Alpha ssd upgrade problem

So, i have the i7 version of the alienware alpha, and i purchased a kingston 240 gb ssd to upgrade when i purchased the alpha. The first thing i tried was to clone the original drive with 3rd party software to the ssd. (Using easeus) the results are super fast loading and system speed generally, but i was having issues with the inputs (mouse and keyboard) stalling and freezing. Logitech wireless using unifying reciever. Making system completly unresponsive In games and out of them, regardless of whether i was in alpha ui or desktop mode.

When i put the original hard drive back in, the mouse keyboard no longer lagged or froze at all. System seems fine, only with painfully slow 5400 rpm hard drive.

My next move was to create recovery media from original drive using alien respawn. Made recovery usb, wiped the ssd, and put ssd back into the alpha. When i boot up into alien respawn by usb, i start the recovery, but it comes up with error 0x4001001300001002, please contact support.

Well, support wont help because the original hardware works, and i dont have a contract for software support.

I have seen some forum articles that say that code could be because the ssd is smaller than the original drive. I cannot shrink the os partition small enough to fit, since it is on a 2tb drive. I Have seen a youtube video with a guy doing this exact upgrade onto the same kingston 240 gb hard drive using this method and it worked flawlessly. No error. His hhd was the 512 gb version, but still larger than the 240.

There is a microsoft artilce saying that this error could be hardware issue, but dell diagnostics recognized the new drive and found no issues after the clone.

I dont know if this is a compatability issue with the hardware, a software problem with respawn, or a defective ssd.

If anyone has any thoughts, or solutions to get respawn to work, I would be eternally grateful. I dont want a system that i cant restore if my hhd crashes, and i dont want a gaming rig with a 5400 rpm hhd.

I am not very impressed with dell support on the subject since text support is not authorized for my product and they wont talk to me on the phone because i dont have the appropriate warranties.

This has really made my lose faith in dell and alienware products.

I dont want to return the alpha, ld rather get it working. I have until april 10th to send it packing back to amazon for thier 30 day return policy, make a horrible review and look elsewhere for my pc solution.

Please help. I will take all the advice i can get.