Migrating data (OS included) to another disk

[feezioxiii]

Hi, My current SSD is kinda old and I want to switch it to a new one but don't really want to take backup and stuff,

I got my new SSD here already, I'm thinking of something like putting them in a RAID 1 (Mirror in Windows 10) Then wait until those two fully synced, then I just remove the old SSD, will it affect anything?

Thank you for reading through! Any answer is appreciated

 

[USAFRet]

Hi, My current SSD is kinda old and I want to switch it to a new one but don't really want to take backup and stuff,

I got my new SSD here already, I'm thinking of something like putting them in a RAID 1 (Mirror in Windows 10) Then wait until those two fully synced, then I just remove the old SSD, will it affect anything?

Thank you for reading through! Any answer is appreciated

1. Ignore the word RAID. Not needed in the consumer space, a waste of valuable drive space, and will make your SSD's run slower

2. Assuming your new SSD is larger than the old one, you can't do a RAID 1 with those anyway. Well, you can, but that is a SERIOUS waste of space.

3. No, you can mirror and break a RAID 1 like that.

4. To clone to the new drive, easy (assuming a few things)
What is the size of the new drive, and what is the actual consumed space on the old drive?
Answers to that will dictate how we go forward with this.

 

[velocityg4]

Your new SSD should include cloning software. Which you can download from the manufacturer's website.

I prefer to use Macrium Reflect. The free version is fine.
https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree

Be sure to adjust the partition size for your boot partition to fully utilize your new SSD. Do not mess with the sizes of the System Reserved or Recovery partitions.
https://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW/Cloning+a+disk

 

[USAFRet]

Assuming the new SSD is larger than the consumed space on the old drive..exactly like this:

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
-----------------------------

 

[feezioxiii]

Thanks @USAFRet and @velocityg4 for fast reply!
Both my old and new SSD has the same capacity (480GB). The old one has consumed ~300 GB. And I won't reuse the old SSD after cloning everything to the new one.
And is it needed to disconnect other drives? (I have another HDD running as well)

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks @USAFRet and @velocityg4 for fast reply!
Both my old and new SSD has the same capacity (480GB). The old one has consumed ~300 GB. And I won't reuse the old SSD after cloning everything to the new one.
And is it needed to disconnect other drives? (I have another HDD running as well)

For safety sake, yes, disconnect any other drives. Takes but a few seconds, and prevents any "oops".

What's wrong with the old SSD? Make/model?

 

[feezioxiii]

Thanks @USAFRet and @velocityg4 for fast reply!
Both my old and new SSD has the same capacity (480GB). The old one has consumed ~300 GB. And I won't reuse the old SSD after cloning everything to the new one.
And is it needed to disconnect other drives? (I have another HDD running as well)

For safety sake, yes, disconnect any other drives. Takes but a few seconds, and prevents any "oops".

What's wrong with the old SSD? Make/model?

Nothing wrong with it 😀 I will give another friend of mine that old SSD so yeah.

Anyways, I will try your suggestion and reply back to this thread! 😛 Thank you for your answer@USAFRet

 

[USAFRet]

Nothing wrong with it 😀 I will give another friend of mine that old SSD so yeah.

Anyways, I will try your suggestion and reply back to this thread! 😛 Thank you for your answer@USAFRet

OK.
That series of steps is tried and true, tested and verified by multiple people.
Assuming no hardware issues, it will work.