Copying/Moving C drive data to another drive. Need Help Please

[ExtreamChaozZ]

I just brought a SanDisk X400 M.2 drive and I was planning to move my entire C drive on to it, as it has more space and better speeds. My current C drive is on an SSD with 120Gb but the M.2 has 256Gb, I have set up the M.2 drive so it has its own partition and is now my E drive.

How can I transfer all my C drive data onto my new M.2 drive?

I have tried a 3rd party software called "Acronis True Image WD" since I have a 1Tb WD blue as my mass storage device. But I seem to run into problems, such as when I boot up my pc and login my entire desktop flashes rapidly and I have no control (apart from "Ctrl + Alt + Delete").
I can get around this by force booting my original OS on my SSD still; at first I though this happened because there was a conflict between the 2 drives as they both contain an OS, so I disconnected the sata cable from the SSD and tried booting again, but that just gave me a black screen. (I am also using Windows 10).

Since then I have plugged my SSD back in and forced booted back into my pc, and then used "Acronis True Image WD" again to force wipe the M.2 drive so I can turn it back into a blank storage device ready for use.

So is there a better way for me to transfer my entire C drive onto my new M.2 drive and then Wipe my SSD once I have a working bootable M.2 Drive in my system. (Also when I say transfer my C drive I mean Everything, so OS and my personal files).

Thanks.

 

[ArtPog]

It's not at all uncommon that these data-migration (disk-cloning) operations often go awry for one reason or another, especially for users who have had no experience using them. It's rather a shame that San Disk does not freely provide such a program designed for their own drives. C'est la vie.

There are a number of freely available d-c programs. Two of the more popular ones are...
EaseUS Todo Backup Free program
http://www.todo-backup.com/products/home/free-backup-software.htm

Macrium Reflect
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

Personally, I use a d-c program nearly exclusively for comprehensive backup purposes. But it's a commercial product ($49.99) and few users who are solely interested in a "one-shot" disk-cloning operation are interested in its purchase. However, there is a 30-day trial version available and you may want to give it a try since I can provide you with detailed directions as to how to use it, as follows...


1. Download/install the Casper Trial Edition v8 disk-cloning program from https://www.fssdev.com/products/casper/trial/

2. Before undertaking the disk-cloning operation close all open programs. (Generally you need not disable your anti-virus program). Ensure your destination drive - the proposed recipient of the clone - is properly connected in the system and ideally no other disks but the source & destination ones are connected in the system.

3. Double-click on the Casper 8.0 icon to open the program.

4. Click "Choose other options", then "Copy Drive" on the following window.

5. On the next window click "Perform a different copy".

6. The next window will list the drives connected in your system. The source (C:\) drive (the drive you will be cloning) will be highlighted. The System Reserved partition will be cloned to the destination disk as well. Click Next.

7. The next window will list your proposed destination disk - the recipient of the clone. If you have more than one potential destination disk currently connected in your system they will be listed as well. Ensure the disk you want to serve as the destination disk is highlighted. Click Next.

8. If the destination disk contains data the next window will indicate a warning that this data will be lost as a result of the disk-cloning operation. Click Next.

9. The next window gives the user an option to assign a name to the destination disk for future Casper disk-cloning operations involving that disk. If no name is desired uncheck the box. Click Next.

10. The next window reflects how the cloned data will be distributed on the destination disk. The default proportionate distribution option will suffice in nearly every case. Click Next.

11. A message may appear indicating that this Casper Trial Edition does not support "volume resizing" - basically user manipulation of partitions on the destination disk. This feature is available on the Casper commercial version. Click Continue.

12. On the final user screen click "Perform the copy now".

13. Exit from the program after receiving message that the disk-cloning operation was successful.

14. Now since you're cloning the contents of the 120 GB disk to a 256 GB disk, this trial version will create a 120 GB partition on the destination disk to contain the total data contents of the 120 GB disk. (This is a limitation of the trial version. The commercial version would use (as the default) the entire disk-space of the destination disk for the cloned data contents.)

However, it's a simple matter following the d-c operation for you to use Disk Management to extend the 120 GB partition to encompass the entire disk-space of the 256 GB destination disk.

Good luck whatever method you choose to use.

 

[USAFRet]

Additionally to ArtPogs above....

Do the cloning process with only the source and target drives connected.
When the cloning process finishes, power off
Disconnect the old drive.
Have only the new drive connected.
Power up.
See if it boots properly.

I've used Casper, Macrium Reflect, Samsung Data Migration.
All work, if you follow the sequence properly.

 

[ExtreamChaozZ]

Brilliant, thanks guys I will give the programs a shot.