is called the E drive, with the partition called C, as should be normal.
The HDD I use for Win 7 is the C drive, no partitions, but that very same HDD is called "F" on Win 10.

Do I absolutely have to disconnect the former HDD as long as I change the boot order?
 
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naddel81

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No, why would you? Ever heard of bcedit? Just clone the partition and be happy. Nothing complicated about it.


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the_randomizer

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No, why would you? Ever heard of bcedit? Just clone the partition and be happy. Nothing complicated about it.


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Luckily Samsung has their own cloning software, so that will make it even better. I only asked as a lot of guides out there mention that the drive that was cloned has to be unplugged; I'd just as soon change the boot order as MBR and all vital date transfer over to the new disk. Not familiar with Bcedit.
 

Captain_N

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I don't have any other machines to use, so this is my primary PC :P My question though is, once the SSD is labeled as the C drive (90 GB or so in the current partition for 10), what will the former C drive be labeled as? The thing is, the Windows 10 I have now isn't the entire HDD, it's a data drive with a 90 GB partition, so really, I'd just format the older drive's partition. What I don't understand is how the OS will load the SSD instead of the HDD with the Win 10 "drive", does that make sense? Also, I said "screw it" and bought an EVO 860 drive on sale from Newegg (250 GB) :D

The HDD I use for Win 10 is called the E drive, with the partition called C, as should be normal.
The HDD I use for Win 7 is the C drive, no partitions, but that very same HDD is called "F" on Win 10.

Do I absolutely have to disconnect the former HDD as long as I change the boot order?

SO if im reading correctly you want to place the 90gb windows 10 partition on its own SSD correct?
Any drive cloning software will do that fine. Then your old windows 10 drive with its 90 gb partion can be all data. The old 90 gb partition will take the next available drive letter.
You can reallocate the 90gb partition on the old drive. The computer will know to boot off your new SSD because the bios will have it marked as the boot drive. Make sure the boot partition is marked active. The cloning software asks for that at-least acronis does.
Now you have multiple OS so you might have to play with the BCD im not sure about that. Cloning the drive should not change anything. It should work just fine.

You may have to do some drive letter reassignment once its all setup. You can change any drives letter using computer management in control panel.

I tend to stay away from separate partitions myself. I like separate drives, each for one thing. As for a server, the next time you see a pc in the trash take it. It can become a free NAS box. Every time i see a pc in the trash i take that shit. Used it for the drives and parts.
 
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The Real Jdbye

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Wouldn't changing the boot order temporarily suffice, as long as I knew what boot order it was before? And what happens once I know the SSD boots up and I want to use the former HDD that had 10 on it? I boot up the new Win 10 drive and format the old Win 10 partition? I think that I could probably go to Windows 7 and format it there.
No. It might be loading the MBR from the new drive but loading all the Windows files from the old drive because it still thinks that's the drive it's installed onto.

You can format it however you like.
 

the_randomizer

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No. It might be loading the MBR from the new drive but loading all the Windows files from the old drive because it still thinks that's the drive it's installed onto.

You can format it however you like.
So.. changing the boot order isn't enough? How do I ensure that it loads the older drive when I clone the OS partition to the new drive? I don't want my drives to go to waste as good money was spent on them, you know?

SO if im reading correctly you want to place the 90gb windows 10 partition on its own SSD correct?
Any drive cloning software will do that fine. Then your old windows 10 drive with its 90 gb partion can be all data. The old 90 gb partition will take the next available drive letter.
You can reallocate the 90gb partition on the old drive. The computer will know to boot off your new SSD because the bios will have it marked as the boot drive. Make sure the boot partition is marked active. The cloning software asks for that at-least acronis does.
Now you have multiple OS so you might have to play with the BCD im not sure about that. Cloning the drive should not change anything. It should work just fine.

You may have to do some drive letter reassignment once its all setup. You can change any drives letter using computer management in control panel.

I tend to stay away from separate partitions myself. I like separate drives, each for one thing. As for a server, the next time you see a pc in the trash take it. It can become a free NAS box. Every time i see a pc in the trash i take that shit. Used it for the drives and parts.

Well, it's a little too late for that now *sigh* I can't exactly go back and undo the partitioning, I just wanted to keep the OS separate from the data portion in case something goes wrong with the OS, it was a precaution, i.e. if I had to reinstall or do a clean install, I won't have to wipe the whole drive, just the OS. There's the Samsung SSD Wizard or whatever it's called that makes it super simplified.
 

The Real Jdbye

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So.. changing the boot order isn't enough? How do I ensure that it loads the older drive when I clone the OS partition to the new drive? I don't want my drives to go to waste as good money was spent on them, you know?



Well, it's a little too late for that now *sigh* I can't exactly go back and undo the partitioning, I just wanted to keep the OS separate from the data portion in case something goes wrong with the OS, it was a precaution, i.e. if I had to reinstall or do a clean install, I won't have to wipe the whole drive, just the OS. There's the Samsung SSD Wizard or whatever it's called that makes it super simplified.
Stop worrying and just do what I said. ;)
 

the_randomizer

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Stop worrying and just do what I said. ;)

I'm not worried, I just want to do this right without screwing something up :P The Samsung software does it in the right order, but I want the MBR and files to load off the new disk, not the old one, so really, I just need to clone the drive, turn PC off, then back on and change the boot order, at least I think. Surely, I'd be able to get it load all the OS files, etc from the newly cloned drive so long as I tell it load the SSD before the HDD that had 10?
 

The Real Jdbye

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I'm not worried, I just want to do this right without screwing something up :P The Samsung software does it in the right order, but I want the MBR and files to load off the new disk, not the old one, so really, I just need to clone the drive, turn PC off, then back on and change the boot order, at least I think. Surely, I'd be able to get it load all the OS files, etc from the newly cloned drive so long as I tell it load the SSD before the HDD that had 10?
Hopefully, yes. But the easiest way to make sure it's actually loading the files from the new drive is to unplug the old one and try booting. Don't delete the old partition until you've done that.
 

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Hopefully, yes. But the easiest way to make sure it's actually loading the files from the new drive is to unplug the old one and try booting. Don't delete the old partition until you've done that.

Ugh, such a pain having to turn off the PC two or three times during this..oh well. Thank goodness my motherboard has four SATA ports to use to support all these. I'm sorry for being a PITA, I just want to be sure I do this right, thank you.
 

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