148 Posts
0
10794
Replacing E6530 HDD with Samsung 860 EVO - Cloning questions
I am about to replace my E6530 OEM HDD and want to make sure I don't have a wreck. I am replacing the 500GB hybrid HDD with a 1TB Samsung 860 EVO. I was originally going to use Clonezilla but was a little intimidated by the interface and started looking at the Samsung Data Migration program as an easier alternative. But in reading the installation guide, it says "The OEM Recovery partition created by the computer manufacturer as a factory setting will not be cloned." Is this a good reason to use Clonezilla instead? Is the OEM Recovery Partition important to have?
If I go with Clonezilla:
Which CPU version, i.e. AMD64, i686PAE, or i686? My Latitude has an i7 3740QM quad core CPU, 8GB RAM, running Windows 7-64 bit.
File type ZIP or ISO, and is it easier to run it from a CD (it said ISO for that method) than a USB thumb drive?
Or use Macrium Reflect for cloning hy OEM HDD?
jphughan
4 Operator
4 Operator
•
14K Posts
0
March 22nd, 2019 13:00
I'm not sure what Rescue disk you made beforehand, but it doesn't sound like the Macrium Reflect Rescue Media. Did you ever create that? If so, it has a tool called Fix Boot Problems that might have been worth trying, although you admittedly had a very simple partition layout, so I don't know where the problem would have been if you performed an entirely new clone job according to the step-by-step I posted earlier.
As to your "not genuine" issue, that can happen sometimes when you switch hard drives because it can cause Windows to believe it's been cloned or transplanted to a different PC. It doesn't happen all the time, and Microsoft is cagey about the details of its activation mechanism, but I've read that it's basically a points system. Each hardware change after the initial Windows activation is worth a certain number of points, with things like hard drives and motherboards being high point values, and once your post-activation point score reaches a certain threshold, Windows falls out of activation. So if you previously changed other hardware components, the hard drive swap may have put you over the top. You should be able to use the phone-based activation method to get reactivated though.
nyc10036
4 Operator
4 Operator
•
5.6K Posts
0
March 17th, 2019 16:00
Which version of Clonezila to use depends on whether you have BIOS or UEFI explained at https://clonezilla.org/downloads.php
I use Clonezilla on a USB thumb drive.
.
noonin
148 Posts
0
March 17th, 2019 17:00
I decided to try Macrium because it launches from my local disc and looked **bleep**-proof...I thought! The process went fine (dragged and dropped the two OEM partitions in the exact left-right configurations they showed up in in the Source pane, down to the lower pane for the Target Drive. Everything copied as expected, but since I was going from a 500GB HDD to a 1TB SSD, there was 500 GB of unallocated space. I followed directions and tried to expand the main OS partitioned space into the unallocated partition, but it kept only allowing me to expand the 13GB Recovery partition, not the main drive where the OS and all the good stuff is. Looks like because the order of partitions have the Recovery partition sitting right next to the unallocated space, it wants to be the only one allowed to expand into the free space. I'm considering starting from scratch, but when it comes time to drag and drop the two OEM partitions down to the Target drive, I'll drag the Recovery partition to the Left side, so the main partition will be next to the unallocated space and allow me to expand into it. Does this sound feasible?
The link you provided is the download page, doesn't explain which version to use for my config., which is why I was apprehensive in using it.
nyc10036
4 Operator
4 Operator
•
5.6K Posts
0
March 17th, 2019 18:00
You don't know if you have UEFI or BIOS? That is a problem!
.
noonin
148 Posts
0
March 18th, 2019 05:00
Sorry, but I don't quite understand what you mean
jphughan
4 Operator
4 Operator
•
14K Posts
0
March 18th, 2019 07:00
@noonin, using Macrium Reflect, in order to expand partitions other than the last one on the disk, you need to drag the partitions down, working left to right, and when you get to a partition you want to extend, you need to extend it BEFORE you drag down subsequent partitions. So let's say your main OS partition is #3. Drag down Partitions #1-3, then select #3 in the destination and resize it. You can set the new size either in terms of actual size OR how much space to leave free afterward, the latter of which can be useful here when you know the size of the remaining partitions you'll need to drag down afterward. Then after you've resized Partition #3, you would drag down the rest.
I would avoid changing the partition sequence. Someitmes it's fine, but in order times it can cause the system not to be able to find that partition anymore since it will have a different number -- and again, it isn't necessary as long as you do this properly.
noonin
148 Posts
0
March 19th, 2019 05:00
Thanks jphughan,
The OEM HDD is in it's original, 2 partition factory configuration. Just the 1 - OS Disk (C), and 2- Recovery (none). The OS disk is labeled Primary, the Recovery is labeled Active. Are you saying expand the OS disk (C) after drag it down in the lower Destination pane, in Macrium, before I clone the drive? I think what I might have done is expanded it in Windows Disk Management, and after I cloned it as the instructions for Clonezilla showed. I am assuming the only way to properly fix this is to reformat the SSD and start from scratch?
Here are a couple screen shots, post clone...
jphughan
4 Operator
4 Operator
•
14K Posts
0
March 19th, 2019 08:00
As of this writing, the screenshots you posted aren't visible yet because they are initially only visible to the person who posted them and to Dell moderators until they get "approved". But yes, you can specify a partition resize while "staging" the clone operation in Reflect so that you don't have to worry about resizing afterward. If your Recovery partition is located after your C partition and you don't perform the resize beforehand, you'll end up with your C partition, your Recovery partition, and then a bunch of unallocated space -- and you won't be able to extend your C partition into that unallocated space because your Recovery partition is in the way. There are repartitioning tools that can handle this, but I don't mess with them because it can take quite a while and I don't like the idea of live repartitioning, and again it isn't necessary because during the clone wizard you can specify that the C partition should be resized DURING the clone. In that case, the Recovery partition will end up near the end of the disk and there won't be a bunch of unallocated space at the end. Take a look at Steps 4 and 5 of this Macrium KB article to see the relevant steps, and as I said above, you just need to make sure that you drag each partition down from source to destination working left to right (rather than just clicking "Copy selected partitions"), and you need to perform this resize immediately after dragging a partition that you want to resize down into the destination, BEFORE you drag down any subsequent partitions. That way, you will have "staged" a clone operation that includes a resize of your C partition. Then run the clone.
As an example, look at the screenshot I've provided (once it becomes available). I've staged a clone from my 512GB SSD to a 4TB drive. Notice that I've resized both the C partition in the middle from 159.66 GB to 2.14 TB and the Data partition at the end from 316.39 GB to 1.5 TB -- so even though I'm cloning to a disk 8x larger than the source, I won't end up with any unallocated space at the end.
noonin
148 Posts
0
March 19th, 2019 09:00
Thank you, JP!
"If your Recovery partition is located after your C partition and you don't perform the resize beforehand, you'll end up with your C partition, your Recovery partition, and then a bunch of unallocated space -- and you won't be able to extend your C partition into that unallocated space because your Recovery partition is in the way."
That is exactly what happened. Guess it's time to start over. I assume there's no way to get this right beyond a full reformat of the SSD...hopefully that won't create undue wear and loss of longevity from the extra writing, but assume it will handle it OK.
noonin
148 Posts
0
March 20th, 2019 06:00
So if I edit the size of my OSDisk in the left hand Destination pane to include the size of the gray unallocated space on the right, it will "jump over" the middle Recovery partition to steal the empty space at the end and leave me with one, nice big main OS partition of roughly 983gb on the left and one Recovery 16gb partition on the right, and no partition on the right? Sorry for the questions, just don't want to have to do this again :BigSmile:.
jphughan
4 Operator
4 Operator
•
14K Posts
0
March 20th, 2019 07:00
No, partitions don't "jump over" other partitions. If you want to fix this, then yes the easiest way is to just rerun the clone and replace everything on your larger SSD. The amount of wear is negligible. Take a look at this article if you're curious.
I kind of figured that my instructions, example screenshot, and link to Macrium's KB article showing how to do this would be enough to get you going, but since the screenshot you posted earlier is now visible, here's a step-by-step tailored to your exact setup:
1. Open Reflect.
2. Select your existing disk and click "Clone this disk".
3. In the wizard, select your new SSD as the destination. Select each partition currently on that SSD and select "Delete existing partition" so that it ends up empty.
4. Drag your C partition from source to destination.
5. Select the partition you just dragged down and click "Cloned Partition Properties". Since you'll only need to add one more partition of a known size after your C drive, set the unit dropdown next to the "Free Space" field to GB and then enter "13.67" (the size of the Recovery partition) into that field, and click OK. Notice that Reflect has just "staged" your C drive clone on the destination such that its size leaves only enough space on your new SSD to fit your Recovery partition at the end.
6. Drag your Recovery partition down from the source to the destination in the remaining free space.
7. Run the clone.
noonin
148 Posts
0
March 20th, 2019 20:00
JP,
Thanks for the hand holding. The HD swaps I've done in the past have all been clean installs, and this one was going to bee more work than I have time for.
Your instructions were spot on. Unfortunately, it won't boot due to Windows error about the hardware change. More troubleshooting :-(.
jphughan
4 Operator
4 Operator
•
14K Posts
0
March 21st, 2019 07:00
Glad it helped! As to the boot issue, make sure the old disk is disconnected if you haven't already, and then boot into the Macrium Reflect Rescue Media and run Fix Boot Problems. That often addresses issues like that. If not, what's the specific error you're seeing? Windows shouldn't care about a hardware change here because you're migrating from a SATA HDD to a SATA SSD. If you were migrating from a SATA device to an NVMe device, that can require a bit more work since that is a hardware distinction Windows cares about, but your migration should be fine.
noonin
148 Posts
0
March 22nd, 2019 12:00
Well, I'm out of the loop where it wouldn't even attempt to boot. I got into the Diagnostics mode and ran a hardware test and everything, including the new SSD passed. Boot mode is Legacy, secure boot off.
Ran the Rescue disk I made and hit Repair. Said it couldn't repair automatically. Problem listed was "Startup Repair Ofline" and "No OS Installed".
Did same thing with my Windows Reinstallation of OS disk that came with the computer. It found "Windows 7 Recovered". Repair couldn't detect a problem, and allowed me to go to Windows logon screen. What a tease! After typing in PW, it goes to a blue screen and just lays there, small message in bottom left says "Windows OS not genuine"???
noonin
148 Posts
0
March 30th, 2019 06:00
With all the time I've spent trying to make this work, I probably should have just done a Clean Install, LOL!
Tried Dell, but since I'm out of warranty, the OOW Support was on par with what you'd expect from something free :Wink:. They punted me over to Microsoft, who was actually decently helpful and spent vat least 30 minutes trying to get it fixed, and was able to get partially functioning OS, but way too many problems with it to be a functioning version of Windows.
I just created a Macrium Rescue Media on a spare USB thumbdrive and am going to take another stab at this after I reformat the SSD (in case their is something on it corrupting the clone of my OEM HDD).
This has now become a challenge I'm trying to conquer!