[SOLVED] Switching files over from HDD to smaller M.2 SSD.

[HelpMEEEEPlox]

I recent bought a M.2 500gb SSD and am trying to put my OS and other applications on it. The amount of storage ive used up on the HDD is more than the M.2 can hold. I've tried using Macrium Reflect to copy over the files but i dont really know what to move over and will it still work if i move them over separetly. I have an external that i have wiped and backed everything up on.

I could do this easily if i could adjust the ext Primary partition but i cannot. There's probably a good reason for that I don't know about.

Any help or advice would be awesome! :3

OS: Windows 10

different partition (Windows 10):
NTFS Primary (Recovery)
FAT32 Primary (LBA)
Unformatted Primary
NTFS Primary (C
Unformatted Primary
ext Primary

 

[USAFRet]

Please show us a screencap of your current Disk Management window.

 

[USAFRet]

Also, what are the rest of the parts in this system?
Make/model, please.

 

[HelpMEEEEPlox]

Link to the Disk Management Window

Partitions in my current Drive

System information

 

[USAFRet]

The whole Disk Management window would help.
But, with what we have there...you need to reduce your C partition to well under 400GB.
Down to 350GB or so.
Currently it appears to be 407GB.

Reduce it, then come back.

 

[USAFRet]

And the screencap of your parts list left off them one Item I was wanting to know...your motherboard make/model.

 

[HelpMEEEEPlox]

Ok so my C drive is not actually as large as it says it is. Its combining the SSD storage with the HDD storage.
Updated disk Management Window

My motherboard is an ASUS ROG Strix B-350-F Gaming

 

[USAFRet]

Power OFF
Disconnect Disk 0
Power UP

Does it boot properly?

 

[USAFRet]

And you still need to reduce the size of your C partition.
Currently it is 407GB

 

[HelpMEEEEPlox]

Ok so this is the message that i get when i try and shink the C: drive. Message

Updated DM view (so you can see the full status)

yes it boots properly if i remove disk 0.
ignore the stuff on disk 0. That was me trying to copy so of the files over but then realizing that was an easy way to mess everything up

 

[USAFRet]

Not shrink the partition...just remove some data.
Delete some old gunk, move some stuff elsewhere.
Don't worry about the size of the partition, just the data.

 

[HelpMEEEEPlox]

ok so i dont really have anything that is unnecessary. I removed mostly everything and wanted to transfer some stuff over to my portable HDD but it wont show up in file explorer but will show up on my partition viewer. Basically there isn't anything really on my desktop. There is only 407GB used and all the rest is free. Still wont let me shrink it.

Sorry if I'm misunderstanding.

 

[USAFRet]

Again, you're not shrinking the partition, just reducing the size of the data.
Leave the partition alone.

To clone into a 500GB drive, the actual consumed space must be below 400GB.
350GB to be on the safe side.

Doesn't matter what you have is necessary or unnecessary...it must be below 400GB.

 

[HelpMEEEEPlox]

ok so im going to find a way to make my portable hard drive work and move everything i can off of the computer. Once that is done, and the actual file size is way lower (below 350gb) what steps do i take after that?

 

[USAFRet]

-----------------------------
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. For your case, only select the 3 leftmost partitions.
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 all partitions on it.
This will probably require the commandline diskpart function, and the clean command.

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

 

[HelpMEEEEPlox]

Ok so im pretty sure that i removed enough files from my C drive. Now how do i wipe my SSD and stop it from adding its storage amount to the storage of the HDD.

 

[USAFRet]

Ok so im pretty sure that i removed enough files from my C drive. Now how do i wipe my SSD and stop it from adding its storage amount to the storage of the HDD.

"Pretty sure" = how much space, exactly, is consumed on the current drive?
Somewhere below 400GB?

 

[HelpMEEEEPlox]

This many

Tried to get it to the specification that you said

 

[USAFRet]

OK.
Crank up the Macrium application.

During the process, once you select the target drive, it will give you the opportunity to DELETE whatever partitions are on it.

 

[HelpMEEEEPlox]

ok so im back to a problem that i was having originally. Macrum Reflect is not letting me resize the 2 largest partitions
The C: and ext primary partitions
and when i try to resize the ext partition for example all the options are greyed out

 

[USAFRet]

ok so im back to a problem that i was having originally. Macrum Reflect is not letting me resize the 2 largest partitions
The C: and ext primary partitions
and when i try to resize the ext partition for example all the options are greyed out

Stop resizing the partitions. It does not matter.
Only the actual consumed space.

That's how people can clone from a 1TB drive with a single large partition and 200GB used space, to a 500GB SSD.

 

[USAFRet]

Deselect the 2 partitions at the right. #5 & 6.

 

[HelpMEEEEPlox]

ok so after a while of working with this i got my computer booting and running from the SSD. I have one more question and before i ask it i wanted to thank you for your help and being patient with me. Im a slow learner. My last question is whether i should take those partitions (5 and 6) off the drive or leave them. I dont want to lose anything when i wipe.

 

[USAFRet]

ok so after a while of working with this i got my computer booting and running from the SSD. I have one more question and before i ask it i wanted to thank you for your help and being patient with me. Im a slow learner. My last question is whether i should take those partitions (5 and 6) off the drive or leave them. I dont want to lose anything when i wipe.

What, if anything, is on those two partitions?
Any time you mess with partitions at this level, your data needs to also exist on some other drive.
ANd if it does...then you can wipe that entire drive with impunity, then copy that data back.