Problem cloning SSD to HD

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Rikkitic

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#282797 12-Mar-2021 17:14

I want to clone my desktop SSD to a spinning hard drive both for backup and easy transfer of OS to other PC. I am using Macrium Reflect, which has always worked perfectly for me, and cloning via USB enclosure. Macrium says the clone is successful and everything has worked as expected, but when I try to boot from the USB drive as a test, I get a Windows error. I know a bit about mechanical hard drives, but SSD is unknown territory for me. Should this work or have I bumped into something I don't understand?

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#2672389 12-Mar-2021 17:52

"I get a Windows error"

Please elaborate

Rikkitic

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#2672393 12-Mar-2021 18:02

I get a screen saying there's a problem with options to reboot, shut down, or try again. I don't recall exactly but will check later tonight when I am at the computer again.

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richms

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#2672405 12-Mar-2021 18:53

Are you cloning partitions or drives? Do you have the boot order set correctly. A HDD will be SATA, so if you have a NVMe SSD, thats not going to work in most cases. Sometimes windows 10 repair will sort it out, but often not.

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#2672517 12-Mar-2021 22:01

I am cloning the boot partition which contains the C: drive. I Selected two partitions, a small hidden one and the main boot one. I did not include the D: drive, which is just data files having nothing to do with booting.

I get a succession of Windows screens but basically it is just looping with the usual Windows BS messages that say nothing and do nothing. First it says it is attempting to boot from USB. Then it says it is preparing automatic repair. The I get an option screen to continue boot, troubleshoot, or give up and die. Whatever I try it just loops back again. If I 'continue to boot Windows 10' I get the spinning circle for a very long time and then the helpful informative notification that my computer 'ran into a problem and needs to restart'. Rinse, repeat, and go around in circles forever again.

I have cloned boot drives before with Macrium and never had a problem, though these were all mechanical drives. This is my first attempt from a SSD. I watched as the clone progressed and no errors or other problems of any kind were reported. The whole thing went smoothly from beginning to end and when it concluded, it said the drive has bee cloned successfully. All files appear to be on it. Do I just try it all over again or is there something else that could be causing this?

richms: boot order is correct. I don't know what a NVMe SSD is.

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fe31nz

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#2673531 13-Mar-2021 00:37

The NVME copy of Windows may not have the SATA USB drivers installed in its boot config, and so will not boot from there. It is likely to be able to be booted from a direct SATA connection, so if it is just a standard SATA drive in the USB enclosure, you could try taking it out of the enclosure and installing it on a normal SATA port. Or maybe Macrium Reflect has an option to add drivers to the clone copy when it does it - if you can add the required drivers, it should work.

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#2673598 13-Mar-2021 07:27

It could be as simple as windows refusing to boot from a "removable" device. Last I checked, you couldn't install to a usb drive, so maybe it doesn't boot from one either.

Those new "stick of gum" looking hard disks come in either a SATA or NVME variant.

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rhy7s

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#2673603 13-Mar-2021 08:14

Are you wanting to run from USB? You might want to look into https://www.easyuefi.com/wintousb/

Rikkitic

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#2673609 13-Mar-2021 08:45

I don't need to run from USB. I am just trying to test the clone. The plan is to use the HD to transfer the OS back to another pc (same model with identical SSD) and then keep it as a backup. I just need to make sure that the clone has worked before overwriting the other SSD.

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rhy7s

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#2673622 13-Mar-2021 08:57

To test that you have a bootable backup for your configuration, you'll need to clone it to the internal SSD in your backup PC.

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#2673623 13-Mar-2021 09:01

If you are using UEFI then there will be 2x partitions at the start of the disk. The driver recommendation seems plausible too. Maybe you could insert the USB SATA drivers before you do the clone?

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#2673624 13-Mar-2021 09:06

Rikkitic:

I don't need to run from USB. I am just trying to test the clone. The plan is to use the HD to transfer the OS back to another pc (same model with identical SSD) and then keep it as a backup. I just need to make sure that the clone has worked before overwriting the other SSD.

Why not clone directly to the other SSD?

Anyway.....IME I find most boot problems after cloning with Macrium can be resolved with the Rescue Media Builder.

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#2673629 13-Mar-2021 09:18

Okay, here's the situation to be perfectly clear: I have two identical PCs with identical drives and Win 10 installations. I have just spent days (weeks, actually) customising, tweaking and problem-solving (lots of that) to get one pc set up and working the way I want. I would now like to copy the OS installation to the other drive so I don't have to go through all this again. That is why I cloned the first drive. I did this by using a USB enclosure with a SATA drive.

I don't have a spare SSD, just the ones in the computers. I do have lots of SATA laptop drives. So I am using one to carry the clone from the first pc to the second. Then I will keep it as a backup. I don't want to overwrite the second SSD drive and lose the OS until I am sure the clone works. But when I try to test it by booting from USB, I get the error described above. I don't understand why I am having this problem since Macrium said the clone was successful. This is why I am asking for help.

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#2673636 13-Mar-2021 09:30

I second an opinion above, that (I understand based on limited testing in the past) Windows does not like booting from USB hard drives. Is it possible for you to connect the drive to the spare machine and try booting from it?

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Rikkitic

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#2673639 13-Mar-2021 09:32

Dynamic:

I second an opinion above, that (I understand based on limited testing in the past) Windows does not like booting from USB hard drives. Is it possible for you to connect the drive to the spare machine and try booting from it?

Yes it is and that will be my next step. I was just hoping to be spared the trouble of opening up the computer and fiddling with the cables. That is why USB is so useful.

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Rikkitic

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#2673654 13-Mar-2021 10:47

OK, I reluctantly bit the bullet. Opened up the second pc and connected the SATA drive. I got a lot of Windows weirdness, not starting at all, starting with errors that didn't make any sense, autorepair going nowhere, and so on. After numerous reboots, it finally actually booted the drive. It looked like everything is there but it wouldn't restart. I had to switch it off and on manually. After a few more reboots, it seemed to settle down so I decided to go for it. The clone went okay but when I tried the drive I got an error! After several attempts I tried the SATA drive (which had finally worked) and got the same error. The error message said to check the cable so I finally did. The data cable turns out to be faulty and that is what has been sending me around in circles. Bloody hell! I have had problems with these cables before. They are crap. Anyway, I have plenty of extras so will replace it and hope for the best. Thanks everyone for the help and advice.

p.s.: The shonky data cable has nothing to do with the USB enclosure, which seems to be a separate issue. Sheesh!

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