[SOLVED] HDD>SSD clone boots to black screen

[shadenfroh]

I hate dealing with computers with a burning hot passion. I'm really up to the point of just running the damn thing over. Please help me before I do.

I installed a bigger SSD in my main laptop, so now I want to use the old one for my secondary. After a whole day of trying, I always end up with black screen + loading cursor after the Windows 10 logo.

Some observations:

• Old HDD continues to boot correctly after every "clone-swap-fail-swap again" attempt.
• HDD is 1TB, SSD is 128GB
• Reserved, Recovery, and System partitions amount to a total of 67GB, so there is plenty of free space.
• Remaining 4th partition is just files, and I'll use the HDD as an external drive when I'm done.
• Partitioning on both drives is MBR.
• Legacy Boot Mode is enabled, I have not fiddled with it.
• Reserved is marked Active, and since Windows "kind of" boots, I guess this is wokring correctly?

What I've tried:

• Clone in Macrium Reflect 6.3.
• Forensic clone in Macrium Reflect - doesn't boot, unsurprisingly.
• Clone in EaseUs whassisname.
• Disabled all Paging files, because there was one on the 4th (not cloned) partition, which I thought might cause the problem.
• Taking the HDD out and into the external case, creating an image on my main laptop and then restoring it to the SSD.

I really really really really don't want to fiddle with Win Pe, Boot CDs and all that crap. I've done this 5 times before. It should just work. It doesn't. I can feel that there is a very basic error somewhere, nothing fancy that needs "recovering" or boot-cd-ing.

Please help!

 

[RealBeast]

Just create a system repair disk either on CD or USB to fix the bootloader when you startup with a different physical SSD than it expects. You can easily make one with the old SSD attached and follow THESE simple instructions.

 

[popatim]

What happens if you type EXIT at the cursor?