Cloning A 240gb Ssd From A 1 Tb Hd

My laptop has a 1 Tb hard drive which includes an HP recovery partition
I want to clone the OS (64bit Win 10).
I have done a factory reset so its using a small portion of the 1Tb
The SSD has a number of partitions

Please correct me if my plan isn't the best
I've been thinking to create a 240gb partition in the HD which would include the OS
Remove all partitions from the SSD leaving it unallocated
Reduce the C drive in HD to a partition sized 240Gb or less if necessary then clone the C drive to the SSD

If it's possible I'd like to copy over the recovery partition obviously reducing the 240Gb partition to accomodate it.
Please let me know if my plan is feasable or what should I do differently
Also I'd appreciate recommendations for the best free software for cloning and adjusting partitions
Preferably something least demanding on technical know how

 

I use the free version of Partition Wizard, as it can clone the whole hard drive to another without any other software, and does not need to be any particular size.
With Partition Wizard, you can simply clone, and fit all partitions to the smaller hard drive.
One thing I recommend, is that you should use another laptop and a hard drive dock, or, external caddies on usb, for best results.
The following are examples- just look nearer to yourself
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-3-0-...148654?hash=item41dff3752e:g:AHUAAOSwLpda12MY
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_...S0&_nkw=hard+drive+docking+station&_sacat=165 - again do not use any software with the units, just let Partition Wizard do it.
I often do this, and Partition Wizard has the ability to adjust partition sizes by percentage, which means less agro .
If you do it from your present laptop,you run the risk of it deleting the 1 tb ,before it clones to the new (I only made that mistake once), as it restarts, and if there is a problem, and it decides it cannot complete the clone, it could delte the original- That never happened when I used a dock, or external usb caddies.
https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/minitool_partition_wizard_home_edition.html

 

Hi
I downloaded Partition wizard using the link you gave
It was useful for deleting and resizing partitions but when I tried to clone my HD to SSD it wouldnt allow it in the free version and kept interrupting with a table comparing the free one to various paid for options

 

That's a shame- I can only point you to https://www.easeus.com/partition-manager/epm-free.html
https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/ssd-upgrade-tutorial
I have not used this one, but perhaps it will work on the free version

 

Minitool ShadowMaker may solve your problem though I'm not able to find any proof that it can clone HDD to SSD. I've started using this recently and am quite impressed both by its features and its ease of use. I cloned a USB to another USB and the cloning process could not have been simpler. If the cloning you need does not work in the free version you could create an image of the HDD and restore it to the SSD. That should work but you would have to manually make any partition changes needed.

 

It seems like the partition changes have been done- I am not sure if Esus free version will clone, as I don't use it- Nor, have I ye tried shadowmaker.
Aomei free edition, apparently , does the same as Partition Wizard , asking or paid update during attempt

 

I have found MiniTool Partition Wizard very useful.
It does do cloning. If you follow the procedure.
Good luck.
s.

 

Stephen- see post 3

 

Stephen- see post 3

I am a little confused...
Minitool would not make the clone because of the size differences.
But you can manually change the partition sizes. Down to 240GB.
The program will then clone the disk.
I have been interested in cloning ssd drives for too many years.
We can only learn.
I suggest this is a way to clone a large drive.
I was hoping it was of help.
s.

 

Sorry Stephen--Mybe an earlier version did, but...…...
Minitool Partition Wizard apparently does not work for hard disk to SSD....Unless you try the older version 11, but it could have to come from another site

 

I've just had problems downloading from the link I provided. I don't want Macfee thank you.
I found it very useful a while ago and I do remember a wizard for cloning.
Best wishes and thank you.
s.

 

I downloaded the program and there top wizard on the left. Migrate OS to SSD/HD wizard.
Best wishes,
s.

 

Stephen- look at post #3 in the thread- It will not complete clone hard drive to ssd, unless you upgrade to pro version, in present version.

 

Thank you baklogic for you clarification. I am speaking from my experience having purchased my first SSD drive back 15 years ago. I have transformed many laptop and desktop pc's from mechanical drives over the years and there is always something new to learn. I do apologise for not reading as clearly as I should have done but I thought that my experience may be of assistance to someone.
Best wishes,
s.

 

No problem, Stephan - I have noticed over the years, that many free system tools become apart of the pay version, unfortunately. The only answer to avoid paying seems to be to to go to old versions, but that can risk virus attacks- so it's a decision for the poster to make.

 

I've tried minitool and others such as Acronis but after allowing me to download and set it up for cloning I'm interrupted with requests to pay. I dont really want to buy a license for something that I will only use once
Has anyone tried Clonezilla? I'd appreciate some feedback before I try it

 

I think you tried Minitool Partition Wizard but that isn't what I've been plugging, which is Minitool ShadowMaker, an imaging tool. You should also try Macrium Reflect Free.

 

Hi. I have had a lot of difficulties using Mini tool Partition Wizard mainly because I was continuously being pestered to upgrade to the paid for version so I tried AOMEI Backupper instead
I'm not a wizard techie so I ike to work with programs that are easy to understans and work with
I found AOMIE most user friendly but although I successfully copied the OS to the SSD it won't boot
Please see the screen shot attatched
Could someone please tell me what I did wrong?
My laptop still asks for the OS

 

From what I have been looking at on-line, you need to attach the clone, whilst using old hard drive, then use partition wizard to make the ssd active, and to re- build mbr.
Also, perhaps to check if it is mbr, or, gpt on original disk, if that does not do the trick -Partition Wizard can do that (free version), if necessary- but try re-build MBR first, and make ssd active with Partition Wizard.
Sorry I have not tried it , myself, as yet, as I have not yet installed an ssd .

 

Can you open Disk Management and post a screenshot please? It's on the Start right click menu.

 

This appears to be a UEFI system, and if so the terms Active and MBR will not apply. It is the Boot Configuration Database (BCD) that will need to be configured. It is also possible, likely in fact, that Secure Boot is selected in UEFI/BIOS and this alone would prevent the system from booting from the SSD clone until correctly configured. I have no experience of any of this so unlikely to be of much help. Hopefully someone else will be able to.

 

You will find many references to no boot configuration with cloning to SSD.
My system can be configured from bios, and use either- so, if this had been a usual hard drive clone, there would not have been any problem (I do it regularly ) It is just the SSD clone part. With the free version of many cloning tools, the ssd boot part has, it seems been specially excluded, and that seems to be where the pay for version is pushed- From my tinkering over the years, I have often read about ssd clone from a normal hard drive will not boot, and the setting active bit was one part of any solution I found, and the other was checking if original disk is gpt, or, mbr- and mbr can be done with Partition Wizard, as well as setting active.
I would try my way I explained, and check if original disk is mbr, or, Uefi-

 

You could use diskpart, and fixboot and mbr with diskpart, if mbr
In Command with admin ,
set active
bootrec.exe /fixmbr
bootrec.exe /fixboot
bootrec.exe /scanos
bootrec.exe /rebuildbcd
As I have not got an SSD, I cannot test at present, but I will try to remember to when I get one.

 

The original disk is GPT, per pic in #19 so Active and MBR don't come into it at all. When I google 'Clone UEFI boot disk to SSD' there are several pages recommending Easeus, Aomei, Acronis, Paragon and, of course, Minitool Partition Wizard. The last actually claims the free version 12 can do it though I haven't tried it myself.

https://www.partitionwizard.com/clone-disk/clone-uefi-gpt-disk.html

 

Daleonline Have you tried
1/- start going to setup, and choosing the ssd as startup disk, in it's present condition- ?
2/-disconnecting the existing harddrive, and just connecting ssd, to see if it would boot ?

 

@Daleonline - back in 2015, at the time Win 10 was launched, I upgraded this laptop to SSD, not by cloning but by imaging. It worked perfectly and has done so ever since. As there seems to be a boot problem after cloning to SSD you may want to give this method a try. I used Macrium Reflect but any imaging program should suffice.

 

Perhaps you could run through the steps you took with @Daleonline , and clarify it, and I leave you to it, so as not to confuse@Daleonline​

 

If the OP reappears and asks then of course I will.

 

If either or both of the drives are Western Digital, you can use Western Digital's free version of Acronis, https://support-en.wd.com/app/products/product-detail/p/277#WD_downloads. I've used it many times; it will allow you to easily tweak the size of the partitions for goof-proof cloning.

For now, it's Western Digital branded drives only; other affiliated brands like HGST and SanDisk don't count for the purposes of being a "Western Digital" to qualify to run the free version of Acronis.