# Cloning my boot drive - How do I go about it?



## PLSG08 (Oct 18, 2019)

So I bought myself a new M.2 ssd to replace my boot drive. As much as I could just reinstall windows and reinstall everything again its kinda a hassle to setup everything for my work and how some of my preferences are setup (photoshop and drawing tablet driver optimizations and etc) A friend of mine told me to look into cloning my boot drive that way i don't have to setup everything again. 

is cloning relatively easy? or should I just do a windows installation from scratch. 

Many thanks in advance!


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## trog100 (Oct 18, 2019)

download macreum reflect.. its free...

trog


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## 1000t (Oct 18, 2019)

I cloned a drive once, few years ago. I used live linux distro and dd command to clone the installed linux OS from HDD to new SSD of similar, but slightly lower capacity. Unfortunately, I don't remember anymore how I did it. There are two possibilities:

resize the partitions to fit if necessary and clone whole device,
do it partition by partition.
I think I did it the first way, but I'm not sure. But it worked.


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## TheLostSwede (Oct 18, 2019)

Install the M.2 drive, use cloning software...
I'd recommend https://www.miray.de/products/sat.hdclone.html
Then reboot the system, set the M.2 drive as the boot drive and check everything is there.
HD Clone can do the repartitioning on the fly after after it has cloned the drive.


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## Jetster (Oct 18, 2019)

Samsung data migration works nicely









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Download Samsung Magician, tools & software for Samsung SSDs, Data Migration Software, Firmware, Driver, Data Center Toolkit, Activation Software.




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## kapone32 (Oct 18, 2019)

Macrium Reflect it is free and it works



TheLostSwede said:


> Install the M.2 drive, use cloning software...
> I'd recommend https://www.miray.de/products/sat.hdclone.html
> Then reboot the system, set the M.2 drive as the boot drive and check everything is there.
> HD Clone can do the repartitioning on the fly after after it has cloned the drive.



Frig I loved that program I didn't know they added support for M2 drives. Is it still possible to change the C drive when cloning with this one too?


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## Vario (Oct 18, 2019)

Jetster said:


> Samsung data migration works nicely
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I use this one.  Its a great program, very fast and easy to use, but, unless I am mistaken, it is only for supported Samsung consumer drives.


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## TheLostSwede (Oct 18, 2019)

kapone32 said:


> Frig I loved that program I didn't know they added support for M2 drives. Is it still possible to change the C drive when cloning with this one too?



Yeah, all the same features as before, just more and better features. Obviously not free, but it has never failed me once.


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## kapone32 (Oct 18, 2019)

TheLostSwede said:


> Yeah, all the same features as before, just more and better features. Obviously not free, but it has never failed me once.



Nice I will get this one when I get home today


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## PLSG08 (Oct 18, 2019)

TheLostSwede said:


> Yeah, all the same features as before, just more and better features. Obviously not free, but it has never failed me once.


I don't need to buy it if I plan on just using it one time right? How about using Macrium Reflect, is that another good software as well? The drive will arrive (if seller is correct) hopefully tomorrow. and how long does the cloning process take? Can I still use the PC normally as it clones the drive?


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## EarthDog (Oct 18, 2019)

What everyone else said... I use EaseUS software... works like a charm (and free). 

You can use your PC while you clone... and for how long, that depends on the size of the drives and data. With NVMe to NVMe it should be quick regardless... I wouldnt imagine over an hour for a stuffed full 1TB drive.


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## TheLostSwede (Oct 18, 2019)

PLSG08 said:


> I don't need to buy it if I plan on just using it one time right? How about using Macrium Reflect, is that another good software as well? The drive will arrive (if seller is correct) hopefully tomorrow. and how long does the cloning process take? Can I still use the PC normally as it clones the drive?


There's a free version, just very slow in comparison, as it has a speed limit. But there's also the other alternative, if you know what I mean...
I have no idea about the other software, never used it.


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## dirtyferret (Oct 18, 2019)

EarthDog said:


> What everyone else said... I use EaseUS software... works like a charm (and free).



Is that Crucial's cloning software or am I thinking of Acronis?


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## EarthDog (Oct 18, 2019)

dirtyferret said:


> Is that Crucial's cloning software or am I thinking of Acronis?


Neither...

It is it's own brand/software AFAIK.


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## jayjr1105 (Oct 18, 2019)

ddrescue is a free option as it comes with pretty much any linux distro.  The catch is the new drive has to be bigger than the old drive.  It's a bit advanced as it's all command line.  You can download clonezilla (also linux) but more user friendly.  I'm not sure if they've kept that up to date or not.

Acronis 11 or higher is by far easiest way.  Try finding a free copy of True Image HD.

Here's clonezilla's most recent stable release https://osdn.net/projects/clonezilla/downloads/71563/clonezilla-live-2.6.3-7-amd64.iso/


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## Hardcore Games (Nov 6, 2019)

I use the WD version of Acronis. It needs a WD disk to install but after that it's no problem. I have lots of WD disks so I am not worried.

Acronis can copy the boot disk of any rig to another disk. With a dual M.2 motherboard its trivial to copy SSD drive.


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## oobymach (Nov 6, 2019)

PLSG08 said:


> I don't need to buy it if I plan on just using it one time right? How about using Macrium Reflect, is that another good software as well? The drive will arrive (if seller is correct) hopefully tomorrow. and how long does the cloning process take? Can I still use the PC normally as it clones the drive?


I used macrium and it took about an hour and a half to clone my hdd onto an ssd (about 185gb). When using macrium, drag each partition from your main drive to the clone drive leaving the big one for last. I watched videos while it did its thing.


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## ShrimpBrime (Nov 7, 2019)

Don't really need any cloning software. W7 and up you can create a system image right in windows. 
Relatively easy to do and it works just fine. I've used it several times myself.









						How to create a full system backup in Windows 10
					

It's an oldie but goodie: Creating a system image of your Windows 10 PC in case your hard drive goes belly up and you need to recover your files, settings and apps.




					www.cnet.com
				




Most people prefer other software for cloning, just a preference thing imo.


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## John Naylor (Nov 7, 2019)

Use the migration tool that comes with the SSD (download from site)


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## thesmokingman (Nov 7, 2019)

Been using clonecd iso for years.


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## Joss (Nov 7, 2019)

You don't want cloning, you want imaging.
Cloning is to create a bootable disk with the installed OS.
Image is to create a snapshot that you can install (restore) to any disk.








						What’s the Difference: Disk Cloning vs Disk Imaging | Daves Computer Tips
					

This question crops up quite a lot and the answer has more to do with procedure than the end result. Both disk cloning and disk imaging will copy the entire contents of one hard drive to another…



					davescomputertips.com
				




Use Macrium Reflect and create images regularly, say every fortnight, so you always have a recent one.


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## Kursah (Nov 8, 2019)

+1 to Macroum Reflect. Works great for this application and backups in general. And you can do both with the free version.


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