Windows 10: Cloned hard drive or SSD is very slow on Windows 11

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A new SSD or a larger hard drive makes a PC faster. They come in handy when we want to improve a PC’s performance and storage. Cloning a hard drive or SSD lets us carry over the data and contents to the new one without losing any paths or hierarchy. Generally, it must make a […]

This article Cloned hard drive or SSD is very slow on Windows 11 first appeared on TheWindowsClub.com.

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Moving to SSD. Clone or not to clone?

Part of how I keep my SSD fast is to clone it to a platter drive, then clone back. You just want to make sure that you are only cloning teh used space, and not the empty space.


So, again, I isntall Windows to the ssd. Clone to platter drive, then clone back.

I am not sure why, but if I do not do the clone step, the drive's speed, and windows booting, decreases substantially within a week or so.

I am using a Corsair F60 SSD and a Western Digital 500AAKS as drives, and using the free version of Acronis that WD provides, if any of that matters. I am not sure, at this point.

 

Moving to SSD. Clone or not to clone?

I kinda agree with you, but on a wholr, do not. While I have done things a bit differently than this specific situation, by installing Windows directly to the SSD, and cloning after, my testing shows that there are no issues doing this, very little that can go wrong, provided your system is stable.

There are certain features that must be disabled in this situation, like auto defrag and such, but even with a fresh install to the SSD, you need to take steps to ensure that you SSD performs properly, regardless of how the data got there.

Arming yourself with a bit of knowledge can go a long way.

Installing the latest chipset driver, and the RST Tools, will ensure optimal performance of the SSD. but rather than taking my advice, I suggest the OP takes a look here:

http://blogs.dirteam.com/blogs/sand...7-and-ssds-to-clone-windows-or-reinstall.aspx

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-notebook-portable,1913-3.html

Keep in mind, also, Digibucc, that many retail drives include software and such that very specifically is to be used to ttranser the OS from an existing mechanical drive to an SSD, and if there really was alot fo issues stemming from the cloning process, they would not have packages like that, simply to eliminate tech support costs. While not the optimal option, cloning is NOT a bad thing, as long as you take the nessecary steps.

 

How to clone a hard drive?

I'm a little confused about one thing with this guide.

If my existing HDD is unplugged, and the only thing plugged in is my new, blank, SSD...where is the system image being stored for Windows to restore from?

Edit: I missed the part where it says you'll need an extra HDD to do this, my bad. Do you know if an external HDD would work to store the system image on?