Move Windows to new drive using a system image

Hi all!

My C drive, an old SSD, appears to be reaching its end of life. I am occasionally running into complete system freezes after which I have no other choice than to hit the physical reset button.

I would like to move the current Windows installation over to my secondary SSD. I have already created a system image using the build-in tool in Windows, and have created a repair disc (USB). I assumed it would be possible to simply install the system image to a different drive, but unfortunately it doesn't appear to be as easy as I hoped it would be.

To summarize the disk layout (these drives are all internal):

• C: SSD - contains Windows and holds the MBR (the defect one, will be retired)
• D: SSD - is partitioned as a GPT drive (the secondary drive I want to move Windows to)
• F: HDD (this drive contains the image and other data)

The F drive also contains a Linux installation, which has its bootloader on the C drive (the defect SSD carries all boot data). It is no problem for me however to lose this Linux installation as it's only for experimental use and I intend to reinstall it anyway.

I have no clue how to install the system image to the secondary SSD (currently marked D:). Is it actually possible at all, and if so, how can I achieve this?

Thanks in advance!

Thomas14 said:

...I would like to move the current Windows installation over to my secondary SSD. I have already created a system image using the build-in tool in Windows, and have created a repair disc (USB). I assumed it would be possible to simply install the system image to a different drive, but unfortunately it doesn't appear to be as easy as I hoped it would be....

Welcome to TenForums @Thomas14

The built in system imaging from Microsoft is very basic, in fact it is a deprecated feature in the Fall Creators Update. I'm not surprised you are having problems using it.

Microsoft said:

System Image Backup (SIB) Solution
We recommend that users use full-disk backup solutions from other vendors.

Features removed or Deprecated in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

As the old SSD is MBR and the one for the D: drive is GPT you may only be able to replace the C: SSD with a new one and restore the image to that (as MBR again). Booting may be a problem otherwise. @NavyLCDR may be able to help further...

A lot depends if the drive has corruption or bad blocks if it has then copying will just Cary over the errors and could mark the new drive with bad blocks. It's better to download the latest Windows ISO and do a clean install then you have a new system