cloning C: System Drive to SSD questions

see comments:

xyz said:

Okay, thanks so much. I will get the old computer down from the shelve and do some practice with MR. I am just going to have to leave _ and hope _ the MR settings as they already are when installed.

I will create a Rescue Media on USB stick (with settings left as is default) = try booting with it.

You may as well find out before you begin any of this that the boot menu with F12 or Novo works. If it won't, you would need to make a change in the BIOS instead, but that is cumbersome.

If this second machine is NOT a Lenovo, then you may need to use some other key to access the boot menu. It varies by manufacturer/motherboard.

Yeah, just accept defaults and see if you end up with a bootable stick. It boots you to Macrium interface or it doesn't.

When you first insert that stick in a port and open Macrium and go to the "create rescue media" from the "other tasks" menu, you should then see that USB stick offered as a choice in the "select device" window as seen in your post 9 above.

Then I will create image file and save this to external drive. If this goes well, I will then use Rescue Media to restore that image to the original C Drive (my only uncertainty here is will it overwrite the system that is still on the C drive, or not?)

Yes, it WILL overwrite whatever is on the drive to which you direct the restore. If that is not suitable, you would need to find some other drive to restore to and leave the original drive intact and unaltered.

Maybe after creating the image, and before I use Rescue Media, I can alter something on C drive (something that is already on image), so I can see if Rescue Media succeeded in restoring unaltered image.

Yeah, you could do something like that if you want to prove it to yourself. Or create a file on C called "dog" and make an image after that. Then delete dog from C. Then restore the image and see if dog can be found.

Either the restored image will boot or it won't. If you see a "progress" percentage creeping across the screen, you are on the right track.

Everything will have to be done with default settings in MR.

OK.

You will be running off a USB stick and they aren't speedy, so don't expect near instantaneous response to mouse or keyboard.

Success! Computer is now running on the 500 GB Samsung EVO SSD. I took my time because I was busy and did not want to make a mistake by rushing.

First cleaned up by moving things from C Drive. Got the total size down to 357 GB.

Lucky, I did, because I was very surprised to discover that the 500 GB Evo SSD only has 464 GB free!

So, what is the other 36 GB for? Seems very large to me!

Which means a 500 GB Samsung EVO SSD is in fact - NOT - a 500 GB SSD!

You pay for a supposedly 500 GB SSD but don’t get what you pay for! This kind of trickery is disgusting, and should be illegal, but we allow them to get away with such trickery.


(I am aware that in the digital world they calculate differently = but when it comes to selling they calculate differently too. There is often a great lack of transparency and honesty in the digital world = double standards/double measurements. This SSD should show the correct = usable = GB size 464 GB)

However, all the work was worth it because I now have 83 GB breathing space on the SSD. I thought it would be more like 115 GB, but I got robbed!

I don’t know if the other SSD Brands do the same trickery? It is perhaps something to think about when buying a SSD (or calculating needed amount of space), especially a Samsung SSD!


I now must sort out the old C drive HDD still inside the computer but not connected.

I have an image of C on an external drive = as well as the original on the old HDD = and an additional backup copy on another external drive. I will keep the old C data on the old HDD (at least for the time being) = but I want to partition the drive and use the rest for storage or for software installs.

There are three drives inside computer now (new) SSD C Drive, E Drive (HDD), and the former C HDD (at the moment unconnected).

As stated earlier there are only 3x motherboard SATA connecting points.

At the moment used by SSD C Drive (1), E Drive HDD (2), and DVD RW Drive (4)

(there is no number 3 SATA)

QUESTIONS:

1) It means I will have to use the DVD RW Drive SATA connector (4) for the Old C Drive HDD (I have an external portable DVD RW)!

Are there any reasons why this won’t be okay/work?

Do I have to change anything in BIOS (and if so what)?

I prefer to leave the HDD inside the computer as I have enough external drives connecting.

However, this will depend on answer to question 2!

2) If I connect the old HDD up internally will the C system data still stored on it cause issues?

(And if yes, does this also apply if I use this HDD as an external drive?)

xyz said:

Lucky, I did, because I was very surprised to discover that the 500 GB Evo SSD only has 464 GB free!

So, what is the other 36 GB for? Seems very large to me!

Which means a 500 GB Samsung EVO SSD is in fact - NOT - a 500 GB SSD!

You pay for a supposedly 500 GB SSD but don’t get what you pay for! This kind of trickery is disgusting, and should be illegal, but we allow them to get away with such trickery.

You have not been robbed.


The drive has 500,000,000,000 bytes of storage that is 500 GB.

However, Windows historically called a kilobyte 1024 bytes not 1000 bytes (100= is the strict definition). This is because 1024 is 2^10 and memory sticks are always a factor of 2 as binary.

So MS reports 464 GB assuming a GB is 1024x1024x1024 - 464x1024x1024x1024 equals 500x1000x1000x1000.

Other OSs e.g. Apple now define a GB as 1000x1000x1000 and report drive as 500 GB, so no confusion.

In the end, it is just a historical anachronism of Windows reporting (Also a bit of sneaking marketing by Drive vendors who reply on the MS anachronism to make drives look bigger than they are BUT THEY ARE STRICTLY telling the truth).

xyz said:

Success!

Computer is now running on the 500 GB Samsung EVO SSD.

There are three drives inside computer now (new) SSD C Drive, E Drive (HDD), and the former C HDD (at the moment unconnected).

As stated earlier there are only 3x motherboard SATA connecting points.

At the moment used by SSD C Drive (1), E Drive HDD (2), and DVD RW Drive (4)

(there is no number 3 SATA)

QUESTIONS:

1) It means I will have to use the DVD RW Drive SATA connector (4) for the Old C Drive HDD (I have an external portable DVD RW)!

Are there any reasons why this won’t be okay/work?

Do I have to change anything in BIOS (and if so what)?

2) If I connect the old HDD up internally will the C system data still stored on it cause issues?

Shouldn't be any problems if I understand you correctly.

The old C partition will receive some other drive letter whenever reconnected.

You might post a picture of your new Disk Management showing all drives and all partitions to confirm.

Good job.

The drive usable space issue applies across all manufacturers and drive sizes.

It amounts to about a 7% "loss". A 1 TB drive has about 931 GB usable. My 3 TB drive has 2.72 TB usable.

ignatzatsonic said:

Shouldn't be any problems if I understand you correctly.

The old C partition will receive some other drive letter whenever reconnected.

You might post a picture of your new Disk Management showing all drives and all partitions to confirm.

Good job.

The drive usable space issue applies across all manufacturers and drive sizes.

It amounts to about a 7% "loss". A 1 TB drive has about 931 GB usable. My 3 TB drive has 2.72 TB usable.

Nothing is lost. See my earlier post. You simply do not understand it.

ignatzatsonic said:

I'm guessing you understand the use of quotation marks around a word.

What was point of that - explain it properly or do not bother,