[SOLVED] Upgrading to Samsung 970 Evo Plus, Logical Sector Size?

cliffflip

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Apr 9, 2010
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Hi,
I'm looking to upgrade my current SSD (Samsung 850 Evo) for Windows installation to Evo 970 Plus. I usually use Acronis True Image to do the job, but when I read the guide I noticed this prerequisite: "Source and target disks must have equal logical sector size. Cloning to a disk with a different logical sector size is not supported. " I checked msinfo32 and it states that my current SSD is 512-byte sector while the 970 Evo is 4K (at least from what I read on a few forums). Is it possible to change the 970 to use 512-byte or cloning it with another app besides Acronis?

Installing Windows from the beginning is not my option for now. I'd rather buy another SSD that uses the same byte/sector instead of it. I read WD Black SN750 is using that ( if I'm not mistaken). Can anyone confirm that?

Thanks in advance.
 
Solution
After the cloning process from 850 Evo to 970 Evo is completed, I will do a second clone, rather than leave the 850 Evo unused. I will clone my current SSD on Fedora PC to that 850 Evo.

Considering I have no experience with cloning on Fedora (or even Linux in general), Can I take out the SSD from Fedora, plug it into my Windows PC, and do the clone from there with Macrium or SDM? This is coming from my knowledge that Windows can't see a partition with an ext3 file system.

I'm sorry I wasn't more clear earlier.
Linux has a built in command to do that type of function.
dd

https://opensource.com/article/18/7/how-use-dd-linux

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
With a Samsung target drive, your 970, use Samsung Data Migration.

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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)
If you are cloning from a SATA drive to PCIe/NVMe, 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. SDM handles that 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

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.
-----------------------------
 

cliffflip

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Apr 9, 2010
64
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18,540

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
1. Yes. Proceed on with SDM.

2. If you're putting that 850 into a Fedora system, why the clone? If you're hoping to boot the Windows OS as a dualboot with Fedora in this other PC, don't. It will want a fresh OS install in this other system.
 

cliffflip

Distinguished
Apr 9, 2010
64
0
18,540
After the cloning process from 850 Evo to 970 Evo is completed, I will do a second clone, rather than leave the 850 Evo unused. I will clone my current SSD on Fedora PC to that 850 Evo.

Considering I have no experience with cloning on Fedora (or even Linux in general), Can I take out the SSD from Fedora, plug it into my Windows PC, and do the clone from there with Macrium or SDM? This is coming from my knowledge that Windows can't see a partition with an ext3 file system.

I'm sorry I wasn't more clear earlier.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
After the cloning process from 850 Evo to 970 Evo is completed, I will do a second clone, rather than leave the 850 Evo unused. I will clone my current SSD on Fedora PC to that 850 Evo.

Considering I have no experience with cloning on Fedora (or even Linux in general), Can I take out the SSD from Fedora, plug it into my Windows PC, and do the clone from there with Macrium or SDM? This is coming from my knowledge that Windows can't see a partition with an ext3 file system.

I'm sorry I wasn't more clear earlier.
Linux has a built in command to do that type of function.
dd

https://opensource.com/article/18/7/how-use-dd-linux
 
Solution