Disk Clone Issues - Old OS

[phantasmalWordsmith]

Okay so I bought a SSD to make into my boot drive but its been having trouble. I've tried a few options but I think I might have found the cause.

According to the cloning software, having multiple OS's on the source disk might make the disk work incorrectly.

I am not sure how, but I have both Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 on the source disk and I need to remove Windows 7 to make it work properly.

What I'm think is that I can try to back up my programs and personal files onto a borrowed external drive. I can then do a Factor Restore, and this should mean I just have windows 8.1?

If anyone can alert me of any pitfalls or confirm if this would work, I would much appreciate it. I won't be going ahead with it until I'm certain.

 

[ArtPog]

I take it you're solely interested in using the Win 8.1 OS and not interested in a Win 7 OS, so I'll proceed on that basis, OK?

Most (but not all) disk-cloning programs have the capability of cloning individual partitions from a source disk to a destination disk. The Macrium Reflect Free program is an example.

So you could clone the partition containing the Win 8.1 OS to your new SSD. We're assuming in this scenario that your present 8.1 OS boots & functions without problems. And that the disk size of the SSD is sufficient to contain the total data contents residing in that 8.1 partition. If the preceding is not the case then you can stop right now.

Now if there are programs and other data on your Win 7 OS that you want on your new installation you could copy all that data over to the SSD following a successful cloning of your 8.1 OS. Naturally once again the SSD size would need to be sufficient for this additional data. You would, of course, need to reinstall the programs from your Win 7 system once the transfer of data has been accomplished.

 

[drtweak]

what software are you using? I have cloned Dual boot drives before without issue. Try using Macrium Reflect (Install and clone from either Windows 7 or Windows 8.1)

 

[phantasmalWordsmith]

what software are you using? I have cloned Dual boot drives before without issue. Try using Macrium Reflect (Install and clone from either Windows 7 or Windows 8.1)

As of right now, the cloning software I've used is the software that came with the Samsung SSD. I will use some of the software suggested here and see if it makes a difference.

 

[drtweak]

Yes def try to use Macrium Reflect. That will clone with no issue. Some people love the samsung software (It is useful to select which files you want to transfer over) but for 1:1 cloning other software is better. install the macrium reflect to any one of the OS's and then connect the SSD either though a SATA or USB adapter and then clone your existing drive to the SSD. onces done just set the SSD as the primary boot and you should be good to go.