Just cloned OS to SSD, now booting to RECOVERY SCREEN

[rcabuel182]

Hello!

Just finished cloning my HDD to SSD, and boot override to SDD worked fine. When back in windows, I deleted all partitions from HDD, and was successfully able to make it a secondary drive. Also, I went into BIOS and verified that the SSD is the only option in the boot order.

NOW, when I try to restart my PC, I get the blue recovery screen telling me that:

"The Boot Configuration Data file doesn't contain valid information for an operating system."

I unplugged the old HDD, and still the same thing. Please help me figure out what to do next!

UPDATE:

I booted from my WINDOWS usb, and went to command prompt and input:
bootrec/rebuildbcd

It found my installation of Windows, and when i type YES to add to the bot list, I get the line:

"The system cannot find the path specified"

Any ideas?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Did you unplug the HDD right after the clone , before trying to boot the SSD the first time?

 

[rcabuel182]

@Blackbird. No, unfortunately I did not. I hope not doing so didn't cause some sort of irreversible damage!

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

That's what caused the issue boot loading issue, you should have disconnected it then booted it right after the clone.

That way it rewrites correctly and boots off of the SSD.

 

[rcabuel182]

That's what caused the issue boot loading issue, you should have disconnected it then booted it right after the clone.

That way it rewrites correctly and boots off of the SSD.

Is there a fix for that? I just added some additional troubleshooting I performed in the original post....

 

[USAFRet]

That's what caused the issue boot loading issue, you should have disconnected it then booted it right after the clone.

That way it rewrites correctly and boots off of the SSD.

Is there a fix for that? I just added some additional troubleshooting I performed in the original post....

If at all possible, just redo the clone operation.

-----------------------------
Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
-----------------------------
Verify the actual used space on the current drive is significantly below the size of the new SSD
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive
Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD
This is to allow the system to try to boot from ONLY the SSD
Swap the SATA cables around so that the new drive is connected to the same SATA port as the old drive
Power up, and verify the BIOS boot order
If good, continue the power up

It should boot from the new drive, just like the old drive.
Maybe reboot a time or two, just to make sure.

If it works, and it should, all is good.

Later, reconnect the old drive and wipe as necessary.
Delete the 450MB Recovery Partition, here:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/4f1b84ac-b193-40e3-943a-f45d52e23685/cant-delete-extra-healthy-recovery-partitions-and-healthy-efi-system-partition?forum=w8itproinstall

Ask questions if anything is unclear.
-----------------------------

 

[rcabuel182]

That's what caused the issue boot loading issue, you should have disconnected it then booted it right after the clone.

That way it rewrites correctly and boots off of the SSD.

Is there a fix for that? I just added some additional troubleshooting I performed in the original post....

If at all possible, just redo the clone operation.

-----------------------------
Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
-----------------------------
Verify the actual used space on the current drive is significantly below the size of the new SSD
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive
Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD
This is to allow the system to try to boot from ONLY the SSD
Swap the SATA cables around so that the new drive is connected to the same SATA port as the old drive
Power up, and verify the BIOS boot order
If good, continue the power up

It should boot from the new drive, just like the old drive.
Maybe reboot a time or two, just to make sure.

If it works, and it should, all is good.

Later, reconnect the old drive and wipe as necessary.
Delete the 450MB Recovery Partition, here:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/4f1b84ac-b193-40e3-943a-f45d52e23685/cant-delete-extra-healthy-recovery-partitions-and-healthy-efi-system-partition?forum=w8itproinstall

Ask questions if anything is unclear.
-----------------------------

It's not, unfortunately. I already wiped the HDD.

However, there is no important info I'm trying to keep. So a clean install of windows is an option. The only thing is, this thing is a pre-built. Will i need a windows key to reinstall?

 

[USAFRet]

It's not, unfortunately. I already wiped the HDD.

However, there is no important info I'm trying to keep. So a clean install of windows is an option. The only thing is, this thing is a pre-built. Will i need a windows key to reinstall?

A reinstall in that same system will NOT require the license key.
How to do a CLEAN installation of Windows 10