Installing an SSD with existing HDD

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red-rock-run

red-rock-run

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Mar 29, 2012
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I've used migration software which came with the SSD to clone my HDD data onto the SSD. What now? When they're both plugged in, the sign-in screen flickers.

Should I unplug the SSD, put a media creation kit on a USB, load from the USB to format the HDD, then plug the HDD in?

Is this the correct order of doing things?
 
Solution
mcnumpty23


good choice

better to be totally sure

though if you screwed up could clone it back lol

now you know it works with macrium
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Just tried to boot from SSD, and it does not work. The software said that the clone was successful, but when I unplug the HDD I get black screen with a movable cursor as Windows begins to load, and that screen does not change.
 
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Will follow those commands in a moment.

There are two boot options for the SSD that I see in BIOS. One is the SATA port which I plugged it into (I plugged it into P0; is that okay?) and a UEFI option that also has the name of the SSD. Is there one which needs to go ahead of the other? Just to be sure, what should my ideal order be from these options: HDD, optical drive, P0 SSD, UEFI SSD, Windows Startup.

*edit* How do I run those two commands? Just through command prompt? And what should my conditions be: with both drives plugged in? Currently I'm only able to boot from the HDD.
 
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try both options for the ssd the eufi and the other

as long as the one you want to boot off is first the order doesnt matter

you run the commands by using a windows disk/bootable usb and choosing command prompt in repair options

only the ssd plugged in if you intend to wipe the hdd once you know the ssd is booting

or the hdd will get written to the boot record as well
 
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To clarify, by, "Bootable USB," you mean the media creation kit, right?

Also, just to make sure I'm being as detailed as I can, when I select P0 as first in boot order, I get a dos error prompting me to insert bootable media and then reboot. I guess that's something which can be fixed with the repair tool?
 
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yes the media creation tool is one example that can make bootable usbs there are others as well but that one usually works fine

try uefi if get the same then yes guess you need to

either use the command prompts

or use something else to clone

i highly recommend macrium reflect free version its a fantastic free imaging/cloning software
 
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In case the bootrec commands advised by mcnumpty don't resolve the situation...

While the following may NOT be the cause of the problem you're experiencing, there's a strong likelihood that it's because following the (presumably successful) disk-cloning operation you booted to the newly-cloned SSD with the source drive - your HDD - still connected in the system. Unfortunately what frequently happens in this situation is that the System Reserved partition and/or possibly other boot-related partitions are retained on the source drive and not created on the newly-cloned drive.

So that when you boot to the newly-cloned drive, as long as the source drive is still connected in the system, the system will boot. If you disconnect the source drive and boot only with the newly-cloned drive the system will NOT boot. Capiche?

Now the above may not be the ultimate cause of your problem. Obviously there can be other causes, e.g. a botched disk-cloning operation.

In any event, as a general proposition...you should disconnect the source drive from the system IMMEDIATELY following the disk-cloning operation. And then initially boot to the newly-cloned drive as the ONLY drive connected at that time. It's also good practice (assuming this is practical) to connect the newly-cloned drive to the motherboard's first SATA data port (connector) - usually designated SATA 0 or SATA 1.

And, of course, check your BIOS boot priority order to determine the newly-cloned drive is first in boot order.
 
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I've tried all kinds of things: switched to different cables, unhooked the HDD and booted my media kit disk to run the commands, switched around boot order. Nothing works.

Now I've formatted the SSD and am downloading Macrium Reflect. Hopefully the issue is a bad clone. I've been at this for four hours, and I'm feeling hopeless. If Macrium doesn't work, I'm out of ideas and can't imagine what could possibly be wrong.
 
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not only is macrium fantastic and yes a bad clone is a possibility

you can install its pre boot/pre windows environment if you choose

and in that theres a great fix boot issues tool

has fixed non booting drives for me that even the command prompts wouldnt

 
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Sorry for all the questions.

What is a pre boot/ pre windows environment, and how do I install it?
 
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hey thats ok

its something that once you have your computer running and have made a macrium back up--called an image--of your hard drive

should your pc fail to load windows you have the option to go into macrium pre boot and load an image to restore your pc

so its kind of like system restore but can be used if windows wont boot

and much more reliable than system restore

 
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yes

and dont think have ever had a macrium clone fail to boot so fingers crossed

have done with other software so hopefully it was just a bad clone what ever software you used before

 
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it shouldnt be cable related since both the ssd and hdd are getting seen ok

that only tends to happen on boards with more than one sata controller

if more than one sata controller--on intel builds that is--its best to always use the intel ports until pc is up and running ok
 
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The clone was successful. Thanks for the Macrium tip!

Now that's out of the way, can I format my HDD?

Can I just go to explorer, right click C and choose format?

 
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yes you can

and yes macrium is a great free software

 
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Strange. I try to format C, but I get, "You cannot format this drive. It contains the version of Windows that you are using."

My SSD is above the HDD in the boot order, and I was able to boot from the SSD with the HDD unplugged, so is it still somehow booting from the HDD?
 
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could be because its a clone--ie an identical copy of C drive

run a hard drive speed test like as ssd should give a decent result if booted from the ssd

and take forever if booted from hard drive

or turn off disconnect hard drive boot up ssd then connect hard drive and try to format

thats the only thing with a clone you need to make sure which drive is which

or check the size of your C drive if the ssd and hdd are different sizes
 
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could be because its a clone--ie an identical copy of C drive

run a hard drive speed test like as ssd should give a decent result if booted from the ssd

and take forever if booted from hard drive

or turn off disconnect hard drive boot up ssd then connect hard drive and try to format

thats the only thing with a clone you need to make sure which drive is which

or check the size of your C drive if the ssd and hdd are different sizes
Click to expand...

I just had a thought. Would the drive notation (C and E) change based on the boot order and what SATA port they've been plugged into?

I'm looking at explorer, and my C drive is smaller E, and my SSD is smaller than my HDD. So when I'm trying to format C, I'd be trying to format my SSD - which I'm currently booting from.
 
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the drive booted from should always call itself C far as i know

though with a clone the drive names will be the same--for example if your original hard was called say something like--my seagate

then the clone would also be called--my seagate

thats drive name--not drive letter

drive letter can change depending whats connected where etc
 
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Just to be sure I think I'll unplug the HDD, boot, and name the drive before doing anything else.
 
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