moving new ssd os etc to old ssd

[floatee]

so i just bought a huawei laptop with a 256gb ssd. it's meant to replace my old lenovo with a 500gb samsung ssd. i would like to put the samsung in the new machine but i gather it's not as easy as swapping out one for the other without running into various problems. i think this means that i need to take the os etc from the 256gb ssd and put it all on the old 500gb ssd, whilest at the same time somehow leaving all the old stuff on the 500gb ssd intact; ie, all my files and pictures and videos and so forth.

how do i do that? or am i barking up the wrong tree?

thanks!

 

[Peter Martin]

Can’t do it that way. Back up the samsung. Then you can clone the 256 to the 500

 

[USAFRet]

Wrong tree, wrong forest.

Just for verification...currently:
huawei, 250GB SSD
Lenovo, 500GB SSD with existing data.

Desired end result:
huawei, 500GB
Lenovo, 250GB

The actual OS for each system will stay with that system, just on a different drive. Correct?

You will need a 3rd drive for this...an external HDD would work. Do you have one, maybe 1TB?
How much space is consumed on the current Lenovo 500GB?

 

[Lutfij]

Before we can even say it's impossible, mind sharing your laptop's SKU's? We're expecting to see SKU's for both your laptops mind you. If possible, can you also include the make and model of your Samsung SSD?

Backing up critical content from either drive onto a portable storage device, isn't out of the scope of possibilities.

 

[floatee]

thanks, all. here's the additional info. any help you can offer is much appreciated!

New laptop:
Huawei MateBook D Signature Edition 14” IPS FHD Touch, AMD Ryzen™ 5 2500U , 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Radeon Vega 8 Graphics
https://goo.gl/bN5tMw
sku 507473681

old laptop:
Lenovo - Edge 2-in-1 15.6" Touch-Screen Laptop - Intel Core i3 - 8GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - Black. Model:EDGE 15 - 80K90013US. SKU:4675800.

Old Samsung: Samsung 850 EVO 500GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E500B/AM)
Bought in dec 2016
about 275gb of total 500gb used.

i do have an external hdd with maybe 1tb on it.

 

[USAFRet]

What specific drive is in the Huawei ?


"about 275gb of total 500gb used."

This is an issue.
For a full swap, that actual used space must be below 200GB.


Your external drive will need about 750GB actual free space.

 

[floatee]

What specific drive is in the Huawei ?
"about 275gb of total 500gb used."
This is an issue.
For a full swap, that actual used space must be below 200GB.
Your external drive will need about 750GB actual free space.

1 / the huawei drive is: SSD: Sandisk SD9SN8W256G1027

2/ actual old ssd figures are: 273gb free out of 462gb. i can move files to free up more space if necessary.

3/ i do have a hdd with about 900gb free.

hope this helps and that you can offer a solution!

 

[USAFRet]

OK.
Conceptually, we're going to create an Image of each full drive, and save that on to the external. Image, not clone.
Then, apply that Image to the relevant drive and laptop.

You will also need a blank USB stick.

1. Verify the actual used space on the 500GB drive is below 200GB. It appears to be, but verify.
2. On the old system first, install Macrium Reflect. The free version works.
3. Connect your external drive
4. Run the Macrium.
5. Create a Macrium Rescue USB.
6. Within the Macrium software, select ALL partitions on your 500GB drive, and tell the software to make an Image of that on the external. Not a clone...an Image. Give it a specific file name, or put it in a labeled folder . "TheLenovoDrive"), for instance.
7. That that USB to the new laptop, either boot up from that USB, or install Macrium on that.
8. Do the same Image thing...again, give it a specific file name. "huawei _ drive", or whatever. Anything so that you know which is which.

so...now that we have a full drive image of BOTH laptop drives existing on the external, we swap the physical drives around.

Once done with that...
9. On either system, boot up from that Macrium Rescue US
10. Tell it which Image you wish to apply to the laptop you're on right now. Lenovo_Image goes with the Lenovo system.
11. Once done, connect the external to the other system, boot up from the Rescue USB, and do the same thing

This should work.

 

[floatee]

okay, i'm making the images right now. a few questions, 'cause i'm still slightly muddled and confused.

so, before swapping the physical drives, what we've done is created images of both ssds on the external drive.

then we do the swap: the 500gb goes in the new laptop and the 256gb goes in the old lenovo laptop.

then i use macrium to put the 256gb image on the 500gb ssd, which is in the new huawei laptop, and the 500gb image on the 256gb ssd, which is now in the old lenovo laptop.

question:

when i put the 256 gb image on the 500gb ssd, what happens to all the files and whatnot that are on the 500gb ssd? are they wiped out? if so, do i then have to reinstall all the programs and copy/paste all the old folders and files to the 500gb ssd from a backup (which i have yet to make)?

similarly, when i put the 500gb image on the the 256gb ssd, does that wipe out everything on the 256gb ssd?

 

[USAFRet]

okay, i'm making the images right now. a few questions, 'cause i'm still slightly muddled and confused.

so, before swapping the physical drives, what we've done is created images of both ssds on the external drive.

then we do the swap: the 500gb goes in the new laptop and the 256gb goes in the old lenovo laptop.

then i use macrium to put the 256gb image on the 500gb ssd, which is in the new huawei laptop, and the 500gb image on the 256gb ssd, which is now in the old lenovo laptop.

question:

when i put the 256 gb image on the 500gb ssd, what happens to all the files and whatnot that are on the 500gb ssd? are they wiped out? if so, do i then have to reinstall all the programs and copy/paste all the old folders and files to the 500gb ssd from a backup (which i have yet to make)?

similarly, when i put the 500gb image on the the 256gb ssd, does that wipe out everything on the 256gb ssd?

Everything on each physical drive is wiped out, and replaced by what is in each Image.
The Image contains everything that was on that drive. Not just the OS....everything. A full representation of the entire drive.

 

[floatee]

thanks for that. so before i wipe everything out on the old 500gb ssd, i need to back everything up so that i can restore one and all after i've put the 250gb image on it. what's a good program to do that with, that'll allow for easy transfer to the 500gb ssd? (yes, i know i should have been making backups all along but i've been remiss, as you can tell.) i'll have to reinstall all my programs, too, right?

 

[floatee]

ah, i see that i do have bvckup 2 installed, though i haven't used it in a long time. guess i'll use that to back up my files and then move them that way.

 

[USAFRet]

thanks for that. so before i wipe everything out on the old 500gb ssd, i need to back everything up so that i can restore one and all after i've put the 250gb image on it. what's a good program to do that with, that'll allow for easy transfer to the 500gb ssd? (yes, i know i should have been making backups all along but i've been remiss, as you can tell.) i'll have to reinstall all my programs, too, right?

The steps outlined above does exactly what you're looking for.
Those 2 "images" are sort of a backup. One for each drive.

You don't need to create another backup, unless you want to.
This is why we're using the external drive as an intermediary, and creating both images before you swap the physical drives around.

 

[USAFRet]

i'll have to reinstall all my programs, too, right?

You will not have to "reinstall" anything.

Each system will be exactly how it was originally, just with a different size drive.
OS, programs, data...everything.

 

[floatee]

well, i'm still muddled, through no fault of your own, obviously. i'm just operating a little out of my depths. that said, i'm making another backup of the 500gb ssd just in case all hell breaks loose. after that, i'll follow your directions and see how i fare. i mean, what's the worst than could happen? ha!

 

[floatee]

thanks for that. so before i wipe everything out on the old 500gb ssd, i need to back everything up so that i can restore one and all after i've put the 250gb image on it. what's a good program to do that with, that'll allow for easy transfer to the 500gb ssd? (yes, i know i should have been making backups all along but i've been remiss, as you can tell.) i'll have to reinstall all my programs, too, right?

The steps outlined above does exactly what you're looking for.
Those 2 "images" are sort of a backup. One for each drive.

You don't need to create another backup, unless you want to.
This is why we're using the external drive as an intermediary, and creating both images before you swap the physical drives around.

hmm. okay. but when i put the 256gd image on the 500gb ssd, it wipes everything out on the 500gb ssd, so it only contains what's on the 256gb image, right? and if everything is wiped out, then i keep thinking that i have to somehow get all the old wiped out files etc back onto the 500gb ssd ... right? or am i still missing something?

 

[USAFRet]

From my original steps, in basic terms:

You're making a FULL copy of each drive. Saved to the external, in 2 different files. Lenovo.mrimage and Huawei .mrimage.

Each Image is a representation of the entire contents of the drive as it exists right now.

You then tell the Macrium software to apply that Image to a drive. Could be the original drive, could be any other drive in that same laptop.(hence the swapping).

 

[USAFRet]

OK...2 cans of paint. Pink (1 gal) and Blue (2 gal, only 1/2 full).

A 3rd bucket, with 2 different sections.

You pour the Pink can into section 1 of the 3rd bucket
You pour the Blue can into section 2 of the 3rd bucket.

Then, the magic happens.
You siphon the Pink section into the 2 gal Blue bucket
You siphon the Blue section into the 1 gal Pink bucket.

What used to be in the Pink is now in the Blue.
What used to be in the Blue is now in the Pink.


Any clearer?

 

[floatee]

sorry to be such an idiot. let me take another shot in the dark at my confusion. seems to me that i need to put the huawei image onto my 500gb ssd, because the huawei image contains all the huawei-specific info that's necessary to run the 500gb ssd on the hauwei. do i have that right? if i do, then what's going to end up on the 500gb ssd is only hauwei stuff and none of the old lenovo stuff. or am i still lost? if so, then I'll stop with the questions and try to figure it out on my own, as i go. it's very frustrating to no longer have a first-rate or even a second-rate mind (i'm very old, with all the cognitive issues that come with the territory. sigh.)

 

[USAFRet]

sorry to be such an idiot. let me take another shot in the dark at my confusion. seems to me that i need to put the huawei image onto my 500gb ssd, because the huawei image contains all the huawei-specific info that's necessary to run the 500gb ssd on the hauwei. do i have that right? if i do, then what's going to end up on the 500gb ssd is only hauwei stuff and none of the old lenovo stuff. or am i still lost? if so, then I'll stop with the questions and try to figure it out on my own, as i go. it's very frustrating to no longer have a first-rate or even a second-rate mind (i'm very old, with all the cognitive issues that come with the territory. sigh.)

We're putting an Image of each drive onto the external drive first.
Having those, we then apply that Image to its relevant system, on whatever drive is in it, using the bootable Rescue USB you created earlier.

On the external, we have a full representation of both drives at the same time.

And after you create the bootable Rescue CD or USB, test it to make sure it works.

 

[floatee]

well, okay. i see what you're saying but i also see what i'm saying. in any event, i'm going to put the 256gb image on the 500gb ssd in the new computer, which will erase everything that's now on the 500gb drive, and install all my old files from the 500gb ssd on it via a backup. that's the only thing that makes sense to me now.
thanks for your help!

 

[USAFRet]

well, okay. i see what you're saying but i also see what i'm saying. in any event, i'm going to put the 256gb image on the 500gb ssd in the new computer, which will erase everything that's now on the 500gb drive, and install all my old files from the 500gb ssd on it via a backup. that's the only thing that makes sense to me now.
thanks for your help!

OK.
But that "via backup" is not needed, and potentially the absolute wrong thing to do.
Depending on how you make this backup and with what...it may not work with a different drive, or may try to recover stuff from the wrong drive.
A current "backup" of the 500GB drive will be the Lenovo. You can't restore that to the Huawei, no matter which physical drive you're working with.

Please...just try what I listed above. That will work.

 

[floatee]

I think my brain is beginning to shut down for the day. And I don't want to belabor this for too much longer.

at this point, when you say do what you listed, I think you are referring to this : "Tell it which Image you wish to apply to the laptop you're on right now. Lenovo_Image goes with the Lenovo system."

I guess I simply don't understand what you are telling me to do. Could you spell it out step by step one more time as if you were speaking to a fourth grader? If I can't get it then, I'm going to throw up my hands and go drown myself in a fifth of vodka.

 

[USAFRet]

OK...

Using Macrium Reflect, we create a few things.
1. A Rescue USB or CD to boot from later

2. An Image of each systems current drive. 1 - Lenovo.mrimage, 2 = Huwai.mrimage. These two Images are saved to the external drive.

3. We swap the physical drives, to whatever we want to end up in whichever laptop

4. We then boot from the Rescue USB we created earlier, and apply the relevan inage to the relevant laptop.
Lenovo.mrimage to the Lenovo, etc.

This wipes out whatever is on that drive (used to be the huawei data)
But that Huawei data still exists in the Image that we saved on the external. Nothing is lost.

5. We then repeat the process for the other laptop.

The Lenovo ends up with the original Lenovo data...all of it...on the 250GB SSD.
The Huawei ends up with Huawei data on the 500GB SSD, in the Huawei laptop.

 

[floatee]

okay, thanks a million, i think i get it, but, of course, i still have a question. you write:

"The Lenovo ends up with the original Lenovo data...all of it...on the 250GB SSD.
The Huawei ends up with Huawei data on the 500GB SSD, in the Huawei laptop."

but what i want to know is how to get the original lenovo data -- the user files and folders -- onto the 500gb ssd, which now only has the huawei data on it. that's what i've been trying to figure out all along. iow, that's the only thing i've been unsure about for the past several messages. am i not explaining myself clear enough?