Migrating Windows 10 to ssd with Windows 7 on a second drive

Having no luck here so I need some help. I'm trying to replace a hdd Win 10 installation with a cloned ssd.

I have the following setup:

Disk 0: Windows 10 Pro installation (OS build 19041.867)
Disk 1: Windows 7 (disk also contains EFI boot sector)
Disk 2: Storage
Disk 3: New SSD with Windows 10 cloned from disk 0 (using AOMEI)

All drives are GPT, motherboard BIOS set to UEFI boot. BIOS recognizes the new ssd.

I can't get the system to boot from the new SSD. Upon completion of the cloning process, I shut down the cpu and disconnected the power on the old Windows 10 disk but when trying to boot am met with BSOD error 0xc000000e (failure to load winload.efi) and startup repair fails. Windows 7 will boot fine from this environment.

I think the problem lies with the fact that since windows 7 was present while adding Windows 10 some years ago, the Boot Manager is on Disk 1 and not recognizing the new SSD as a valid boot device.

I've reviewed a number of articles and advice on rebuilding the boot record, but since it resides on Disk 1 I'm wary of fiddling with it because making a mistake there would be trouble since my original Windows 10 will not boot without it, so I need a pro's advice. Would appreciate any help that could be offered.

Ben75 said:

Having no luck here so I need some help. I'm trying to replace a hdd Win 10 installation with a cloned ssd.

I have the following setup:

Disk 0: Windows 10 Pro installation (OS build 19041.867)
Disk 1: Windows 7 (disk also contains EFI boot sector)
Disk 2: Storage
Disk 3: New SSD with Windows 10 cloned from disk 0 (using AOMEI)

All drives are GPT, motherboard BIOS set to UEFI boot. BIOS recognizes the new ssd.

I can't get the system to boot from the new SSD. Upon completion of the cloning process, I shut down the cpu and disconnected the power on the old Windows 10 disk but when trying to boot am met with BSOD error 0xc000000e (failure to load winload.efi) and startup repair fails. Windows 7 will boot fine from this environment.

I think the problem lies with the fact that since windows 7 was present while adding Windows 10 some years ago, the Boot Manager is on Disk 1 and not recognizing the new SSD as a valid boot device.

I've reviewed a number of articles and advice on rebuilding the boot record, but since it resides on Disk 1 I'm wary of fiddling with it because making a mistake there would be trouble since my original Windows 10 will not boot without it, so I need a pro's advice. Would appreciate any help that could be offered.

Ben75 hello and welcome to TF ,

Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect install MR, make a MR Rescue USB from the MR app, boot from the USB, and try the repair option.

Thank you for the warm welcome and quick reply.

I ran the repair utility and booted from the ssd without a hitch. However, it bypassed the OS selection menu so I have no option to boot into Windows 7 on the other drive. How do I get the new boot record to acknowledge the Windows 7 installation?

Much thanks.

- - - Updated - - -

Problem is solved.

Apparently, Macrium did not assign a drive letter to my Windows 7 partition and so it was not included in the boot record. But something weird:

I re-ran the rescue utility and assigned a drive letter with the command prompt (Z) and then fixed the MBR. I then rebooted and the boot loader menu never appeared. But I re-ran a second time and noticed that this time it assigned the letter C to the same drive. I then fixed the MBR again and this time it worked.

Not sure why but I'll take it.

Thanks for the help. Much appreciated.

Ben75 said:

Thank you for the warm welcome and quick reply.

I ran the repair utility and booted from the ssd without a hitch. However, it bypassed the OS selection menu so I have no option to boot into Windows 7 on the other drive. How do I get the new boot record to acknowledge the Windows 7 installation?

Much thanks.

- - - Updated - - -

Problem is solved.

Apparently, Macrium did not assign a drive letter to my Windows 7 partition and so it was not included in the boot record. But something weird:

I re-ran the rescue utility and assigned a drive letter with the command prompt (Z) and then fixed the MBR. I then rebooted and the boot loader menu never appeared. But I re-ran a second time and noticed that this time it assigned the letter C to the same drive. I then fixed the MBR again and this time it worked.

Not sure why but I'll take it.

Thanks for the help. Much appreciated.