Hdd To Ssd Advice Please

Hi,
I have installed a SSD to my desktop Pc
Im looking for some assistance please with moving / cloning etc the items from HDD to SSD
Im not 100% sure what to do in respect of just moving Windows 7 across or everything.

I have installed Partition Wixzard by Mini Tool also EaseUS Todo Backup free.

Some attached images to show what i currently have.
You will see that all my items are on the HDD
There are 2 installed SSD
WINDOWS 7 SSD 240 GB is where i would like the HDD stuff to be placed.
WINDOWS 10 SSD 120 GB is where i am going to install Windows 10 for 1 piece of software that i use.

Please can you advise.

Many thanks

 

If you want Win 7 and Win 10 on the same computer there are two options - dual boot or run one OS in a virtual machine. Dual boot would require closing everything and doing a full reboot when switching OS, which may not be acceptable/practical, and a VM might run rather slowly unless you have a decent spec machine. You need to decide before any further advice.

 

Earthling has that spot on
You will have no trouble cloning your hdd to thee 240gb ssd, using Partition Wizard.
Same with installing W10 on the other ssd, as a new installation, as long as you only connect the ssd drives, individually, to
1st- Clone hard drive attaching 240 gb ssd.
2nd- You could then detach 240gb ssd, and attach 120gb ssd, and disconnecting hdd, and installing W10 on 120g ssd.
Then connecting both ssd drives, you will get a choice to boot from at startup (dual boot, one way)
Or, shrink 240gb ssd, to get a second partition, and install W10 on that. (Dual boot, another way)
If this way , you can use the 120gb ssd as storage from 240gb (i.e you could move document folder, and others to the 120gb ssd-in fact both from W7, and Windows 10, keeping speed up, and keeping clutter down.
With a virtual drive, you could do this on the 240gb ssd, and as you will not be installing much, it should run O.K
You may need to post your spec on here, so that we can help you more

 

Hi,
Please bear with me as i have learning issues & this has so far been a large task for me.
At present i have / completed the following.

I had to use Macrium Reflect because the free version would not allow it & insisted to buy a yearly serial number etc.

I have just this second cloned the old HDD to the SSD 240 Gb.

I have restarted the Pc & entered the Bios where the boot order is now.
SSD 240 Gb
HDD
Cd / Dvd drive.

So this is the point i am at.
I am unable to install Windows 10 to the SSD 120 Gb as i am awaiting for the TF 16 Gb card to arrive.
I downloaded the Win 10 ISO but i was told the Dvd disc was too small hence buying the 16 Gb TF card.

Not sure about the following if you could advise.

Remove old HDD which is called Local Disc C
The SSD 240 Gb is called Local Disc G
Once the HDD is removed will the name G then change itself to C or do i need to rename it with partition wizard etc ?

I will then put Win 10 Iso on the TF card & boot pc hopefully it will then allow me to install it to the SSD 120Gb

Thanks for the advice / Help

 

WHOA! You've jumped the gun here! You needed to disconnect the HDD before rebooting. Before you do anything else can you please post a picture of Disk Management by running diskmgmt.msc? You can just type it in Search.

 

Hi,
See attached.

 

Screen shot by typing in search box like advised.

 

Thanks, I can just about read it. In disk management right click on Disk 2 and click format.

 

See these enlarged photos.

Can i ask WHY format Disc 2 ???

The old HDD is named here as Disc 0

The SSD 240 Gb is named here as Disk 2

The SSD 120 Gb is named here as Disc 1

So am i correct that if i FORMAT DISK TWO I WILL ERASE ALL THAT I HAVE JUST CLONED ONTO IT ????

Would a good test be to disconnect the HDD then see what happens.

 

I have just spotted something.

In Disc Management i see this.

DISC 0 This is the old Hdd

DISC 1 This is where i will install Win 10

DISC 2 This is where i have just cloned the files from the HDD to

In Macrium Reflect i see this.

DISC 1 This is the old HDD

DISC 2 This is the SSD where i will install Windows 10 120 Gb

DISC 3 This is where i cloned the HDD files to 240 Gb

 

Yes, correct. You cannot go forward with two identical disks, both marked Active. We need to start again, re-cloning the HDD, removing or disconnecting the HDD, and then rebooting. You can disregard the disk numbering differences. Alternatively you can use Partition Wizard to change the Active state on Disk 2.

 

So let me get this correct.

You want me to Format the largest SSD which is 240 Gb.

Once formatted clone AGAIN the HDD files to the SSD.

Once cloned switch OFF pc and disconnect the HDD.

Then start the pc.

Are the above ALL CORRECT.

 

Follow Earthling so that e don't confuse you, but I am sure he will agree the following....
.

Clone again as Earthling said- ​

Then -Shut down-don't touch hard drive for about thirty seconds, and be sure to earth yourself, by touching a radiator, or metal water pipe.

disconnect hdd, and 120gb ssd​

Then, test your clone on 240gb ssd, by starting up with nothing else attached
If all ok,then shut down-
Detach 240gb ssd,

and attach 120gb ssd,​

and then install W10 on 120g ssd.
Then shut down-
Next, Before restart,
You can re-attach the ssd 240 clone drive, then restart-leaving 120gb ssd in place- You then have your dual boot at startup.
You can use your old hard drive for storage, after all else is working, if you wish, but to do so, you will have to follow Earthlings advice, but format the old hdd, if all is well.
Do not format anything until you know
1-The clone drive is running o.k.on the 240gb ssd
2-Your W10 is installed and running on the 120gb SSD

 

Yep, that's it

 

Ok
I am awaiting a 16 Gb TF card so I can put the Win 10 ISO I downloaded from there Media centre.
I tried burning it to a DVD but told it needed to be 8 Gb in size ????

The above seems odd to me BUT it might be correct as I don’t have a Win install disc but then are they not just 4.3 Gb ??


Anyway I will format the SSD.
Do the clone again HDD to SSD

This should then be around 3am

I will switch it off then & in the morning disconnect then HDD & the 120 Gb SSD

This leaves just the 240 Gb SSD to boot from.

If that’s correct I will reply back tomorrow.

Be nice to know what you think about the Win 10 ISO as waiting for this TF card is holding me up from installing it.

 

I think you are good to go now. I haven't tried the DVD method but it seems you may need to use a drive and disks that use both sides of the disk. Be patient and good luck

 

Ok
Just started 20 minutes ago and at 12%

Just a question whilst this is working through.

Does it matter at this stage the Bios boot order ?

At present it’s,
SSD 240 Gb
HDD
Cd / DVD

Do I set it to,
SSD 240 Gb
Cd / DVD

Once this is cloned & HDD removed.

 

Boot order isn't really that important. The system checks the installed disks in the order you prefer, looking for the one that has boot files and is set to Active. Only then does boot start. In any case most computers have a F key that allows you to select which drive to boot this time. This allows you to have say a default boot to a hard disk but can override it to boot to a USB drive or whatever.

 

Thanks for the info.
Clone currently at 68%

I need plan B if the TF card doesn’t arrive tomorrow.
So I’m thinking of this.
Have the SDD 240 Gb installed.
Have the SSD 110 Gb also installed.

Now not sure on correct terminology BUT I would like to clone the WINDOWS 7 part only from SSD 240 Gb onto SSD 120 Gb

Once done I wish to then install Windows 10 over it either by updating Win 7 to Win 10 or by using the set up exe in the Win 10 ISO file.

Once done SSD 240Gb will be using Win 7 Pro
And SSD 129 Gb will be using Win 10 Pro

I’m not sure on the wording or part to select to clone ONLY the operating side of it and not everything else.


Did I explain ok ?

Thansk

 

Hi,
2.10am and just finished for now.
This is where i am at now.

Ive cloned the HDD to the SSD 240 Gb
Once completed i switched off the pc & waited a minute or two.
I then disconnected the HDD & the SSD 120 Gb
I restarted the pc & was able to see it all load up fine.

I have burnt the Windows to DVD & popped it in the drive.
Switched off pc & after 1 minute i then disconnected the SSD 240 Gb & connected the SSD 120 Gb.
I then started the pc.

After a few minutes nothing has happened.
The screen is black but there is a white line flashing on / off top left corner.

I waited but nothing changed.

I then disconnected the SSD 120 Gb & reconnected the SSD 240 Gb.

It loaded fine.
I popped in the same disc again & when looking where you see Floppy C drive & cd / dvd drives i see the disc name etc.
I can look in the disc & see all the files.

I am now awaiting instructions.

Thanks

 

You may need to set to boot from dvd- as it only shows the cursor, it may be that your dvd is not working as it should.
Because of the size of Windows 10, I have only been able to install from USB stick of 8gb - I feel it might not be complete on your dvd -and I have done this many times-
Did you use the Windows tool to 'burn' your W10 to dvd-as I am sure the dvd is not working, nor big enough unless it is dual layer, and your pc is capable of burning a dual layer dvd
Dual-layer recording allows DVD-R and DVD+R discs to store significantly more data, up to 8.5 gigabytes per disc, compared with 4.7 gigabytes for single-layer discs. DVD-R DL was developed for the DVD Forum by Pioneer Corporation, while DVD+R DL was developed for the DVD+RW Alliance by Philips and Mitsubishi Kagaku Media (MKM).
Download tool

Create Windows 10 installation media
To get started, you will first need to have a licence to install Windows 10. You can then download and run the media creation tool. For more information on how to use the tool, see the instructions below.

Download tool now
Then
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

• A blank USB flash drive with at least 8GB of space or blank DVD (and DVD burner) if you want to create media. We recommend using a blank USB or blank DVD, because any content on it will be deleted.
• When burning a DVD from an ISO file, if you are told the disc image file is too large you will need to use Dual Layer (DL) DVD Media.

I will leave you with Earthling on this, just pointing out these things

 

Hi,
This afternoon my TF card 16Gb arrived so i continued.
After an hour or two i now have both SSD working,one with Windows 7 & other with Winows 10

Only thing i dont see is dual boot at start up.
Depending on what SSd is first in the list then that gets booted.
If i need to use Win 10 i need to enter Bios again and swap them around

 

Reading this there was / is a bug
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...n-latest/0f760ab7-26af-46a7-a5db-e0048a8cf3f4

Work around 1 not recognised.

Work around 2 only has Win 7 in the drop down option list

 

I haven't had any chance to look at this today but recommend you grab images of your disks before going further. Macrium Reflect will do fine and image whole disks, not system images.

 

Ive done all of it now but stuck with no dual boot.

 

Currently reading this but not sure which i need.
https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials...-display-order-boot-menu-startup-windows.html

It mention about number / letters in brackets but see my screen shot please

 

You have to press one of the F keys (usually F2) to see all boot devices.

 

Hi,
What question does this refer to please ?

 

You don't need to enter the BIOS.

 

Ive pressedd all the F keys but dont see anything to address this

 

Re boot problem, also try F8 at boot to select boot drive. If not F8 try F10. There is a key for it, as Eldon says no need to faff around in BIOS

 

When you start/restart the PC, try one of the F keys as soon as you see something on the screen.
Then use the up/down arrow keys to select a boot device and press Enter.

 

Ok
F8 opens up the black screen with shows safe mode etc.

There is an option To select which drive to load etc.
Only Win 7 is shown.

 

Try F2.

 

Hi
F2 is same option.
Only Win 7 available.

Shall I take screen shot of partitions etc just in case you see an issue ?

when I say partitions I mean when the screen loads on Reflect / partition wizard etc.

 

Some screen shots as you might see an iussue ??

 

Ive added a line of code which now gives me the screen shot shown.

 

I added this which loads Win 10

Bcdboot D:\Windows

so if I change D to C I assume Win 7 is default login unless I self Win 10 on the dual boot screen.

 

Unless I've missed something that's it but what about the HDD? Obviously don't just reconnect it and reboot until it's been formatted. Then it can be reconnected and used for storage. You need to mount it in a caddy to reformat. Don't format it until you have disk images stored, just in case.

 

Hdd was left disconnected.
I have SSD 240 Gb running Windows 7 & SSD 120 Gb running Windows 10

Im now just making sure when i restart etc i see the dual boot.

Windows 7 is a black screen where windows 10 is a blue screen for dual boot selection