SSD cloning question.

[boogieman.zhou]

So I am getting an SSD card for my MSI Z97 gaming 7 motherboard. It has a specific port for this, a m.2. I keep seeing something along the lines of you need to clone it and then disconnect the original drive and then attach the SSD to the same sata the other one had been using. Does this mean I cannot clone the original since my SSD uses its own specific hookup?

Thank you in advance.

 

[USAFRet]

So I am getting an SSD card for my MSI Z97 gaming 7 motherboard. It has a specific port for this, a m.2. I keep seeing something along the lines of you need to clone it and then disconnect the original drive and then attach the SSD to the same sata the other one had been using. Does this mean I cannot clone the original since my SSD uses its own specific hookup?

Thank you in advance.

Which specific m.2 SSD?

Yes, you can (probably) still do this. Disconnecting the original drive at the proper moment still holds true.

But...what size/make/model drive is this?
How much space is consumed on your current drive?

 

[boogieman.zhou]

I went with the Samsung 860 EVO 1TB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-76E1T0B/AM) that you suggested.

I have some things on that drive I would rather not move to the SSD but from what I understand it would be simpler to move them and then just transfer back the items I do not want on there. I am currently using 708 gm of the 1 tb drive it is currently on.

 

[USAFRet]

I went with the Samsung 860 EVO 1TB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-76E1T0B/AM) that you suggested.

I have some things on that drive I would rather not move to the SSD but from what I understand it would be simpler to move them and then just transfer back the items I do not want on there. I am currently using 708 gm of the 1 tb drive it is currently on.

Right, that is the easiest way.
Migrate everything, wipe the old drive, and then move some things (not applications) to the old drive as desired.

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

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

 

[boogieman.zhou]

I went with the Samsung 860 EVO 1TB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-76E1T0B/AM) that you suggested.

I have some things on that drive I would rather not move to the SSD but from what I understand it would be simpler to move them and then just transfer back the items I do not want on there. I am currently using 708 gm of the 1 tb drive it is currently on.

Right, that is the easiest way.
Migrate everything, wipe the old drive, and then move some things (not applications) to the old drive as desired.

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

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

That is the only confusion I have. When you say to swap the SATA cable. My motherboard has a direct plug in for the SSD so it will not be using a SATA cable. Do I need to do something other than plugging it into the m.2 SSD port?

 

[USAFRet]

Ignore the "Swap the SATA cables", but DO disconnect the old drive before you boot up for the first time after the cloning is complete.