Cloning 250GB HDD to 500GB SSD

Billy Welsh · September 11, 2020, 12:27:40 PM

This is my 2nd go-round with this, and apparently I was spoiled by my first as it was a breeze. Intel's cloning app copied my HDD to the SSD, I physically swapped the drives, and then I was done.

No such luck this time. I am using the same USB adapter as for the last clone, but Acronis for Crucial will not clone the HDD. It does not like the different block sizes (512 on the HDD, 4,096 on the SSD). It also does not always see the drive, even though Windows Disk Management does. I have been round and round with Crucial support, and all they have done is provide suggestions which have only wasted more of my time. I have specifically pointed out the block size issue, but they have not said anything about it in their replies. I made sure to use Crucial's wizard when purchasing so in theory the SSD should be compatible.

Can anyone recommend a good cloning application? I do not believe I still have the Intel version from the last go-round (which is several years old at this point anyway), and it appears they have discontinued it so I am not finding a current version. I also wonder if it would only work with an Intel SSD anyway.

Jeff Golas · September 11, 2020, 01:52:07 PM

When I was last doing cloing, I used an open-source product called Clonezilla. Its not as "nice" as a Windows based cloning tool, but it worked beautifully every time I've used it.

Jeff Zylstra · September 14, 2020, 04:01:04 PM

Quote from: Jeff Golas on September 11, 2020, 01:52:07 PM
When I was last doing cloing, I used an open-source product called Clonezilla. Its not as "nice" as a Windows based cloning tool, but it worked beautifully every time I've used it.

Another vote for here Clonezilla. One thing to remember when cloning is to have the drive connected when you first start the program as that is when many of these cloning programs read the available drives. The other thing to watch out for is that some of these programs will clone the exact partition, meaning that you will end up with a 250 Gig hard drive afterwards. That's not a big deal though, since you can use Windows own drive manager to change the partition size by just dragging it to make it bigger.

There are some options with Clonezilla that may allow you to clone a dissimilar cluster size. You'll just have to read up and Google your question on Clonezilla.

Billy Welsh · September 14, 2020, 06:22:26 PM

I made an attempt with Clonezilla over the weekend, and it fizzled fast. Obviously it is intended for those with real knowledge, not wanna-be's like me. I thought I followed the instructions, yet could not get the ISO CR to boot.
I have regrouped based on what I have seen through all this and some Google posts pointing to my old IDE/SATA adapter as a potential issue. So today I busted the bank for all of $9 bucks to get a USB to SATA cable. I am hoping with this more direct/less muddled connection that Acronis will clone the drive. If not, I will revisit Clonezilla.

Mark · September 16, 2020, 02:50:06 PM

Why not just do a fresh install and copy the data over? Might be cleaner, better, quicker.

Billy Welsh · September 16, 2020, 04:09:47 PM

Or it might not. I have no media.

Bought the laptop used off Amazon, came with Windows 7 but no media. Upgraded to WIN 10 on-line for free.

Jeff Golas · September 16, 2020, 06:19:06 PM

Yeah I'd use the USB adapter to move your data over, or if anything just set up the old one to share the data, then connect to it with the new one.

Mark · September 17, 2020, 01:12:01 PM

Quote from: Billy Welsh on September 16, 2020, 04:09:47 PM
Or it might not. I have no media.

Bought the laptop used off Amazon, came with Windows 7 but no media. Upgraded to WIN 10 on-line for free.

Should be able to download the media and use the product key on the box. I suppose since you bought it used there is a slight risk someone did that already, but I don't know if it would actually matter or not.

Billy Welsh · September 24, 2020, 04:31:48 PM

Update:

The USB/SATA cable did the trick. Makes no sense to me why but I guess it's just to be expected that 10+ year old hardware has been phased out.

I will say I am disappointed in Crucial's support. I cannot be the only amateur old dog who needs to learn these new tricks. I was very clear from the start what hardware I was using. They would have saved me a LOT of time and frustration if they had told me at the beginning "you needed to buy our (overpriced) cable."