Cloned HDD won't boot

XGamer_BiH

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Apr 20, 2016
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Hello everyone,

I just bought a new HDD as a replace for my main one which has Windows 7 on it. I cloned the old HDD to the new HDD using Macrium Reflect. Everything copied just fine, partitions were made, the drive works fine. But, as soon as I plug out the old HDD and use the new HDD as the boot drive, it simply won't let me into the new HDD which containts Windows on it. (note: I did set that driver as the main boot drive, tried switching from UEFI to Legacy boot mode)

Now , there's one thing that I noticed. In My computer screen it shows the main Windows boot files partition which is ~350MB large, and I'm free to open the partition and look at it's files. That doesn't really appear normal to me (the old drive doesn't show that partition, but it's there in Disk Management).

I know that I could install a new copy of Windows, but it doesn't seem practical because I'm planning to get a SSD soon and then install a new copy of Windows.

Specs:
Asus H61m C
8GB DDR3
i5 3470
old WD10EZEX 1TB
new WD10EZEX 1TB

Thanks in advance.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
If you return the system back to original condition, without the new drive, does it boot up properly?
If so, redo the clone operation.

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Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
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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
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 as necessary.
Delete the 450MB Recovery Partition, here:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/4f1b84ac-b193-40e3-943a-f45d52e23685/cant-delete-extra-healthy-recovery-partitions-and-healthy-efi-system-partition?forum=w8itproinstall

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

XGamer_BiH

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Apr 20, 2016
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Tried that a lot of times. Still shows that there's no boot media.
 

XGamer_BiH

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Apr 20, 2016
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I'll try to redo it, but only if nothing else helps.
And yes, the old drive boots fine, with and without the new one.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


Specifically, this part:
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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
-------------
 

Execute from elevated command prompt:
  • bcdboot f:\windows /s e:
Shutdown the pc,
disconnect old drive,
fix boot sequence in BIOS to boot from new drive,
boot into windows.

 

XGamer_BiH

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Apr 20, 2016
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Nope, still won't boot from it. Also, the main boot partition is still available to see and use.
 

XGamer_BiH

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Apr 20, 2016
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The error stayed the same: "Reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key"
Yes I used the command in a elevated command prompt.
Also I do edit the boot order to boot from the new hdd firstly, and also unplug the old hdd.

 

XGamer_BiH

Reputable
Apr 20, 2016
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4,790

Okay that fixed it! Now I can boot from the drive - well, partly atleast.

I once had an issue with booting into Windows, and I fixed it with disabling Driver Signature Enforcement using advanced boot options and also wtih some additional commands using the cmd over a bootable Windows 7 USB drive.
But as it seems. cloning the HDD to a new one, also cloned the issue that I had, and the fix is temporary which gave me the chance to use the system normally. Trying the same fixes I used on the old drive didn't do anything - a bunch of errors and unexpected situations.

But hey, that's a case for an another thread.

Thanks for helping me out, now I have to proceed with trying to re-clone the drive, seems like the only exit I see right now.