You don't need any hardware at all other than a blank flash drive (and that doesn't have to be very large capacity).
Download a copy of the free version of Macrium Reflect. Install it onto the system and do two things:
Prepare and verify a bootable flash drive (i.e., rescue/recovery drive) under Macrium.
Then use the software to create an image of the SSD onto the hard drive. Verify the backup image.
Then shut down, swap in the larger capacity drive and boot the system from the rescue flash drive and restore the image to the new SSD. Restart and the system will then boot from the new drive.
As for the upgrade, 256 is still a bit tight on space -- though Dell hasn't tested one, a 512G or a 1T drive will work just fine.
I have a Dell Inspiron 3780 x64 using Win 10. My OS is on a 128 GB SSD and the storage is a 1TB HD. (standard) with 16 GB of memory. I want to clone my OS that's on the 128 SSD to a 256 GB SSD (the max for this system) because I need more space for apps and the files they produce. WHAT EQUIPMENT WOULD I NEED TO DO THIS??? I do not know what these items look like so any photos or video links would be very much appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Thank you for your explanation. So if I create this bootable usb using macrium reflect, and down the line I have a ssd failure and have to replace the ssd I could restore my system using this usb instead of using the os recovery tool usb?
Thank you for your explanation. So if I create this bootable usb using macrium reflect, and down the line I have a ssd failure and have to replace the ssd I could restore my system using this usb instead of using the os recovery tool usb?
A image is not the same as a clone is it???? I don't want to have to reload and or re-install software or change any settings so I specified "clone" in my topic. Will this still work?
A image is not the same as a clone is it???? I don't want to have to reload and or re-install software or change any settings so I specified "clone" in my topic. Will this still work?
When people clone a hard drive, they usually mean they do it in real-time e.g. drive#1 ---> drive#2.
You can also:
1.) use Macrium to create a bootable USB flash drive
2.) use Macrium to create an image file of drive#1 and save it to drive#3.
3.) remove drive#1
4.) put in drive#2
5.) boot into USB flash drive created in step #1
6.) image drive#2 with the image file from drive#3
ejn63
10 Elder
•
30.7K Posts
2
February 25th, 2022 11:00
You don't need any hardware at all other than a blank flash drive (and that doesn't have to be very large capacity).
Download a copy of the free version of Macrium Reflect. Install it onto the system and do two things:
Prepare and verify a bootable flash drive (i.e., rescue/recovery drive) under Macrium.
Then use the software to create an image of the SSD onto the hard drive. Verify the backup image.
Then shut down, swap in the larger capacity drive and boot the system from the rescue flash drive and restore the image to the new SSD. Restart and the system will then boot from the new drive.
As for the upgrade, 256 is still a bit tight on space -- though Dell hasn't tested one, a 512G or a 1T drive will work just fine.
nyc10036
4 Operator
•
5.6K Posts
2
February 25th, 2022 15:00
If you want to do this in one step, you buy one of these : https://www.ebay.com/itm/233956889828
Put new SSD into the enclosure. Practice good ESD procedure.
Use Macrium Reflect Free to clone to the smaller SSD to the new one.
Power down the laptop.
Replace the small SSD with the new one.
I did this early this week. Simple.
The enclosure will let you use the old smaller SSD as an external hard drive.
Dtyler513
1 Rookie
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4 Posts
0
February 26th, 2022 10:00
Great Idea. I might need this to do this in the future for the other 3 computers that I manage for my family!
Dtyler513
1 Rookie
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4 Posts
0
February 26th, 2022 10:00
Thank you so very much. This is a much simpler approach!
Meadow17
1 Rookie
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8 Posts
0
February 26th, 2022 14:00
Thank you for your explanation. So if I create this bootable usb using macrium reflect, and down the line I have a ssd failure and have to replace the ssd I could restore my system using this usb instead of using the os recovery tool usb?
nyc10036
4 Operator
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5.6K Posts
0
February 28th, 2022 11:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO9gCwQjBSo
.
Dtyler513
1 Rookie
•
4 Posts
0
February 28th, 2022 11:00
A image is not the same as a clone is it???? I don't want to have to reload and or re-install software or change any settings so I specified "clone" in my topic. Will this still work?
nyc10036
4 Operator
•
5.6K Posts
1
February 28th, 2022 11:00
When people clone a hard drive, they usually mean they do it in real-time e.g. drive#1 ---> drive#2.
You can also:
1.) use Macrium to create a bootable USB flash drive
2.) use Macrium to create an image file of drive#1 and save it to drive#3.
3.) remove drive#1
4.) put in drive#2
5.) boot into USB flash drive created in step #1
6.) image drive#2 with the image file from drive#3