Windows 10: Cloning to SSD

In order to use an image file to clone the HDD drive you would have to do the following steps:

1. With HDD installed as the boot drive, and SSD installed as a secondary drive, create an NTFS partition on the SSD to hold the image file.

2. Using Macrium Reflect Free, make an image of the ENTIRE HDD (not just the Windows partition) and save it to the NTFS partition on the SSD.

3. Copy the completed image file from the SSD back to the HDD - just a normal file copy, NOT a restore.

4. Using the restore function of Macrium Reflect Free, restore the ENTIRE image to the SSD (all partitions). Not a file copy - but restore.

5. Install the SSD as the only drive and attempt to boot from it. You might have to boot from a Macrium Reflect rescue disk and run the fix Windows startup problems utility under the restore menu.

 

Ah, didn't read your post thoroughly. My apologies, Jimbo, for the premature response. D or H same difference in this case I think for OP.

 

Tried suggestion by NavyLCDR sam result no OS message.




This is SSD after step 1 creation of NTFS partition.





Here are contents of SSD after making image of HDD and copying to SSD





Here is content of HDD after copying image file from SSD to HDD


After a full restore, which completed with no errors, back to the SSD it looks like this





Which looks no different than before I started the whole thing off.

Will be committing suicide at the end of the day.*Sick

 

Were you ever able to boot from a usb drive, using a bootable program on a flash drive??

 

Bogart99,

You either are not including the ENTIRE hard drive when you make the image, or you not restoring the ENTIRE image (all three partitions) when you restore to the SSD.

After you make the image, you should be able to explore the image in Macrium Reflect. If you included the entire hard drive when you made the image, it will show you three partitions within the image when you explore it.

Also, after you have the image copied on the hard drive, and you explore it and Macrium shows you three partition in the image - then you will want to delete all existing partitions on the SSD and restore the entire image - all three partitions - back to the unallocated space on the SSD.

I can't remember if you are using Kyhi's recovery drive to run Macrium Reflect from - if not, you should be. Before you restore the image back to the SSD, on Kyhi's recovery drive is MiniTool Partition Wizard. You can use that to delete all the partitions on the SSD. Although, I think Macrium Reflect also has the option to delete existing partitions before restoring.

Windows 10 Recovery Tools - Bootable Rescue Disk - Windows 10 Forums

 

Yes that works fine.

 

Am just using Macrium reflect Your first point re not possibly using the entire HDD all I can say is that all the partition are checked before I try to create the image.

I will do another complete image and then check it on Macrium.
I am sorry to be such a pain in this. Thanks

 

If you still have the existing image on the hard drive, just explore that - you should see three partitions in it.

 

4 if GPT, unless you don't count MSR as a partition.*Smile

 

Please read NavyLCDR post and use Kyhi's Recovery Tools which he posted a link too. Put this program on a usb flash drive and boot it up. Then follow NavyLCDR instructions please.

 

Even if he isn't using Kyhi's recovery, he can still look at the image with Macrium Reflect and see if it has all the partitions on it from the hard drive, or only the one Windows partition that got restored to the SSD.

 

He showed a screen shot earlier, and it showed all the partitions, what he did report was that he could not use "Explore" because it was greyed out. If I remember correctly

Plus Kyhi's Recovery app is a better choice than just Macrium Reflect, as it has more options for OP to use.

 

Screenshot before doing the image





Screenshot after doing the image!

Not exactly an image is it.

 

It could be an image. It depends upon what is in the image file that was created. Are you possibly confusing an image with a clone?

An image takes the contents of the hard drive or SSD and writes all of it into one file. Sort of like a zip file except an image goes to the next level and includes partitions, not just folders and files.

A clone will take the contents of one drive, partitions and all, and write those contents to another drive.

Restoring a image is more than just copying the image file - it is extracting the contents of the image file to a hard drive or SSD.

And when you restore the image you can select to restore only one partition from it, or the entire hard drive that was included, or any combinations of partitions from it.

 

Still looks like you are NOT restoring the exact image to your SSD, as it only show your C partition. If you made a Complete Image of your OS drive from your old hard drive, then restored that image to your new SSD it would show all 4 partitions. Instead all I see in one partition.