[SOLVED] New SSD Drive Installation Question

[dadalka]

This will be my first SSD Drive install.

1: Back up sata drive to a second drive using Macrium backup.

2: Set new SSD Drive to GPT using diskpart

3: Format SSD Drive to NTFS using Parted Magic

4: Restore the system from the sata drive to the ssd drive using Macrium Rescue disk.

Does this sound right?

 

[hotaru.hino]

For a system disk, #3 doesn't sound right. A typical Windows standalone system disk needs a separate partition to hold the boot loader and recovery environment. If you create a partition to cover the entire drive, you won't have space for those partitions.

Though this is assuming recovering from a disk image using Macrium Rescue Disk doesn't just wipe the drive anyway and create the necessary boot loader and recovery environment partition.

Also Windows has a system image creation tool that you can recover from the Windows recovery/install environment (https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...s-11-and/036110b8-66bb-4cc7-b9e2-2d66df27d236)

 

[dwd999]

This will be my first SSD Drive install.

1: Back up sata drive to a second drive using Macrium backup.

2: Set new SSD Drive to GPT using diskpart

3: Format SSD Drive to NTFS using Parted Magic

4: Restore the system from the sata drive to the ssd drive using Macrium Rescue disk.

Does this sound right?

The important question is whether or not the old drive is a GPT disk; if so there should be no problem. If the old drive is an MBR disk that would be a problem.

This could be easier if you use Macrium's clone function; you just copy all of the partitions onto the new ssd so steps 1 and 3 would not be necessary. Cloning is easiest especially if the old and new drives are not the same size.

If you decide to go the image route and properly image the old drive with Macrium part 3 is not necessary; the image will contain all of the partition and formatting information needed to set up the new drive where all of the space will be unallocated. You just let Macrium copy all the partitions from the image of the old drive onto the new.

 

[USAFRet]

This will be my first SSD Drive install.

1: Back up sata drive to a second drive using Macrium backup.

2: Set new SSD Drive to GPT using diskpart

3: Format SSD Drive to NTFS using Parted Magic

4: Restore the system from the sata drive to the ssd drive using Macrium Rescue disk.

Does this sound right?

Are you looking to clone from the existing HDD to a new SSD?
#4 seems to indicate that.

Size/make/model of these drives?
And what OS and motherboard is involved?

 

[dadalka]

The old sata drive is a 2gig GPT. The new SSD is 2 gig GPT. OS = Windows 11 Pro, Mother Board = Asus z690-A WiFi D4

 

[USAFRet]

The old sata drive is a 2gig GPT. The new SSD is 2 gig GPT. OS = Windows 11 Pro, Mother Board = Asus z690-A WiFi D4

How full is the old drive?


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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
Both drives must be the same partitioning scheme, either MBR or GPT
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
If you are cloning from a SATA drive to PCIe/NVMe, you may need to install the relevant driver for this new NVMe/PCIe drive.
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

[Ignore this section if using the SDM. It does this automatically]
If you are going from a smaller drive to a larger, by default, the target partition size will be the same as the Source. You probably don't want that
You can manipulate the size of the partitions on the target (larger)drive
Click on "Cloned Partition Properties", and you can specifiy the resulting partition size, to even include the whole thing
[/end ignore]

Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD. This is not optional.
This is to allow the system to try to boot from ONLY the SSD

(swapping cables is irrelevant with NVMe drives, but DO disconnect the old drive for this next part)
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 all partitions on it.
This will probably require the commandline diskpart function, and the clean command.

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

 

[dadalka]

Thanks for the help. New drive will be here today.