[SOLVED] Any value in defraging an HDD C drive before cloning to SSD and booting from it?

[Lands]

I've purchased and SSD and I'm going to attempt to clone my existing HDD and making the SSD my main drive.

Question is, should I defrag my HDD first? I haven't done that in 5+ years, but don't know if there's any value in doing that before I clone it to the SSD.

Thanks you!

 

[ex_bubblehead]

No need to defrag before cloning.

 

[Lands]

No need to defrag before cloning.

OK, thanks.

 

[USAFRet]

No need for the defrag.

But of course, questions on your cloning process...

Size/make/model of he new SSD
How much space is consumed on your current C drive?
What OS?
How 'old' is this install?

Just asking, to verify you're on the right path.

 

[Lands]

No need for the defrag.

But of course, questions on your cloning process...

Size/make/model of he new SSD
How much space is consumed on your current C drive?
What OS?
How 'old' is this install?

Just asking, to verify you're on the right path.

Thanks and sure...

I bought a 1 TB Corsair SSD. The existing HDD is a 1 TB with about 80gb free. I might free up a bit more space before I try to clone it.

The computer is almost 9 years old (you've helped me in other threads I think) and I've been updating it. I threw in 16gb of memory and it made a bit difference. I can't get a GTX 1650 to work - computer won't boot when installed.

Tips on what to do when I wire up the SSD (in about 30 minutes) and turn on the computer. Chance the computer recognizes it without touching anything in the bios? I know once it's cloned I'll have to change the boot order.

 

[USAFRet]

Cloning into a 1TB SSD, the actual consumed space MUST be below 800GB.
You need to free up some more space.


Once you get to that point...

-----------------------------
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

If you are going from a smaller drive to a larger, by default, the target partition size will be the same as the Source. You probably don't want that
You can manipulate the size of the partitions on the target (larger)drive
Click on "Cloned Partition Properties", and you can specifiy the resulting partition size, to even include the whole thing

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 all partitions on it.
This will probably require the commandline diskpart function, and the clean command.

Ask questions if anything is unclear.
-----------------------------

 

[Lands]

Cloning into a 1TB SSD, the actual consumed space MUST be below 800GB.
You need to free up some more space.


Once you get to that point...

-----------------------------
Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
-----------------------------
Verify the actual used space...
-----------------------------

Thanks, the cloning instructions are great. I'm going to start clearing some space now.

I just installed the SSD and fired up the computer. On the Performance tab in task manager it looks like the SSD is showing up but I don't see it in Windows Explorer:

(looks like I can't upload an image)

(EDIT) Looks like I need to format it (with MBR partition style)?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c0ccVTsVXw

 

[USAFRet]

You shouldn't need to pre-clone.
But if you do, GPT, not MBR.

 

[Lands]

You shouldn't need to pre-clone.
But if you do, GPT, not MBR.

EDIT 2. Nevermind. Going with GPT. Thanks for the help. I'll let you know if I hit any snags

 

[Lands]

Cloning into a 1TB SSD, the actual consumed space MUST be below 800GB.
You need to free up some more space.


Once you get to that point...

-----------------------------
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

If you are going from a smaller drive to a larger, by default, the target partition size will be the same as the Source. You probably don't want that
You can manipulate the size of the partitions on the target (larger)drive
Click on "Cloned Partition Properties", and you can specifiy the resulting partition size, to even include the whole thing

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 all partitions on it.
This will probably require the commandline diskpart function, and the clean command.

Ask questions if anything is unclear.
-----------------------------

Darn

I cloned the drive overnight (looks like it took just under 3 hours)

I removed the sata connectors from the original HD and plugged them into the NEW SSD. I unplugged the new SATA data cable from the MB (first time I left it plugged in).

When I tried to boot I get this black screen message EXCEPT the line that starts with Realtek on my message has a different series - mine says "Series v2.38 (12/24/10)

When I hooked them both back up and booted, I see that in windows explorer the new SSD J drive is called "OS J:" I have no idea of that means it's a bootable windows drive, but just trying to give a clue.

Any ideas?

 

[Lands]

Continued...: I went in again and confirmed the boot order has changed but it's still booting from the old HDD. I also opened up the cloning software and it shows about the same partitions on both drives (their slightly smaller on the SDD drive but close in size). Could I have made a mistake in the cloning process? When both drives are plugged in my machine does see the SSD, it just doesn't boot from it and gets the error shown above)

 

[USAFRet]

Please post a screencap of your Disk Management window.

 

[Lands]

Please post a screencap of your Disk Management window.

Sure, thx.

 

[USAFRet]

hmm...
Disk 1 is the new SSD?

The System partition (leftmost) is not labeled as 'System' and Active.
You should be able to mark that as Active right there in Disk Management

Right click on that space. What options does it give you?

 

[Lands]

hmm...
Disk 1 is the new SSD?

The System partition (leftmost) is not labeled as 'System' and Active.
You should be able to mark that as Active right there in Disk Management

Right click on that space. What options does it give you?

Yes, Disk 1 is the new SSD.

When I right click on the System partition, the active options are:

• Mark Partition as active
• Change drive letter and paths...
• Format...
• ---------------
• Shrink Volume
• Delete Volume

FYI: Those are the same options I get for all the partitions on both drives EXCEPT for the System partition on Drive 0. "Mark partition as active" is greyed out on that.

 

[USAFRet]

Right.
Select Mark Partition as Active.

 

[Lands]

Right.
Select Mark Partition as Active.

Cool. and then just reboot after that or? (sorry if it's a dumb question)

 

[USAFRet]

Cool. and then just reboot after that or? (sorry if it's a dumb question)

After disconnecting the original drive, yes.
See what happens.

 

[Lands]

After disconnecting the original drive, yes.
See what happens.

Closer but ran into a new error while booting:

 

[Lands]

Been reading and watching tons of stuff but unclear exactly what the issue might be. I looked and both my old HD and the new SSD is showing as MBR. Feels like it must be something regarding the way I cloned, partition size, or some other setting since I can see the drive as a secondary drive. Just can't boot from it.

Looks like a similar problem mentioned here. The Paragon software they mention is now $79 - too much. Unsure if that would work anyway: https://hardforum.com/threads/cloning-windows-10-to-new-drive.1974606/

 

[USAFRet]

Assuming the system works properly with only the original drive, try the clone operation again.

If it still fails...might be time to move on with a clean install.
Cloning is great, when it works. But it is not 100% guaranteed to work.

And this time, at the end of the clone process, the FIRST thing you do...
Power OFF
Disconnect the old drive
etc...

 

[Lands]

Assuming the system works properly with only the original drive, try the clone operation again.

If it still fails...might be time to move on with a clean install.
Cloning is great, when it works. But it is not 100% guaranteed to work.

And this time, at the end of the clone process, the FIRST thing you do...
Power OFF
Disconnect the old drive
etc...

Thanks. Makes sense. I just upgraded to Win 10 about a month ago. Is there a way to do a clean install on the SSD without cost?

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks. Makes sense. I just upgraded to Win 10 about a month ago. Is there a way to do a clean install on the SSD without cost?

Absolutely!
All you need is a blank 8GB flash drive.
And for an install only a month old, that is the way to go.

Just like this:

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[Lands]

Absolutely!
All you need is a blank 8GB flash drive.
And for an install only a month old, that is the way to go.

Just like this:

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

Thank you. This is my task for the night. I'll keep you updated (sorry 🙂 but I've greatly appreciated your help)

 

[Lands]

Absolutely!
All you need is a blank 8GB flash drive.
And for an install only a month old, that is the way to go.

Just like this:

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

SUCCESS!!! I looked for another cloning solution and found "Acronis True Image for Crucial" (the SSD I bought was Crucial.

https://www.acronis.com/en-us/promotion/CrucialHD-download/

It cloned it pretty quickly (2:45) and booted right up. Didn't need to do anything else!

Now I need to decide how long I'm going to keep the other drive around as a bootable backup. Might just sideline it and not use for a bit.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP. I appreciate it!

So far with the help of this forum I've upgrade my memory and my HD. Now if only I can get my new GTX 1650 to work!