Windows 10: SATA SSD not bootable via usb, cloning did not work either

My laptop was a Dell Inspiron N5110 from 2011, it was old but did what i needed it to do. To bandaid it over the years i removed the old hard drive and installed a 512 GB Samsung 860 EVO SSD SATA connection with Windows 10 which was leaps and bounds faster. After years of abuse the laptop has lived it's last life and i upgraded to a Dell G15 laptop which has two m.2 slots of memory and is running Windows 11 off of one of them.I can plug the Windows 10 SSD into a SATA to USB adapter and i'm able to browse my files and see that things are there and that it is accessible, but it does not show

:)

 

Multi-bootable USB

Hey guys from TPU, couldn't find any specific thread pertaining to the question asked on title. As mentioned, I'm trying to create a bootable USB, but with many specifics boots available.

I've been trying to create one with multiple boot device including one that enables me to run Windows 10 directly on the USB Thumb Drive but to no avail.

The list of bootable images i'm trying to create are

1. Windows 10 (A full OS running from thumb drive)
2. Windows 10 ISO (Bootable disk image for fresh install)
3. MemTest86+

Have tried YUMI or UUI from the website USB PenDrive Linux but as this is my first time, i don't know how am i screwing up or am doing it right.. Anyone got a rough idea on a step by step guide? Thanks!

 

How do I make a bootable cloned ssd.

Hi Abdullah,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

I'm Hahn and I'm here to help you with your concern.

To clone your HDD to SSD and make it bootable, you will need cloning software that can copy everything from your HDD to SSD, including the OS, settings, data and programs.

There is many free cloning software available online, such as Macrium Reflect Free, DiskGenius Free Edition, AOMEI Backupper Professional Edition and AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard. You can choose any of them according to your preference.

Disclaimer: Microsoft provides no assurances and/or warranties, implied or otherwise, and is not responsible for the information you receive from the third-party linked sites or any support related to technology.



The general steps for cloning HDD to SSD are:



Connect the SSD to your computer. You may need an enclosure or adapter if you don’t have an extra SATA or M.2 port.

Download and install the cloning software of your choice.

Launch the cloning software and select the HDD as the source disk and the SSD as the destination disk.

Choose the option to clone all partitions or resize partitions as needed. Make sure the option to align partitions to optimize for SSD is checked.

Start the cloning process and wait for it to finish.

Shut down your computer and replace the HDD with the SSD or change the boot order in BIOS to boot from the SSD.

You can find more detailed instructions and screenshots for each cloning software on their websites or online tutorials. I hope this helps you with your task.

If there is anything not clear, please do not hesitate to let me know.



Your Sincerely

| Microsoft Community Support Specialist

 

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

Install A Solid State Drive In Your Notebook

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.