Cloning Samsung EVO 850 120GB in laptop through external Casing

[shravank30]

Hello

I have an Acer Aspire 5740 laptop with a 320GB hard disk out of which only 69 GB is used

I want to install a 120GB Samsung SSD 850 EVO to upgrade the same

I have bought an external casing to help me clone the same through the USB
My question was which software I should use to clone the Same?
Can I use the Samsung SSD Migration software ?
I have read that you have to be very careful which software you use else the cloned drive will not become bootable

Thanks for advising

 

[drtweak]

You can use the samsung software but if you have space and can clone the whole drive over i find using Macrium Reflect to be quicker and better to use.

 

[shravank30]

You can use the samsung software but if you have space and can clone the whole drive over i find using Macrium Reflect to be quicker and better to use.

Thanks for the confirmation.
Please also advise if i have to take any other precaution when cloning through the USB port so that the target disk is bootable.
I plan to install the SSD disk in the external Casing for cloning and once it is cloned to replace the laptop HDD with the same.
Is there any special command to be given when cloning as the SSD disk is not connected through a SATA port.

Thanks for advising

 

[drtweak]

Nothing else need to be done. Macrium Reflect will 1) Copy the disk as a WHOLE so it will be an exact 1:1 copy and 2) It will also prep and make the SSD TRIM capable for when windows boots up off it the first time.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

If the disk you are cloning from is bootable, then the target disk will be bootable too after cloning.

That's why it's called "cloning", it's identical in every respect, including the partition properties.

 

[monkey4sale]

Hey there, I did exactly what you are attempting to many moons ago and this is a really useful guide. You don't have to change anything / give any additional commands because your are using an external sata port. There are lots of different cloning softwares and some of them don't play nice when asking them to clone from a larger source disk to a smaller destination disk!

http://www.howtogeek.com/97242/how-to-migrate-windows-7-to-a-solid-state-drive/

 

[shravank30]

If the disk you are cloning from is bootable, then the target disk will be bootable too after cloning.

That's why it's called "cloning", it's identical in every respect, including the partition properties.

Hello

I was confused because of this article on the internet ;

http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/005921en?language=en_US

"When cloning a laptop hard drive it is important to install the new, empty target disk in the laptop first. Next, connect the old drive through USB. Once this has been done, you can perform the clone. If the target disk is cloned while connected to USB it will not be bootable"

Thanks for advising

 

[shravank30]

Nothing else need to be done. Macrium Reflect will 1) Copy the disk as a WHOLE so it will be an exact 1:1 copy and 2) It will also prep and make the SSD TRIM capable for when windows boots up off it the first time.

I dont want to clone the entire HDD as it has many partitions which are of no use to me.
I just want to clone the C Drive data only which has all my programs and OS

In this case, will Samsung migration tool be better ?

Thanks for advising

 

[monkey4sale]

I used an external sata to USB enclosure without any issues at all. Btw, why are you simply not re-installing windows?

 

[shravank30]

I used an external sata to USB enclosure without any issues at all. Btw, why are you simply not re-installing windows?

The CD drive on my Laptop has failed.
Moreover the windows key (Win 7 Home edition 32bit) was put on a sticker on the bottom of my laptop and I foolishly did not keep a photo of the same and it is now wornout and not readable.
So cloning is the only option, I can think of.
Any idea how i can retrieve the windows key through the laptop system ?

Thanks for advising

 

[monkey4sale]

Jellybean Key finder should work to retrieve your key.

Edit. Magical Jelly bean key finder.

 

[monkey4sale]

Also you can reinstall windows using a Bootable USB, so cloning is not the only option friend.

 

[ArtPog]

First of all if you can swing for a Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB, try to do it. While I recognize how important the cost of a SSD must be for you, the difference in cost between the two capacities is not enormous. And the added flexibility (even a slight, though not significant speed increase with the larger SSD) you'll get from the added capacity of the larger drive is virtually certain to prove important to you in the future especially since you already will be cloning 69 GB to a disk that has an actual disk-space capacity of some 111 GB. So even at the outset you won't have too much "headroom" to begin with.

My recommendation is to use the Samsung Data Migration program that is packaged with the SSD to clone the contents of your HDD to the Samsung SSD. We have used that program scores of times and found it a reliable, easy-to-use program.

The disk-cloning operation is a fairly straightforward operation. You'll be connecting your SSD "destination" disk to your USB "casing" as you call it. I assume you're referring to a USB external enclosure, connecting the device to a USB port on your laptop and with the SDM CD installed, undertake the disk-cloning operation in that manner. The SDM includes a simple set of instructions.

After the operation has successfully completed, it's just a matter to replace the laptop's HDD with the cloned SSD. You needn't be concerned about a product key ID. The cloned SSD will contain all that info.

The crucial element in a successful disk-cloning operation is that the "source" disk, i.e., your 320 GB HDD, boots and functions problem-free because if you clone garbage, garbage is what you get.

 

[drtweak]

Nothing else need to be done. Macrium Reflect will 1) Copy the disk as a WHOLE so it will be an exact 1:1 copy and 2) It will also prep and make the SSD TRIM capable for when windows boots up off it the first time.

I dont want to clone the entire HDD as it has many partitions which are of no use to me.
I just want to clone the C Drive data only which has all my programs and OS

In this case, will Samsung migration tool be better ?

Thanks for advising

What other partitions? Keep in mind if their are Recovery partitions you may want to keep those.

Also since you said you can't read the product key anymore, and if this is a OEM laptop (HP,Dell, etc) then that product key is not what you will find on MagicJellyBean as they use OEM keys to install that auto activate with the BIOS.

Windows 8 and up stopped shipping with product keys because everything is hardware based activated (for OEM's) and can use any Retail disk to install. If i had a HP with Windows 10, I don't need their stuff, i can download Windows 10 from MS and install it and it activate though MS automatically since it knew that PC had windows 10 on it. Same goes for WIndows 8 and 8.1. Windows 7 and before were different, where if you lose OEM media, and used an ISO from MS you had to put in the key as it woudn't auto activate.

Just food for thought.

Also not coping over some partitions could render the drive unbootable as a lot of times the recovery partition is the boot partition and so on.

 

[shravank30]

First of all if you can swing for a Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB, try to do it. While I recognize how important the cost of a SSD must be for you, the difference in cost between the two capacities is not enormous. And the added flexibility (even a slight, though not significant speed increase with the larger SSD) you'll get from the added capacity of the larger drive is virtually certain to prove important to you in the future especially since you already will be cloning 69 GB to a disk that has an actual disk-space capacity of some 111 GB. So even at the outset you won't have too much "headroom" to begin with.

My recommendation is to use the Samsung Data Migration program that is packaged with the SSD to clone the contents of your HDD to the Samsung SSD. We have used that program scores of times and found it a reliable, easy-to-use program.

The disk-cloning operation is a fairly straightforward operation. You'll be connecting your SSD "destination" disk to your USB "casing" as you call it. I assume you're referring to a USB external enclosure, connecting the device to a USB port on your laptop and with the SDM CD installed, undertake the disk-cloning operation in that manner. The SDM includes a simple set of instructions.

After the operation has successfully completed, it's just a matter to replace the laptop's HDD with the cloned SSD. You needn't be concerned about a product key ID. The cloned SSD will contain all that info.

The crucial element in a successful disk-cloning operation is that the "source" disk, i.e., your 320 GB HDD, boots and functions problem-free because if you clone garbage, garbage is what you get.

I have already bought a 120GB SSD from a friend so the option of buying the 250GB is not possible.
I mainly use a Desktop and this laptop is used only as a backup device in case of a problem in the desktop, or when i travel once or twice a year
The laptop HDD although gave problems a few days back by way of orphan files in diskchk, its behaving normally after that.and is booting without a hitch.
So fingers crossed that the cloning will go through smoothly

Thanks for advising

 

[shravank30]

Hello

I could not complete the cloning as I was travelling
However, today I started to clone my hard disk using Samsung migration software
However, it gets stuck at around 315MB and after 10-15 minutes I get the message
Cloning failed
An error occurred during defragmentation 308200[04b3e8]

I have restarted my computer and tried again, but same result
The clock also stops in the cloning program

Thanks for advising

Please suggest how to proceed

 

[ArtPog]

Cancel the present operation and give it another try. If you again run into the same problem you can try another disk-cloning program that is freely available on the net. The Macrium Reflect program is a popular one...
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

Another one is the Easeus Todo Backup program...
http://www.todo-backup.com/products/home/free-backup-software.htm

It's possible the SDM program detected some type of anomaly or even problem with your source disk. Many disk-cloning programs will balk at continuing the cloning operation when they find such. You might want to test your source disk with a HDD diagnostic program (perhaps Acer has one built-in to your laptop) or with one of those programs also freely available on the net.

 

[shravank30]

Hello
I have recovered my windows key using the magic bean software as suggested earlier
However it says that it was installed using a OEM media.
My query is that if I download the windows 7 home premium from Microsoft and install it fresh on the SSD, will the same key work ?

Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1
Product Part No.: X15-37379
Installed from 'OEM' media.
Product ID: XXXXX-OEM-XXXXXXX-XXXXX match to CD Key data
CD Key: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
Computer Name: XXXXX
Registered Owner: admin
Registered Organization:

Thanks for advising

 

[shravank30]

Hello
I tried Macrium reflect also
When I give the cloning command. Within a second it says next and nothing happens
It asks if I want to take up backup schedule etc
I have added all the partitions of the source disk to the target disk but no result

Please advise
Going nuts n what I am doing wrong

 

[shravank30]

Hello

I ran the WD diskcheck intensive
It showed bad sectors and it failed to repair them
So in this circumstances. a fresh installation of Windows is the only solution ?

Thanks for advising

 

[ArtPog]

Probably your best bet at this juncture.

 

[drtweak]

Yea more than likely a fresh install unless you pay for something like RStudio which can clone drives with bad sectors.

You may have to get a hold of Acer for recovery media.

 

[shravank30]

Yea more than likely a fresh install unless you pay for something like RStudio which can clone drives with bad sectors.

You may have to get a hold of Acer for recovery media.

Hello

I couldn't understand what you meant by Acer recovery media ?
Can i not simply download the windows 10 from Microsoft site and install it through the USB as a fresh install on the SSD and activate the same using the key i have recovered from my existing laptop ?
Does a laptop require any model specific programs without which the laptop will not boot ?

Thanks for advising ?

 

[drtweak]

Oh ok yea if you are running windows 10 yea just download it and install it just make sure during the install you select "Don't have a key" and then make sure you select Windows 10 Pro or Home depending on what you have and you are good. No need to even use that key as windows 10 activates online though your hardware. Once you upgrade to windows 10 there is never the need for using a product key again. Even if you buy it, once you activate it, as long as it is the same motherboard, you will never has to put in the product key again.

And windows 10 is really good with drivers. If your laptop is a year or older don't worry about needing any drivers to get windows up and running. You may have to get some drivers after the install (Do a windows update first as Windows 10 is good about picking up needed drivers compared to Windows 7). Then after that check your Device Manager and update as needed. May have to go to the chipmakers directly or try to use windows 7 drivers or windows 8 drivers if no windows 10 drivers exist though acer.

 

[shravank30]

Oh ok yea if you are running windows 10 yea just download it and install it just make sure during the install you select "Don't have a key" and then make sure you select Windows 10 Pro or Home depending on what you have and you are good. No need to even use that key as windows 10 activates online though your hardware. Once you upgrade to windows 10 there is never the need for using a product key again. Even if you buy it, once you activate it, as long as it is the same motherboard, you will never has to put in the product key again.

And windows 10 is really good with drivers. If your laptop is a year or older don't worry about needing any drivers to get windows up and running. You may have to get some drivers after the install (Do a windows update first as Windows 10 is good about picking up needed drivers compared to Windows 7). Then after that check your Device Manager and update as needed. May have to go to the chipmakers directly or try to use windows 7 drivers or windows 8 drivers if no windows 10 drivers exist though acer.

Thanks for the reply
So once i upgrade to win10 on my old hdd, (I already have a invite pending to upgrade), and then replace my hdd to ssd and start a fresh install, i will not have to give the key again ?
During the upgrade through Windows update facility, will i get the option to "Dont have a key"
Am i correct ?
I will make sure that as i have Windows home premium in my existing hdd, i will choose the corresponding win 10 program when i download to a usb
Any other precautions i have to take to make this work?

Thanks for advising