[SOLVED] Boot SSD acting weird.

[sirrodicus]

Hello, I recently upgraded my build. I went from an i5 4690k with 16GB of ram to an i9 10850k with 32 GB of ram. Still rocking the GTX970 because, ya know. I'm fine with just waiting on the EVGA queue for an RTX3070.
Anyways. A big part of the build is I went to all SSD storage. Up from a 500GB Kingston SSD plus and 1TB WD Black to a 500GB Samsung 970 Evo M.2 for boot, and a 2TB WD Blue M.2 for mass storage. I still have the Kingston for boot, and it's an SSD so once I resolve my issue I can keep particularly space-hungry games I'll delete on it.
My plan was to transfer Windows and all my programs (Photoshop, Illustrator, Clip Studio, etc.) to the 970 Evo and wipe the Kingston. I used Macrium Reflect to clone the Kingston and move it to the Evo. It seemed to go smoothly. However, Windows (newest version of 10) doesn't boot properly on the Evo. It's a good deal slower and black screens for about 30 seconds each time. It can consistently get into Windows it's just slow and janky looking. Also, some programs are just gone like Razer Central. The strange part is if I switch to the 970 for boot Central literally doesn't show up even though it's on the Kingston. Photoshop also hates the drive for some reason but Illustrator and Clip work perfectly. They don't even load just kinda pop into existence it's kinda hilarious, crazy fast. The WD Blue M.2 is also working great. Any Steam game or Clip file I put on it loads instantly.
Any ideas? I'm not great with software. I have a feeling Macrium just messed up but I'm scared to wipe the drive. I did that with an older SSD of mine and it seriously slowed the drive down, but I doubt I did it properly. Is there a way to clean install Windows without getting a new key? Is it necessary?
Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Colif]

So how many drive in this new PC?

is this how you cloned drive?

Spoiler

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
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 original boot partitions, here:
https://social.technet.microsoft.co...thy-efi-system-partition?forum=w8itproinstall

Sounds like you need to clone it again, something went wrong. it shouldn't be missing anything

did you install the Samsung NVME drivers?
its here under driver - https://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools/


was the licence on the old install linked to an email address?
you should be able to move it to the new PC via a clean install without needing a new licence
this shows what steps to take before/after a hardware change - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...e-change-2c0e962a-f04c-145b-6ead-fb3fc72b6665
this shows how to clean install - follow this guide: https://forums.tomshardware.com/faq/how-to-do-a-clean-installation-of-windows-10.3170366/

 

[USAFRet]

(Colif - Update your clone steps. Updated below)

Something went wrong with your clone operation. It can't just leave off individual programs.

If you put it back together in original configuration, does it work?
If so, redo the clone operation.

Since you're using a Samsung SSD, you should try the Samsung Data Migration tool first.


-----------------------------
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)
If you are cloning from a SATA drive to PCIe/NVMe, 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
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive

(Ignore this section if using SDM)
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.
-----------------------------

 

[Colif]

well, they were a copy of yours

 

[USAFRet]

well, they were a copy of yours

Yes, I know.
From quite a while ago. Since updated to include other things.

 

[Colif]

i don't use it often, its in my less used word document

 

[USAFRet]

i don't use it often, its in my less used word document

New stuff above.

 

[Colif]

i updated my copy...

 

[sirrodicus]

(Colif - Update your clone steps. Updated below)

Something went wrong with your clone operation. It can't just leave off individual programs.

If you put it back together in original configuration, does it work?
If so, redo the clone operation.

Since you're using a Samsung SSD, you should try the Samsung Data Migration tool first.


-----------------------------
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)
If you are cloning from a SATA drive to PCIe/NVMe, 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
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive

(Ignore this section if using SDM)
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.
-----------------------------

Makes sense. Someone told me it's because the old drivers were moved over and they didn't like the new hardware or something like that. Is that also possible or rubbish?

 

[USAFRet]

Makes sense. Someone told me it's because the old drivers were moved over and they didn't like the new hardware or something like that. Is that also possible or rubbish?

Oh...you're moving this between systems?
I missed that part.


Nooooo...cloning is NOT what you want.

The new system needs a whole new OS install.

Moving a drive, or a clone, between systems, there are 3 possible outcomes:

1. It works just fine
2. It fails completely
3. It "works", but you're chasing issues for weeks/months.

went from an i5 4690k with 16GB of ram to an i9 10850k

That level of change requires a fresh OS install.

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

And its more than just "drivers".

 

[sirrodicus]

Oh...you're moving this between systems?
I missed that part.


Nooooo...cloning is NOT what you want.

The new system needs a whole new OS install.

Moving a drive, or a clone, between systems, there are 3 possible outcomes:

1. It works just fine
2. It fails completely
3. It "works", but you're chasing issues for weeks/months.

That level of change requires a fresh OS install.

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

And its more than just "drivers".

 

[sirrodicus]

Alright sounds good. So how do I get everything off the EVO without damaging it? I had another Samsung SSD (Sata not NVME) that I had to wipe, it got way, way slower afterward. Also, will I have to buy windows again? Or will I even have to wipe it? I want Photoshop and Clip Studio and stuff on there which they are already. Will Windows just destroy any duplicate files on the drive will installing?

 

[USAFRet]

Alright sounds good. So how do I get everything off the EVO without damaging it? I had another Samsung SSD (Sata not NVME) that I had to wipe, it got way, way slower afterward. Also, will I have to buy windows again? Or will I even have to wipe it? I want Photoshop and Clip Studio and stuff on there which they are already. Will Windows just destroy any duplicate files on the drive will installing?

This depends on what you mean by "everything".

Your personal files, copy those elsewhere first.

Applications WILL need to be reinstalled after the new OS install. You're starting from a blank slate.

 

[USAFRet]

For the Windows license, that depends on where it originally came from.

For the OS activation, read and do this before you change any parts:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/20530/windows-10-reactivating-after-hardware-change

 

[sirrodicus]

This depends on what you mean by "everything".

Your personal files, copy those elsewhere first.

Applications WILL need to be reinstalled after the new OS install. You're starting from a blank slate.

Alright sounds good. I can just use the Kingston drive as a backup until I know the Evo is working properly. Thanks for the help!