SSD Transfer problem

[zorrr]

So I've been through a load of threads on this and spent a day trying to DiY it - figured it's time to ask the experts!

My main box is a bit of a mess but I can't bear to reinstall all apps again (too many and too granular) so trying to copy over my Win8.1 install to a new SSD. I think the main problem is there's a 100MB Win7 starter partition on a data drive that makes it all work - without that I can't get anywhere so far.

I copied over all data using Easeus Todo Backup Free

Tried various combinations of starting with only the SSD or old OS HDD plugged in and trying to get a new boot system set up. It looks weird from the Win8.1 recovery disk - Windows appears as being on drive X:

Tried so far - automatic repair, all the bootrec commands and bcdedit (fails to copy files)

When drive with 100MB boot partition is disconnected, Win8.1 recovery cannot see any OS with bootrec / scanos or /rebuildbcd.

Hope this post makes sense, I'd really appreciate any advice on this!

 

[DarkSable]

Ouch, even using the best paid programs out there (like acronis) this would be hideous. Transferring an install to a SSD is just asking for trouble, in so many different ways.

I really do suggest you just bite the bullet and reinstall the OS now - it's going to be a lot more unpleasant if you have to do it after multiple more days of trying to figure out how to transfer it. Just make a list of the programs that you want to remember to reinstall, and spend a day doing that, rather than many days trying to figure out how to "make the process easier."

 

[zorrr]

Damn, but it's so close! I even managed to get it to boot from SSD at one point but as the original C: drive was still visible it seemed to have drive letter problems. I honestly have way too much to reinstall and just cant face a vanilla Windows again right now - Adobe Suite, 2 DAW's and endless plugins that I currently need for work.

It seems to me that the first step might be just to get my current Windows booting directly from it's own drive rather than going from the 100MB boot partition - this is possible, right? If I can just get that done and have one independent setup there then hopefully it will make things a lot more straightforward to transfer the working system to another drive.

 

[DarkSable]

Weeelll... yeah, that's an option.

But think about the fact that it's now two days after you made your original post, and you had already spent a day...

Is it really more of a pain to re-install adobe than this has been and will be continuing into the future?

It's also a very bad idea to try to just migrate an install to a SSD because of issues like these and future issues that could easily occur in the future.

 

[zorrr]

Thanks Darksable. I'm looking at this in the long run right now - A) I have a working system so no rush B) I enjoy learning more about how Windows boots, runs etc.

And yes it really is more of a pain to reinstall. I'm not aware of long term problems with an SSD migration - can you fill me in? I can see loads of tutorials available on the process with a simpler setup than mine.

 

[WyomingKnott]

I can't answer this reliably for windows 8, as I have had the good fortune not to use it yet.

The 100MB partition is actually a recovery partition, not the boot sector. It gets written to a drive other than your system drive on the principal that, if you are doing a recovery, your system drive may be plotzed.

With Windows 7, the way to fix this was to disconnect every drive but your unbootable Win7 drive, boot from the Win7 disc, and do a Repair Install. Works every time, creates a boot sector but does not create the 100 MB recovery partition.

But you will have to get someone with more knowledge of Win8 to tell you if that will work with 8. If it does, will it resolve your problem?

EDIT: Read also this: http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/26095-repair-install-windows-8-a.html . I haven't read the thing closely enough to see if A) it will solve your problem, and B) it won't mess other things up. You do have an image backup, do you not?

 

[James Mason]

Actually with Acronis True Image you can image the whole drive (including that hidden partition) in an extremely easy process. Like all you have to do is say choose the source drive (your old one) choose the destination drive (your new one) tell it to do a proportional size image (so it takes your 128 gbs and makes it 128gbs on your new 256gb ssd or whatever) and then tell it to do it's thing. it'll think for a min, asks you if it's okay to restart your computer, it does, and then it takes about 15-30 mins to do a transfer (that actually depends greatly on size, I used it to image a base install of windows with office and chrome and an antivirus onto 75 hard drives, the image was only 30 gbs maybe, and it took about 8 mins to do one), then it shutdowns and you're good to go. (might wanna unplug the old drive just so it boots from the new one)

But if your data is bad (corrupted) transfering it to new SSD wont fix it.

Also you can get a 30-day free trial of acronis true image, so it wouldn't hurt to try.

 

[zorrr]

Thanks for all the thoughts - WyomingKnott I used to really like that Windows repair feature in XP, 7 etc. Yes it would resolve my problem, shame they've messed it up now in 8 - I can't get the SSD to boot properly so I doubt the install from inside windows would work ...

Seems like this might be useful? But I don't know if it would sort things out with all drives apart from newly cloned SSD connected. Any thoughts?
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/3610-refresh-windows-8-create-use-custom-recovery-image.html

James the data is fine, its just the boot sector or whatever it is - is on a data drive, not my main OS HDD so Windows won't currently boot without the data drive attached. Hence the cloned SSD also won't boot so far..

I think what I need to do is setup the boot sector on the Windows HDD first - can anyone help with that?

 

[James Mason]

Fixing an MBR isnt too hard: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/win7-windows-7-mbr,10036.html

 

[zorrr]

Thanks James. Thought I'd try and keep things simple by using Windows custom refresh. Made a recovery image in working Win8.1, then copied all to SSD (again) using EASUS transfer.

Unplugged everything but the SSD - and now I can't get either the recovery USB drive OR Windows 8.1 installer (also on USB) to boot!

Currently -

Nothing plugged in but SSD - "disk read error"
Recovery disk plugged in - "boot\bcd missing or contains errors 0xc000000f"
Win 8.1 USB installer plugged in - blue screen instead of black, "0xc000000e error"

*sigh*

I guess I'll go back to the working Win 8.1 HDD and try James' BCD suggestion, though I ran into some issue last time I tried that.

 

[James Mason]

Thanks James. Thought I'd try and keep things simple by using Windows custom refresh. Made a recovery image in working Win8.1, then copied all to SSD (again) using EASUS transfer.

Unplugged everything but the SSD - and now I can't get either the recovery USB drive OR Windows 8.1 installer (also on USB) to boot!

Currently -

Nothing plugged in but SSD - "disk read error"
Recovery disk plugged in - "boot\bcd missing or contains errors 0xc000000f"
Win 8.1 USB installer plugged in - blue screen instead of black, "0xc000000e error"

*sigh*

I guess I'll go back to the working Win 8.1 HDD and try James' BCD suggestion, though I ran into some issue last time I tried that.

Not all mobos support booting from external/usb devices. Did you go into the bios and change the boot order/ect?

 

[zorrr]

Yep that's been fine. The annoying thing now is I can't seem to boot off any Win8 related USB's... the Win7 repair CD booted OK and I ran the bcd fix stuff at the link above, but no dice.

 

[zorrr]

It gets wierder ... so I tested my recovery drive and Win8.1 USB on another machine and it turns out BOTH were corrupted.

When I tried to make another recovery drive I got an error - "we can't do that on this machine" -- despite it working fine a couple of days ago.

So I remade the installer USB using Zotac, it boots but fails to repair or refresh the SSD.

IF ONLY Windows had the awesome migration tools Linux has had for years >< ... MS have made the same buggy product over and over!

 

[James Mason]

Well, windows does have migration tools.
should already be installed too: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928634

 

[zorrr]

So... attempting a direct install on SSD for testing purposes for now. Maybe I can copy over big chunks of prefs and plugins from the other install to save a full setup again. Painful to contemplate when all it takes is one text file to migrate a Linux install, all apps setup for you etc. If only I could run the apps I need there... one day, one day I will be free.

 

[zorrr]

Well, windows does have migration tools.
should already be installed too: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928634

Thanks yeah.. *sigh*

I'll still have click through 20 EULA's, and muck about endlessly restoring prefs and plugins for Adobe suite and two DAW's.. it's really no comparison.

 

[James Mason]

Well, windows does have migration tools.
should already be installed too: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928634

Thanks yeah.. *sigh*

I'll still have click through 20 EULA's, and muck about endlessly restoring prefs and plugins for Adobe suite and two DAW's.. it's really no comparison.

mmm actually there is a probably a file with your preferences somewhere you could have backed up and transfered over, plugins too probably.

 

[zorrr]

Well just for future reference, in the end I gave up on getting my perfectly good install working elsewhere and had to start from scratch. I'm still working on installing apps I had and copying preferences over, but it only works for some of them - the DAW apps in particular don't play well without reinstalling all the plugins ><

Hoping to switch to Linux sometime soon so I can get out of this mess.