Moving from a 1TB HDD to a 4TB HDD

[kerulberul]

Hi,
I currently have a 1TB HDD and i want to move everything in that HDD to a new 4TB HDD and make it my main drive. What's the best way for me to do this?

I'm currently on Windows 10

 

[glamdringfh]

Hi kerulberul,

I don't think you can clone your 1TB drive directly as 4TB drives need to be a different file format for Windows to access all 4TB.

1) I would first start by doing a full system backup of your current 1TB HDD to an external scource. You'll want to be able to restore from this external point after your fresh install of Windows on the 4TB HDD.

2) After backup, unplug your 1TB drive and plug-in your 4TB drive.

3) Follow this tutorial on installing Windows on a 4TB drive: http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-1923415/install-windows-3tb-4tb-larger-hdd.html

4) If you are using a Windows 7 installer you'll need to wait and upgrade to Windows 10 again before restoring your external backup. Once back on Windows 10 restore your files from the external backup.

5) From here you can turn off your rig and plug your 1TB drive back in. You could either reformat the 1TB drive in Device Manager to use the extra space for storage, or keep the drive intact as a backup (just in case). **Reformatting will erase ALL data from the drive, so be sure you have everything you want to keep backed up before doing that.

 

[Paperdoc]

I'll offer different answers.

FIRST, before you buy stuff, you need to check your motherboard's abilities. You want this new large HDD to be your "main drive", meaning you will boot from it. Well, to use all of any HDD over 2 TB you MUST have it Partitioned using the newer GPT system, rather than the MBR system. But to BOOT from such a unit your mobo MUST have a feature called UEFI Support, and that will need you to configure it a bit. A mobo lacking this feature cannot use a GPT-type HDD to boot from. So, verify whether you actually can boot from a large GPT-Partitioned drive. IF you don't have that UEFI Support in your mobo's BIOS, your alternative would be to keep your older HDD as your C: drive (assuming it is OK and your main aim is more space) and then buy and install a large second HDD. Since you are using Win 10, it will continue to boot from that old drive and it CAN Partition that new unit under GPT and allow you to use all its space. Win 10 just cannot solve the BOOT issue because the booting process requires that special feature in BIOS. Then you'd have two drives: one Partitioned in MBR format to use for booting without UEFI support in BIOS, and a second one over 2 TB Partitioned in GPT format to provide lots of space.

Now, IF you DO have UEFI Support in BIOS and thus CAN use a drive over 2 TB fully, the picture is much closer to what you want. I suspect strongly that some of the cloning utilities now offered for free by HDD manufacturers on their websites CAN handle the task of changing Partitioning systems. After all, the HDD makers want to make it easy for you to do exactly what you plan. To be sure, contact Tech Support at the company you choose and ask them specifically whether their utility can clone from an MBR drive to make a new GPT-style drive over 2 TB to boot from.

Here are a three points to know about this process.
1. Some HDD makers have free utility packages for download on their website to let you do the cloning operation for just this task. BUT each has customized the software so it only makes a clone TO one of their HDD units - they don't care who made your old drive. So if you buy a Seagate HDD, get their Disk Wizard package. If you buy a WD unit, get their Acronis True Image WD Edition package. In either case, check that you also get the instructional Manual document, and read it. These utilities can do a LOT more than cloning, and my next point is about using the menu systems to make a change, so you need to understand where the menus go.

2. As you start the cloning process, the first step is for you to specify the Source and Destination drive units. Make SURE you get this right because anything on the DESTINATION unit will be destroyed. You don't want to do that to the wrong drive! Then it will show you a proposed group of settings for the cloning operation, and ask you to approve and OK the job. Do NOT do that! In my experience, these tools often set up the sizes of proposed new Partitions on the large drive wrongly and fail to let you use all the new space, so you need to change those settings. If your old drive has two or more Partitions on it (one likely a System Reserved, and another large one that is your C: drive), the proposal will likely be to just duplicate the sizes, or maybe to make then new larger sizes in proportion to old sizes. That is not what you want, so there are maybe two changes to make:
(a) Assuming that the software allows it (you checked, right?), you will need to be sure it will do this using the GPT system, not the old MBR system.
(b) The size of the smaller System Reserved Partition does not really need to change - it will only contain the same stuff that was on the old drive's small Partition. BUT the new larger Partition to hold the C: drive should be made as large as possible to give you access to all of the new drive's space. Make those adjustments to the settings. When you're happy, THEN tell the software to go ahead.

Once the cloning has been done, shut down the system. Disconnect the old drive completely (leave it in or remove, as you wish) and connect the new larger drive to the SAME SATA port the old drive was on. Keep the old drive disconnected and unused for a while until you're sure that you got all your stuff copied off of it and don't need it any more - it is a perfect backup of your system up to the cloning time. AFTER that you can decide what to do with it. In the meantime, now that you have a new large HDD using the GPT system of Partitioning installed in your machine, you will probably need to boot directly into BIOS Setup and configure it to use the UEFI Support features on that new unit. You MAY also have to check that it is set up as your main boot device in the Boot Priority Sequence. When you've made your adjustments, don't forget to SAVE and EXIT from Setup so that the machine is permanently changed and can boot properly from the new system.

 

[kerulberul]

I'll offer different answers.

FIRST, before you buy stuff, you need to check your motherboard's abilities. You want this new large HDD to be your "main drive", meaning you will boot from it. Well, to use all of any HDD over 2 TB you MUST have it Partitioned using the newer GPT system, rather than the MBR system. But to BOOT from such a unit your mobo MUST have a feature called UEFI Support, and that will need you to configure it a bit. A mobo lacking this feature cannot use a GPT-type HDD to boot from. So, verify whether you actually can boot from a large GPT-Partitioned drive. IF you don't have that UEFI Support in your mobo's BIOS, your alternative would be to keep your older HDD as your C: drive (assuming it is OK and your main aim is more space) and then buy and install a large second HDD. Since you are using Win 10, it will continue to boot from that old drive and it CAN Partition that new unit under GPT and allow you to use all its space. Win 10 just cannot solve the BOOT issue because the booting process requires that special feature in BIOS. Then you'd have two drives: one Partitioned in MBR format to use for booting without UEFI support in BIOS, and a second one over 2 TB Partitioned in GPT format to provide lots of space.

Now, IF you DO have UEFI Support in BIOS and thus CAN use a drive over 2 TB fully, the picture is much closer to what you want. I suspect strongly that some of the cloning utilities now offered for free by HDD manufacturers on their websites CAN handle the task of changing Partitioning systems. After all, the HDD makers want to make it easy for you to do exactly what you plan. To be sure, contact Tech Support at the company you choose and ask them specifically whether their utility can clone from an MBR drive to make a new GPT-style drive over 2 TB to boot from.

Here are a three points to know about this process.
1. Some HDD makers have free utility packages for download on their website to let you do the cloning operation for just this task. BUT each has customized the software so it only makes a clone TO one of their HDD units - they don't care who made your old drive. So if you buy a Seagate HDD, get their Disk Wizard package. If you buy a WD unit, get their Acronis True Image WD Edition package. In either case, check that you also get the instructional Manual document, and read it. These utilities can do a LOT more than cloning, and my next point is about using the menu systems to make a change, so you need to understand where the menus go.

2. As you start the cloning process, the first step is for you to specify the Source and Destination drive units. Make SURE you get this right because anything on the DESTINATION unit will be destroyed. You don't want to do that to the wrong drive! Then it will show you a proposed group of settings for the cloning operation, and ask you to approve and OK the job. Do NOT do that! In my experience, these tools often set up the sizes of proposed new Partitions on the large drive wrongly and fail to let you use all the new space, so you need to change those settings. If your old drive has two or more Partitions on it (one likely a System Reserved, and another large one that is your C: drive), the proposal will likely be to just duplicate the sizes, or maybe to make then new larger sizes in proportion to old sizes. That is not what you want, so there are maybe two changes to make:
(a) Assuming that the software allows it (you checked, right?), you will need to be sure it will do this using the GPT system, not the old MBR system.
(b) The size of the smaller System Reserved Partition does not really need to change - it will only contain the same stuff that was on the old drive's small Partition. BUT the new larger Partition to hold the C: drive should be made as large as possible to give you access to all of the new drive's space. Make those adjustments to the settings. When you're happy, THEN tell the software to go ahead.

Once the cloning has been done, shut down the system. Disconnect the old drive completely (leave it in or remove, as you wish) and connect the new larger drive to the SAME SATA port the old drive was on. Keep the old drive disconnected and unused for a while until you're sure that you got all your stuff copied off of it and don't need it any more - it is a perfect backup of your system up to the cloning time. AFTER that you can decide what to do with it. In the meantime, now that you have a new large HDD using the GPT system of Partitioning installed in your machine, you will probably need to boot directly into BIOS Setup and configure it to use the UEFI Support features on that new unit. You MAY also have to check that it is set up as your main boot device in the Boot Priority Sequence. When you've made your adjustments, don't forget to SAVE and EXIT from Setup so that the machine is permanently changed and can boot properly from the new system.

thanks for the solution. wow that's a lot of info to take in.
i think my mobo supports UEFI but current im on BIOS. I'm using a p8h77-m. so must i convert my current HDD from MBR to GPT? or can i just use a cloning software immediately?

 

[dfk]

to use a larger than 2TB hdd as system disk, u need to fit the requirements:
1. 64 bit OS
2. GPT format
3. UEFI bios

since you already on win 10 (64bit), you might need to download Disk Unlocker utility from asus website:
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8H77M/HelpDesk_Download/

install that, reboot and connect your 4TB HDD, go to disk management > delete the RAW volume of your new 4TB disk and create a new GPT volume. your pc should show the full 4TB usable now as data disk.

however to use it as a boot drive, i'm not sure if it's possible since P8H77M is not UEFI bios? you can check your original boot disk in disk management wether it is MBR or GPT. an easy way to see is if there is an 'Healthy EFI partition' then it is in UEFI.

you can try cloning your OS to the GPT 4TB but it might not boot windows since your BIOS is not UEFI.

you also cannot convert MBR to GPT for boot disk I think, or OS wont boot.

 

[kerulberul]

to use a larger than 2TB hdd as system disk, u need to fit the requirements:
1. 64 bit OS
2. GPT format
3. UEFI bios

since you already on win 10 (64bit), you might need to download Disk Unlocker utility from asus website:
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/P8H77M/HelpDesk_Download/

install that, reboot and connect your 4TB HDD, go to disk management > delete the RAW volume of your new 4TB disk and create a new GPT volume. your pc should show the full 4TB usable now as data disk.

however to use it as a boot drive, i'm not sure if it's possible since P8H77M is not UEFI bios? you can check your original boot disk in disk management wether it is MBR or GPT. an easy way to see is if there is an 'Healthy EFI partition' then it is in UEFI.

you can try cloning your OS to the GPT 4TB but it might not boot windows since your BIOS is not UEFI.

you also cannot convert MBR to GPT for boot disk I think, or OS wont boot.

i don't see a disk unlocker utility from the link

 

[dfk]

Disk Unlocker V2.1.2 for Windows Win7 32bit & Win7 64bit & Win8 32bit & Win8 64bit.
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/misc/utils/Disk_Unlocker_V212_V213_XPWin7_8.zip

There isnt any for win 10.

 

[kerulberul]

Disk Unlocker V2.1.2 for Windows Win7 32bit & Win7 64bit & Win8 32bit & Win8 64bit.
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/misc/utils/Disk_Unlocker_V212_V213_XPWin7_8.zip

There isnt any for win 10.

should i still do it? i don't see my mobo in the compatible list. http://event.asus.com/mb/2010/Disk_Unlocker/

 

[dfk]

Disk Unlocker V2.1.2 for Windows Win7 32bit & Win7 64bit & Win8 32bit & Win8 64bit.
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/misc/utils/Disk_Unlocker_V212_V213_XPWin7_8.zip

There isnt any for win 10.

should i still do it? i don't see my mobo in the compatible list. http://event.asus.com/mb/2010/Disk_Unlocker/

Is your 4TB HDD usable now? if so there is no need to, it only helps if your disk shows 2TB out of 4TB usable. I cant guarantee it will work but since it works for win 8 and 7 (V212), it might work with 10.

This is for using the 4TB as data disk not boot drive, it wont touch your original 1TB HDD but it's best to backup important files before doing so.

 

[Paperdoc]

You do NOT need to convert your old HDD from MBR to GPT. In fact, doing that would probably wipe it out!

Your mobo DOES have UEFI Support. See your manual, p. 2-26, Section 2.7.6. There you set which type of HDD you can boot from. The first option, which is to Enable booting from both UEFI and Legacy HDD types, is what you should set for now. That way you can continue to boot from your old HDD with its existing MBR-style Partition. PLUS, after you have cloned to the new large HDD with a tool that Partitions it in GPT style, you will be able to use that as the new boot drive. After you have made that change and will not be trying to boot from an older (MBR style) HDD you can come back and change this BIOS Setup option to "Disable Legacy".

I missed what dfk pointed out: you WILL need to be using the 64-bit version of Win 10, and your original post did not specify whether you currently are using (from your old HDD) the 32-bit or 64-bit version. If you are NOT using 64-bit already, that change is needed.

With Win 10 64-bit and your mobo's UEFI Support in BIOS, you should be able to do this change without using Disk Unlocker. That OS and that BIOS together allow you full use of the entire space of the large HDD as long as it is Partitioned using the GPT system. As I said in my earlier post, the one thing you will need that you have to verify is whether the cloning utility you use can make that change for you: from smaller MBR-style HDD to large HDD with a GPT-style Partition with complete cloning of all your old data so the new drive is bootable.

 

[kerulberul]

You do NOT need to convert your old HDD from MBR to GPT. In fact, doing that would probably wipe it out!

Your mobo DOES have UEFI Support. See your manual, p. 2-26, Section 2.7.6. There you set which type of HDD you can boot from. The first option, which is to Enable booting from both UEFI and Legacy HDD types, is what you should set for now. That way you can continue to boot from your old HDD with its existing MBR-style Partition. PLUS, after you have cloned to the new large HDD with a tool that Partitions it in GPT style, you will be able to use that as the new boot drive. After you have made that change and will not be trying to boot from an older (MBR style) HDD you can come back and change this BIOS Setup option to "Disable Legacy".

I missed what dfk pointed out: you WILL need to be using the 64-bit version of Win 10, and your original post did not specify whether you currently are using (from your old HDD) the 32-bit or 64-bit version. If you are NOT using 64-bit already, that change is needed.

With Win 10 64-bit and your mobo's UEFI Support in BIOS, you should be able to do this change without using Disk Unlocker. That OS and that BIOS together allow you full use of the entire space of the large HDD as long as it is Partitioned using the GPT system. As I said in my earlier post, the one thing you will need that you have to verify is whether the cloning utility you use can make that change for you: from smaller MBR-style HDD to large HDD with a GPT-style Partition with complete cloning of all your old data so the new drive is bootable.

Yes I am using a 64 bit version of win10.
also the software you mentioned can i use acronis? or are there other software that i should use.
so let me lay out of the steps that i think i need to do from reading your post.

1) go to my bios and enable both uefi and legacy boot
2) use a program to format my new hdd to GPT.
3) use a cloning utility to clone my old hdd to the new hdd
4) Disable legacy boot.

 

[dfk]

To get the MBR to GPT clone to boot, you will need to install Windows onto the 4TB then clone your current boot drive onto it (overwriting that freshly installed Windows), this is so that the Windows installation process will sector your new hdd properly into GPT format.

BIOS > boot > [Enable both UEFI and Legacy Boot], save and restart.

Using Acronis (use the bootable live CD/USB not the Windows one), perform a full backup of your current boot drive to a third disk.
(you can skip this by directly cloning the current boot drive onto the new disk with a cloning tool like Clonezilla)

Now to install Windows, insert the DVD/USB (if using USB make sure it's already formatted as GPT partition scheme for UEFI), then in BIOS boot device menu, select the UEFI mode of the DVD/USB and boot to setup.

Install Windows onto the new 4TB drive, be sure to Initialize the new disk as GPT partition. You can confirm you're in UEFI mode as 3 partitions (EFI, MSR, and Main) will be created.

After restart and boot to Acronis and restore the full backup onto the new drive containing the freshly installed OS.

Restart and select boot device to boot from your new GPT drive with OS restored.

You can disable legacy boot later so it wont boot from the MBR disk or disconnect/format the 1TB once the clone is confirmed working.

 

[kerulberul]

To get the MBR to GPT clone to boot, you will need to install Windows onto the 4TB then clone your current boot drive onto it (overwriting that freshly installed Windows), this is so that the Windows installation process will sector your new hdd properly into GPT format.

BIOS > boot > [Enable both UEFI and Legacy Boot], save and restart.

Using Acronis (use the bootable live CD/USB not the Windows one), perform a full backup of your current boot drive to a third disk.
(you can skip this by directly cloning the current boot drive onto the new disk with a cloning tool like Clonezilla)

Now to install Windows, insert the DVD/USB (if using USB make sure it's already formatted as GPT partition scheme for UEFI), then in BIOS boot device menu, select the UEFI mode of the DVD/USB and boot to setup.

Install Windows onto the new 4TB drive, be sure to Initialize the new disk as GPT partition. You can confirm you're in UEFI mode as 3 partitions (EFI, MSR, and Main) will be created.

After restart and boot to Acronis and restore the full backup onto the new drive containing the freshly installed OS.

Restart and select boot device to boot from your new GPT drive with OS restored.

You can disable legacy boot later so it wont boot from the MBR disk or disconnect/format the 1TB once the clone is confirmed working.

so right now both my hdd are in GPT. i used easeus. but right now im stuck as i have no idea what to do next.

 

[dfk]

i havent used Easeus, why is the original MBR boot drive in GPT?

can u upload a screenshot of disk management?

 

[kerulberul]

i havent used Easeus, why is the original MBR boot drive in GPT?

can u upload a screenshot of disk management?

 

[dfk]

Thanks, assuming u havent done anything to your boot drive, it seems to be already in GPT all along. so u can go ahead and backup the whole 1TB boot drive (including all partitions) to a 3rd disk (need about 1TB), or use a clone tool to clone from 1TB to 4TB.

Remember to change boot device to boot from 4TB after cloning, if it doesnt boot then u might need to install Windows first (refer to the first link posted by glamdringfh) on the 4TB then clone from 1TB to 4TB again. It might be better to do this step (installing Windows on new drive) before cloning anyway.

 

[kerulberul]

Thanks, assuming u havent done anything to your boot drive, it seems to be already in GPT all along. so u can go ahead and backup the whole 1TB boot drive (including all partitions) to a 3rd disk (need about 1TB), or use a clone tool to clone from 1TB to 4TB.

Remember to change boot device to boot from 4TB after cloning, if it doesnt boot then u might need to install Windows first (refer to the first link posted by glamdringfh) on the 4TB then clone from 1TB to 4TB again. It might be better to do this step (installing Windows on new drive) before cloning anyway.

I don't have a 3rd disk. is there other ways for me to do? i have already installed windows on the 4tb hdd

 

[dfk]

I'm not sure how to with easeus, you can try either of these 2.

free version of Macrium Reflect:
http://www.howtogeek.com/199068/how-to-upgrade-your-existing-hard-drive-in-under-an-hour/

clone device to device with Clonezilla:
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/windows-and-office/how-do-i-clone-a-hard-drive-with-clonezilla/

be careful when selecting which target disk to clone to, thats why a full image (not clone) of your original boot drive to a 3rd disk is good for backup just in case.

 

[USAFRet]

Alternate solution:

Why are you moving from a 1TB HDD to a 4TB HDD? Unless the current 1TB is on its last legs, I'd leave it, and just add the 4TB as a secondary drive.

 

[kerulberul]

thanks everyone i'll think ill just give up and use the 4tb as a secondary drive. can someone show me the proper steps to remove the win10 that i installed on the new hdd?

 

[USAFRet]

thanks everyone i'll think ill just give up and use the 4tb as a secondary drive. can someone show me the proper steps to remove the win10 that i installed on the new hdd?

Assuming there is nothing critical on the 4TB, and assuming the OS install on the original 1TB still works perfectly:

Verify the 1TB is 1st in the boot order
Boot up just to verify the 1TB works 100%
Connect the 4TB
Open up Disk Management, and wipe out all partitions on it. Format, and give it a drive letter.