How to Move OS from HDD to SDD

[ascalice]

I built a gaming PC (finally.) However, I accidently installed windows on the HDD, and not the SDD> I already installed all my stuff. How can I move the OS to the SDD from the HDD without formating the drives?

 

[razel]

As long as the SSD is large enough, you can clone it. Check if your SSD manufacturer offers any cloning or data migration software. Seagate, Intel and Samsung do offer downloads. If your SSD doesn't, but your HDD is Seagate, Samsung or Western Digital, you can still download their cloning software. Best of luck.

 

[denis280]

As long as the SSD is large enough, you can clone it. Check if your SSD manufacturer offers any cloning or data migration software. Seagate, Intel and Samsung do offer downloads. If your SSD doesn't, but your HDD is Seagate, Samsung or Western Digital, you can still download their cloning software. Best of luck.

+1 and make sure to connect the ssd only when you install

 

[lakedude]

+1 and make sure to connect the ssd only when you install

This is a different concept than razel suggested.

You seem to be talking about a full install from CD with only one drive connected while razel is talking about a clone or maybe an image.

A fresh install is considered the better option.

There is the 4k boundary thing to worry about as well...

 

[lakedude]

I found Windows to be stubborn when it came to shrinking HD partions small enough to fit on an SSD. Thank goodness for the Puppy Linux live CD...

 

[SparkyJJO]

I used Easus to do it on my PC. It worked perfectly.

Totally yanked that software off when I was done however due to the annoyingness of the software bugging me to do a million other things, but the clone to the SSD worked great 😀

 

[code65536]

I found Windows to be stubborn when it came to shrinking HD partions small enough to fit on an SSD. Thank goodness for the Puppy Linux live CD...

The pagefile and system restore points are marked as unmoveable. Maybe the hibernation file, too, but I don't remember. Disable the page file, delete all system restore points, and might as well turn off hibernation as well, and the shrink should be far less fussy. You can reenable them afterwards.

 

[lakedude]

The pagefile and system restore points are marked as unmoveable. Maybe the hibernation file, too, but I don't remember. Disable the page file, delete all system restore points, and might as well turn off hibernation as well, and the shrink should be far less fussy. You can reenable them afterwards.

Thanks for the info. It is nice to know these things.

That said, when an OS gives me trouble I tend not to fight with it. Learning the proper way to do things within each OS runs a bit counter to my general philosophy which is that the computer is there for my usage to do what I want it to do, not the other way around.

If any one OS gives me too much trouble I typically just use another. That works both ways. If Windows is being fussy I'll just use Linux or if Linux is being troublesome I'll just use Windows (or Unix or a different Linux distro).

This philosophy keeps me a bit more ignorant of the finer workings of each OS that I use but I'm kinda good with that.

In the case of unmovable partitions I just fired up a live CD version of Linux and Linux did not give a crap about "unmovable" partitions. It moved them with no fussing which was exactly what I wanted.

 

[corkyg]

I cloned my 320GB HDD to a 256GB Samsung SSD - took less than 10 minutes using TI (2014). It handles alignment and is excellent when it comes to proportional cloning drives of different sizes. The cloned SSD booted right up. Nary a problem. Yjis was in myn T510 notebook using the Ultrabay adapter for the target drive and the normal drive bay for the so;urce. No other drives were involved since it was a laptop.

 

[code65536]

That said, when an OS gives me trouble I tend not to fight with it.

But the OS isn't giving you trouble because it thinks, "Oh, I love making people's lives harder!" The problem with shrinking a partition in Windows is that you're doing that on a live, currently-running system. That Windows even lets you do this to the system partition of a live system is not trivial. Doing it offline (Live CD or bootable partition utilities) is subject to far fewer challenges..

 

[lakedude]

But the OS isn't giving you trouble because it thinks, "Oh, I love making people's lives harder!" The problem with shrinking a partition in Windows is that you're doing that on a live, currently-running system. That Windows even lets you do this to the system partition of a live system is not trivial. Doing it offline (Live CD or bootable partition utilities) is subject to far fewer challenges..

Hmmm, good point.

Say you want to shrink the Windows partitions on your desktop's HD before cloning/imaging over to a smaller SSD.

Could you hook up your desktop's HD via a USB enclosure to a laptop running Windows and then try to use the laptop's OS to move/shrink the now inactive desktop HD's partition? Would that work, or would the the laptop's OS "respect" the wishes of the desktop's HD and refuse to move the desktop's "unmoveable" sections?

 

[lakedude]

Maybe someone could clear up the difference between a clone and an image?

 

[Cerb]

Maybe someone could clear up the difference between a clone and an image?

Cloning refers to copying one drive's contents to another, directly.

Imaging refers to copying the contents of one drive to a file (or files), that can be restored to another drive. An image in the sense of f(x) -> y; f'(y) -> x. Images are mostly useful for backups, and for making clones/near-clones of PCs.

 

[code65536]

Could you hook up your desktop's HD via a USB enclosure to a laptop running Windows and then try to use the laptop's OS to move/shrink the now inactive desktop HD's partition? Would that work, or would the the laptop's OS "respect" the wishes of the desktop's HD and refuse to move the desktop's "unmoveable" sections?

It should work, since that's not the OS that's currently running. The stuff that's unmoveable is unmoveable because that's something the currently-running OS is using.

 

[Cerb]

You can also run another OS. I typically reboot into Linux on a USB stick to delete stubborn files.

 

[lakedude]

You can also run another OS. I typically reboot into Linux on a USB stick to delete stubborn files.

Yes, me too.

 

[corkyg]

That is the reason I always clone or image with bootable media so as never to run into conflicts with the OS. Example, when I clone, I boot with an Acronis CD or Thumb drive and it uses a Linux variant OS and GUI and Windows is not involved.

In addition to Cerb's definition, an image is a useable replica of the source drive that has the same file structure, and files can be accessed. A backup file is generally coded into a single file that requires restore in order to access anything. It then restores to an image.

Generically, you can backup any file to any location manually or automatically like some word processors do.