Can I clone a 4TB HDD with 300GB on it to a 1TB SSD?

[Bscull12]

So I just purchased a Samsung 850 Evo and I am hesitant to clone to it. I want to know more before digging into this. Basically, I have a RAID 0 array of 2 2TB HDDs. I want to clone this volume to a 1TB 850 Evo. Will the Samsung program limit me according to the total capacity or the amount of storage used? Basically what I am saying is will it allow me to clone to a smaller drive even though there is enough room for the actual data?

A few more questions, for you advanced PC users. Here are my other questions:

1. Because I have RAID 0, do I just unplug both RAID drives after the clone, put in the new drive and change from RAID to AHCI in the BIOS? This is what I think I have to do but I'm not certain.

2. Won't cloning the drive cause conflict because after the clone my computer will temporarily have two Windows drives? How will these conflict? Will it work because the SSD was plugged in via USB?

3. Are there any other issues you know of related to this scenario?

Thank you in advance.

 

[mazboy]

My thoughts (others will argue): don't even bother to clone. Is it your intent to put the OS on the new 850 Evo SSD? Or are you trying to put everything on the old HDDs onto the new SSD? It is possible (though my experience say not probable) that you might successfully clone the HDDs to the SSD. Again, my experience tells me that you will be unhappy with the unstable results.

Back everything up before you go any farther.

Do yourself a favor and do a clean install to the SSD using this official source for the install USB drive: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 Make sure your BIOS is set to "AHCI" NOT "RAID" before you do the install. Disconnect your HDDs before you do the install. When the USB install is finished, immediately do this: "settings->Update & Security->Windows Update->Check for updates" Once all of that is done, if you have a discreet GPU, load the latest driver directly form the manufacturer's website.

When you are happy Win10 is running properly, shut it down, reconnect the HDDs, and proceed to try to straighten that mess out. Personally, I've never seen the attraction of RAID as backup. Do a data backup once a week, and an image backup once every couple of weeks, and you're set for life.

Win10 offers built-in constant backup to either an internal or external HDD: settings->Update & Security->Backup
Make sure "Automatically back up my files" is turned on. Click on "More Options". Set the interval, the folders you want to back up, and the target drive.

Win10 also offers built-in, multiple-drive-at-once, image backup: control panel->System and Security->File History->System Image Backup [found at the bottom left of the window]->Create a System Image-> You can use a single, large, external HDD to do this (I use a 4TB WD external HDD to back up the 2xSSD and 2xHDD drives on my main computer into a single restorable image).

 

[Bscull12]

I think you may be right. I have the windows disk to use for it. I’m probably going to do that, and have everything stored on that one SSD, unless I find an easy way to install stuff on the HDD, which I have no idea how to clear by the way. I will probably keep the RAID volume in my BIOS until I can confirm Windows is fully installed, then look through the other drives and just freshly install everything. I was thinking about doing this anyway.

 

[Bscull12]

Also I run a system image backup through Windows 7’s baclup and restore every night. You are very helpful. But I really do want an answer to my other questions, no rush .

 

[USAFRet]

With that config, just do a clean install on the new drive.

While the current cloning tools only care about the actual used space (not the full drive or partition size), going from a HDD RAID 0 to an SSD is fraught with pitfalls.

 

[Bscull12]

With that config, just do a clean install on the new drive.

While the current cloning tools only care about the actual used space (not the full drive or partition size), going from a HDD RAID 0 to an SSD is fraught with pitfalls.

Yeah I didn’t realize all of the consequences that come with RAID when I bought my PC.