Windows 10: Windows 10 restarts to black screen after SSD clone

...so I migrated my OS from SATA SSD (Samsung 850 Pro) to NVMe SSD (SAMSUNG 970 Pro) over the last two days. Operation eventually completed successfully.

Particulars can be read here:

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Deskto...338394#M182269

Everything works as expected to my best knowledge.

Now, it does seem that every now and then - or is it always the case? - and only when PC is restarted (so: after update, software install etc.) I am greeted with Omen logo only (it's a HP PC, probably normally it would be black screen, I'm guessing?) and OS loading (I'm guessing?) gets immediately stuck upfront... Keyboard does work though, so not all hope is lost, but only way out of it is CTRL+ALT+DEL - at which point PC restarts and loads as needed. I have not been patient enough to see if it gets unstuck after a minute or so?

It must be very early stage of OS boot - preceding any logging in the Event Viewer etc. I am guessing Windows Boot Manager / OS loader is unhappy about something...

As I have never experienced it before - never - and that's definitely not a hardware issue either (except the fact that OS now loads from M.2 NVMe rather than SATA disk) so queries:

1. Has anybody come across this? I can see it's been mentioned in various places but cannot see anything particular tangentially related to my situation.
It's mildly annoying but then again: I do not restart my PC that often and probably can live with it.
2. How do I troubleshoot it exactly to see what causes it? I guess this Omen logo might cover some information displayed by OS loader / Windows Boot Manager etc.? What option do I chose upon Windows 10 start?
3. Any other thoughts?

:)

 

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

Installing The SSD - Install A Solid State Drive In Your Notebook | Tom's Hardware

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.

 

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.

 

Unable to boot Windows after cloning it to SSD

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



I understand that you are facing issues while booting the PC after cloning Windows to new SSD. I would like to know what happens when you try to boot the PC to desktop using SSD?



The reason you are not able to boot the PC is that the files required to boot Windows are still recognizing the HDD as the main drive. I would suggest you to try rebuilding the BCD files and see if you are able to boot the PC using
SSD.



Kindly follow the steps below to rebuild the BCD.

1. Create a bootable media and boot the PC using the media.
2. On the Install Windows screen, select Next >
   Repair your computer.
3. On the System Recovery Options screen, select
   Troubleshoot> Advanced options > Command Prompt.
4. Now type in the commands and hit enter: BOOTREC /FIXMBR
   
   BOOTREC /FIXBOOT
   
   BOOTREC /scanos
   
   BOOTREC /rebuildbcd
5. Restart the PC.

If the issue persists, please get back to us with the results of the troubleshooting steps to assist you further.



Regards,

Prakhar Khare

Microsoft Community – Moderator