HDD won't clone. How can I move the data to a new SSD?

Calab · 14 Jan 2021

I have a Windows 10 installation, with LOTS of apps and documents saved onto a 750GB hard drive in an Asus laptop. There is well over 400GB free on the drive, including an empty 280GB partition. I purchased a Seagate Barracuda 120 500GB SSD to transfer the system from the 750GB to the 500GB SSD.

I have tried several times to clone this HDD to the SSD but it never works. I've tried using CloneZilla, EaseUS Todo Backup, Macrium and Seagate DiscWizard.

- CloneZilla just doesn't try because the target disk is smaller than the source drive.
- Macrium runs for a while, then stops around 50% with an error 9 and says something about a Semaphore timeout.
- EaseUs ToDo Backup runs for a while and around 40% the % stops incrementing. I haven't received any kind of failure message.
- I don't recall what Seagates software did, but it did not work.

Currently I am trying to make a backup image of the source drive with EaseUS and it's sitting at 36% and the access light on the drive is still blinking. It's been at 36% for over an hour how.

At the moment, the source and target drives are installed in USB 3 enclosures, connected to USB ports on a Window 10 Pro computer. Build 19042.746 version 20H2.

I have run a CHKDSK M: /r /f on the source disk and there were errors found, and they should have been fixed.

I need to get this system transferred to the SSD. If I can't clone the drive, how else can I copy the working system from the HDD to the SSD?

Any and all help is GREATLY appreciated.

Paul Black · 14 Jan 2021

Hello @Calab,

Have you tried creating a System Image with Macrium Reflect?

Cloning Versus Imaging:

Cloning Versus Imaging:

Cloning is a one-step process that transfers the contents of 1 drive to another in real time. The target drive is immediately bootable if the cloning succeeds.

Macrium imaging merely creates a file with an mrimg extension. A very big file. You save it like any other file. You can move or copy it like any other file. It is largely useless in that state. It becomes useful when you formally "restore" it to some other drive, at which point that drive is immediately bootable. You can make a new image every day, week, or whenever, and keep as many as you like if you have the space. Or delete them at will. Each would represent your hard drive's state as of the moment the image file was made.

Imaging is done on a partition by partition basis. You choose which partitions to include in the image. You choose which partitions to restore. You wouldn't need the Macrium recovery media on the USB stick IF your hard drive is still bootable and you can still run Macrium from it. The stick would lead you to the same interface as opening Macrium from your hard drive, but it's much slower due to USB speed.

I hope this helps.

ignatzatsonic · 14 Jan 2021

Macrium has an advanced setting to ignore bad clusters when creating an image, but I have no idea if that might help you.

Railtech · 14 Jan 2021

You probably have partitions on this disk that are non-lettered. Assign drive letters to these partitions temporarily and run chkdsk /r against them. Errors on disk in any location can cause clone and or backup to fail.

NavyLCDR · 15 Jan 2021

Can you connect the source drive to a SATA port on the computer?

Calab · 02 Jul 2022

The drive was damaged. There was no way to image it. I was able to do a clean install of Windows on the SSD and then copy files from the drive.