Question Best software for cloning SSD to M.2

[Willy894]

Hey guys, recently I bought samsung evo 970, right now I got crucial 250gb SSD and would like to clone it to my M.2 NVME, I saw many programs online, but most of them are ADs, so I would like your opinion

 

[USAFRet]

Hey guys, recently I bought samsung evo 970, right now I got crucial 250gb SSD and would like to clone it to my M.2 NVME, I saw many programs online, but most of them are ADs, so I would like your opinion

-----------------------------
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
Both drives must be the same partitioning scheme, either MBR or GPT
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Magician (which includes Data Migration), if a Samsung target SSD)
If you are cloning from a SATA drive to PCIe/NVMe, you may need to install the relevant driver for this new NVMe/PCIe drive.
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up

Verify the system boots with ONLY the current "C drive" connected.
If not, we have to fix that first.

Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive

[Ignore this section if using the SDM. It does this automatically]
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 specify the resulting partition size, to even include the whole thing
[/end ignore]

Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD. This is not optional.
This is to allow the system to try to boot from ONLY the SSD

(swapping cables is irrelevant with NVMe drives, but DO disconnect the old drive for this next part)
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.
-----------------------------

 

[USAFRet]

Obviously, the above only counts if the rest of the system is viable.
Good working OS, motherboard compatible with the new SSD, etc, etc.

 

[Willy894]

-----------------------------
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
Both drives must be the same partitioning scheme, either MBR or GPT
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Magician (which includes Data Migration), if a Samsung target SSD)
If you are cloning from a SATA drive to PCIe/NVMe, you may need to install the relevant driver for this new NVMe/PCIe drive.
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up

Verify the system boots with ONLY the current "C drive" connected.
If not, we have to fix that first.

Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive

[Ignore this section if using the SDM. It does this automatically]
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 specify the resulting partition size, to even include the whole thing
[/end ignore]

Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD. This is not optional.
This is to allow the system to try to boot from ONLY the SSD

(swapping cables is irrelevant with NVMe drives, but DO disconnect the old drive for this next part)
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.
-----------------------------

Thank you for answering.

I'm transfering from Crucial SATA SSD 250gb to Samsung Evo 970 1TB, should I use Samsung magician or both drives must be from samsung to use it?

 

[USAFRet]

Thank you for answering.

I'm transfering from Crucial SATA SSD 250gb to Samsung Evo 970 1TB, should I use Samsung magician or both drives must be from samsung to use it?

The Samsung Magician.
It only counts if the target drive is Samsung. The source drive is irrelevant.

 

[Willy894]

The Samsung Magician.
It only counts if the target drive is Samsung. The source drive is irrelevant.

Gotcha, got 1 more question, this may sound dumb, but does it clone windows too or will I have to install it again, or what's the process?

 

[USAFRet]

Gotcha, got 1 more question, this may sound dumb, but does it clone windows too or will I have to install it again, or what's the process?

Yes, it clones the OS and everything else.

 

[Willy894]

Yes, it clones the OS and everything else.

Awesome, thank you so much!