500 gb hd to 250gb SSD

[iknowalittle]

Hi all

I have just ordered a Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB SSD and want to transfer all data from my 500gb HD which only has just over 100gb data on it in OS

My HD is not partitioned and I would like to copy all data and OS including desktop.

Is this possible as I think that I am confusing myself with the terms used from what I have read on the web i.e. clone/migrate and back up


Newbie question I know but all help and clarification would be much appreciated.

 

[corkyg]

The only way you can do what you want to do is if the total data on the 500GB HDD is less than the 250GB capacity of the SSD. If that is true, then you can clone the 500GB HDD to the 250GB SSD using proportional cloning. you seem to meet that criteria.

Cloning is a process that creates a bit by bit duplicate of the data on the 500GB HDD and transfers it to the SSD. Best to use cloneware that can make you bootable media so you don't do it from your existing OS. You then must use the mode called proportional cloning. Not all cloneware has this capability.

The cloning process will take about 15-20 minutes, and you then remove the HDD and boot to the SSD.

 

[iknowalittle]

Hi CorkyG

Thank you for your informative reply. I shall check what cloneware comes with the evo although I have read its quite good….fingers crossed

 

[deustroop]

Hi CorkyG

Thank you for your informative reply. I shall check what cloneware comes with the evo although I have read its quite good….fingers crossed

Be aware that Samsung Magician is the accompanying software and , when I used it , the software made an exact clone,including the disk ID #. The result is that without further management, you will not be able to use both disks in the same system. The conflict may have been rectified but perhaps not since the purpose of the Samsung app is to clone a new drive and remove the current one. Best to consider Macrium Reflect which goes to the trouble to provide the clone with a separate ID.

 

[iknowalittle]

Thank you #4 Jforce,

This is all so new to me could you explain what further management would entail ?
I shall look into Macrium Reflect….cheers

 

[deustroop]

Thank you #4 Jforce,

This is all so new to me could you explain what further management would entail ?
I shall look into Macrium Reflect….cheers

I recall that windows will move one of the disks off line and provide an opportunity to change the ID. I would use Macrium in case my memory has omitted a detail or two.

 

[Shmee]

I have used Macrium before to clone drives, among other programs. In my findings, it is usually easiest to use Paragon when cloning to a smaller drive. It usually works quite well, and is also pretty good when trying to clone from a drive with bad sectors. The version of Paragon I used is a bootable image, and is very easy to use and will automatically resize partitions in most cases. Macrium will also work as mentioned, but you have to manually resize when cloning; it may not be as intuitive.

 

[DaveSimmons]

I've used the Samsung migration software for both Windows 7 and 8.1 and it "just worked" both times. But in my case I was moving to larger drives and removing the old drives from the system.

In your shoes I'd try it first since it's easy to use and has worked for me before. If it has any problems cloning the larger drive it should tell you that before you replace the 500GB with the SSD.

 

[iknowalittle]

Yes the Samsung migration software worked for me flawlessly.

The only problem I had was setting AHCI, which was sorted out, in another thread

 

[corkyg]

I just did this yesterday cloning a 500GB drive to a 200GB drive using True Image 2017 from a bootable CD. With proportional mode, the result was perfect - took about 15 minutes total. Needless to say, yhere was only about 135GB on the larger HDD - it was a Win 7 OS disk.