Clone HDD with Optane Memory enabled

I have a Dell XPS 8920 (circa 2017) with the Dell OEM 1TB HDD as boot drive (Drive C), and with Optane Memory enabled ("paired" to the boot drive). I also have a second internal drive, 2TB HDD. (Drive D)
I want to replace the 1TB HDD OEM drive with a new 2TB HDD drive, after I clone the OEM drive. (I will temporarily remove the current 2TB "D" drive.)
Assuming that I clone the boot drive while Optane Memory is enabled:
1. Do I need to disable Optane Memory before swapping the drives, or will the system recognize the cloned (2TB) boot drive after the swap?
2. If the system will reboot from the cloned 2TB replacement, will the "Rescan" process pick up the data for the new boot drive?

In the image above, the "SATA (932 GB)" is the current boot 1TB HDD drive.

Windows 10 Version 21H1 (OS Build 19043.1052)

Pejole2165,

Thank you for the quick reply. I was not sure whether the pairing information was kept on the hard drive, or somewhere in the Optane memory. Since Dell was big into the Intel Optane technology, I posted my question on the Dell Community Forum. I will also post it on the Intel website.

Since I will be cloning a 1TB drive to the new 2Tb drive, there should be plenty of room at the end of the new drive for Optane to do its thing.

jumanji,

Many thanks! I can use all the advice I can get! I did post this question on the Intel Community forum, and got some great advice there, too.

From n_scott_pearson:
"You need to disable Optane before doing anything else. Only then will the contents be flushed to the HDD and the HDD ready for cloning."

Apparently the system information is on the Optane SSD (to which users have no access*). Some of that information is on the HDD (to which users have no access*).

You wrote, "On my Optane enabled 1TB disk the unallocated space is 9 MB. Since your disk will be 2TB, I would advise that you leave 20MB unallocated space ( to be safe) at the end."

Here is my internal HDD configuration:



The 1.12GB partition must be the Intel area. The 12.9Gb partition must be the Windows Recovery area.
I will be using Seagate DiscWizard to perform the cloning operation. It appears to have the capability of resizing partitions during the clone.

Note: My Dell XPS 8920 come with the Intel Optane Memory already enabled. I installed the second internal drive before my first boot. How Drive 0 became "D" and Drive 1 became "C" (boot drive) is a bit of a mystery. All I did was to plug in the cables for the new drive. It works, so that is all that matters.

From AlHill:
"And, if you intend on cloning a system drive to put into some other machine, do not do that."

From what I have read, Windows 10 has some code that ties it to the motherboard, to keeps people from installing illegal copies of Windows. My other computer (Dell Insipron 530, circa 2009. Primarily boots into Windows 7) already has the 'free' copy of Windows 10 on it, but I almost never boot into that hard drive (changed through BIOS).

* This 'should' prevent users from FUBARing their systems. Wherever there i a 'foolproof' system, there is some fool who will prove it.

Update 2 July 2021

The 'new' HDD (Seagate ST2000DM008, 2TB) that I ordered from Amazon was actually a "Recertified Product" (translation: "Used"). It arrived 1 July 2021.

I first disabled Optane, then removed my current "D" drive (ST2000DM008, 2TB) and installed the new HDD in its place.I tried to use the Seagate Recovery Boot disk, but the program could not Lock drive C, so I booted into Windows 10 and used that version of DiskWizard. The cloning operation did reboot into DOS (the Seagate GUI) and did its job.

When the program finished, I let it reboot the system, rather than shut it down. I wanted to check the new disk before swapping the drives. The system hung before the Windows Lock Screen image showed. I assumed that was because both drives were labeled "C".

After I shut down, swapped the drives, and re-installed my "D" drive, the system still froze before showing the Lock Screen image. Now I was getting worried. I booted into the Windows 10 Recovery DVD and tried to "Repair Files that keep Windows from starting" (or whatever it is called). No joy. I went into DOS (Command Prompt) from the Recovery DVD and verified that drive "C" actually had files on it. I also discovered that the system no longer recognized my original "D" drive. By now I was freaking out.

After a few hours of pulling my hair out (about 4 am), I removed the new "boot' drive and re-installed my OEM boot drive (Seagate ST1000DM010, 1TB). The system did boot into Windows 10, although dog-slow without the help from Optane, and my "D" drive came back. (The actress on my desktop wallpaper never looked so good!)

Tomorrow (3 July), when my nerves calm down, I will Disable Optane, disconnect both of my internal HDDs, and try the new 'boot' disk by itself. I figure that either

a) the used disk has some problems, or

b) something went afoul during the cloning operation.

Maybe the Windows system files did not get properly recorded. If nothing else, I will try to format the disk, to see if it is usable. For now, I did re-enable Optane to make life easier.

Stay tuned for further details.

Pejole2165,

You asked, "Does DiskWizard have the option to create a system image rather than cloning? Does it allow the creation of a USB/ DVD boot recovery disk?"

I did mention that I used the Seagate Recovery Boot disk. This is a DVD. (Writable CDs have all but disappeared where I shop - Wal Mart). This is a Linux-based bootable DVD, which I booted into on my first attempt at cloning the OEM boot drive. The program on the DVD could not "Lock Drive C" and failed at that point. I booted into Windows 10 and used that version of DiskWizard to attempt the clone.

The Seagate DiskWizard User's Guide, section 15 "Transferring the system to a new disc" (cloning) states:

"There are two transfer modes available: automatic and manual.In the automatic mode, you will only have to take a few simple steps to transfer all the data,including partitions, folders and files, to a new {larger} disc, making it bootable if the original disc wasbootable.There will be only one difference between these discs – partitions on the newer disc will be larger.Everything else, including the installed operating systems, data, disc labels, settings, software andeverything else on the disc, will remain the same."

The manual mentions backing up the system partition and backing up the entire system disc, but does not state that it can create a system image. The Windows 10 can do that. {Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Backup and Restore (Windows 7)}

The manual states that:

Seagate DiscWizard has been tested on the following operating systems:Windows XP SP3Windows XP Professional x64 Edition SP2Windows Vista SP2 (all editions)Windows 7 (all editions)
but does not mention Windows 10

It also claims to support:

FAT16/32NTFS <-- my OEM boot driveExt2/Ext3 *ReiserFS *

After the scare of 'losing' my Drive 0 "D" yesterday, I will take your advice and unplug all of my other drives (including my current boot drive) before making a second attempt at booting with this 'new' (although "Recertified Product" - translation: "Used") drive. If that disk will not boot all the way into Windows 10, I will format the drive with the Windows 10 Recovery Disk (DVD). If I can at least get this 'new' drive to work at all, I will make another attempt to clone my boot drive to it. If all else fails, I will low-level format the drive and return it to Amazon.

@jumanji

https://kb.acronis.com/content/1884

Unallocated Space in Disk Management - Windows 10 Forums