OS to SSD without fresh install of everything

Jan 23, 2019
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10
I recently bought a Samsung 860 EVO SSD. I would like to migrate my OS from my hard drive to my SSD without having to lose/reinstall everything on my hard drive. Is this possible, or will I just have to suck it up and get on with it?

NOTE: Both my HDD and SSD are 1TB
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


Exactly like this:
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Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
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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.
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The prime mediocre

Distinguished
It's totally possible! I believe the current favorite for a one-off OS drive clone is Macrium Reflect. I usually do a full reinstall because I'm a freak. But I haven't had to do it since I installed an NVMe drive in 2017, and have not really noticed any Windows performance degradation.
 
Jan 23, 2019
3
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10
What about problems with double booting? I've tried something similar to this in the past, and when I tried to boot with the OS on the SSD and still on the HDD (Before being able to delete - so first boot) it would give some sort of error about double booting. This may have been win 8, so I'm unsure if this is different with win 10.

PS: Thanks for your help :)
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator


Per the steps above, you let the system boot up with only the SSD connected.
Then, you ensure that the SSD is before the HDD in the boot order.
Then you wipe the contents of the HDD.

No problem.
 
Jan 23, 2019
3
0
10


Okay, I'll try it when I finish work, thanks :)