How to backup boot ssd onto another bootable ssd

[spyguy]

My boot drive is a wd green 256gb ssd. I have acronis true image and have a bootable rescue media, but would like to be able to have a backup on my 1tb 860 evo ssd. Do I just clone the smaller drive with all its partitions onto the larger 860 evo? Anything I need to watch out for?

 

[Solandri]

If you want the 1 TB SSD to be bootable in case the 256 GB SSD dies, then yes clone it. You will probably have tweak your BIOS settings so it'll boot off the proper drive. And you may have to fight with Windows' bootloader to get the computer to start off your preferred drive though. It tends to be jealous of other OSes on the computer, including other copies of Windows, and frequently disables them.

If you just want a backup of the 256 GB SSD so you can quickly restore it to its pristine state in the future (so you don't have to reinstall Windows and all your programs), then you want to create an image of the drive. This is a single file containing all the drive partition info and data on the drive. Kind of the interim step in the cloning process.

 

[spyguy]

If you want the 1 TB SSD to be bootable in case the 256 GB SSD dies, then yes clone it. You will probably have tweak your BIOS settings so it'll boot off the proper drive. And you may have to fight with Windows' bootloader to get the computer to start off your preferred drive though. It tends to be jealous of other OSes on the computer, including other copies of Windows, and frequently disables them.

If you just want a backup of the 256 GB SSD so you can quickly restore it to its pristine state in the future (so you don't have to reinstall Windows and all your programs), then you want to create an image of the drive. This is a single file containing all the drive partition info and data on the drive. Kind of the interim step in the cloning process.

Im able to create a system image with acronis under the bootable rescue media options and shows it as dvd drive. Im not sure if that's right. So if I clone the boot ssd onto the larger 860 evo it wont cause any problems with windows right? I know you said Ill have to fight to get it to boot if my other ssd ever fails, but until then it wont cause any boot issues just being on the evo?

 

[Solandri]

So if I clone the boot ssd onto the larger 860 evo it wont cause any problems with windows right? I know you said Ill have to fight to get it to boot if my other ssd ever fails, but until then it wont cause any boot issues just being on the evo?

I've had systems where it caused no issues. I've had systems which I couldn't get to boot off the proper drive until I deleted the extra Windows installation. I've had systems where it caused no problems for months, then suddenly it got upset at there being another installation of Windows on another drive. That's why I called it jealousy. It's just unpredictable.

So I can't really say how well it'll behave in your case. You can try it, but be prepared for it not working.

If you do do it, I recommend changing the desktop image of the non-used Windows install to an image that says "THIS IS THE COPY OF WINDOWS ON THE 1 TB SSD." That way you'll immediately know if your computer decided to boot off the other copy of Windows.

 

[BadAsAl]

I have had the most success using Macrium Reflect free. If all you are wanting to do is clone the 256 to the 1TB to be able to swap out in emergency then this will work great. Be aware that once you clone the 1TB will show as a 256GB until you extend the volume.

 

[spyguy]

So if I clone the boot ssd onto the larger 860 evo it wont cause any problems with windows right? I know you said Ill have to fight to get it to boot if my other ssd ever fails, but until then it wont cause any boot issues just being on the evo?

I've had systems where it caused no issues. I've had systems which I couldn't get to boot off the proper drive until I deleted the extra Windows installation. I've had systems where it caused no problems for months, then suddenly it got upset at there being another installation of Windows on another drive. That's why I called it jealousy. It's just unpredictable.

So I can't really say how well it'll behave in your case. You can try it, but be prepared for it not working.

If you do do it, I recommend changing the desktop image of the non-used Windows install to an image that says "THIS IS THE COPY OF WINDOWS ON THE 1 TB SSD." That way you'll immediately know if your computer decided to boot off the other copy of Windows.

So worst case scenario my boot drive fails and I cant transfer os to 860 evo. Could I buy another copy of windows and put it on the 860 evo?

 

[karenjoly]

As noted, Macrium is a good cloning application. I clone my disks several times a year or on upgrades and have not had a problem. The application will copy the smaller drive to the larger one so you can boot from either. You are given an opportunity to expand the size of the system partition before the copy starts so that the drive fits the entire size of the larger disk. Here is a FAQ. Your boot drive will not fail lol. Windows 10 can be replaced without cost.

http://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW/Cloning+a+disk