1 Rookie
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3 Posts
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59
January 18th, 2026 19:41
XPS 8940, replace SSD boot disk
I am getting SMART error warnings on my XPS8940 showing that the SSD drive (which contains my c: drive and boot partition) is about to fail. I have a replacement SSD drive I can install and I have a backup of the data on the drive but I'm not sure of how I can restore it to the new disk once I have replaced the drive.
Can someone point me to step-by-step instructions? I assume I'm going to create some boot disk containing the Windows 11 setup files, boot from it and then use that to restore the backup but I'm not 100% sure of the exact steps and would appreciate some guidance so I don't lose all my setup.
thank you in advance
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bradthetechnut
7 Technologist
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9.2K Posts
1
January 19th, 2026 23:38
Yes. Once cloned, be sure not to boot from the new SSD while it's external. Otherwise, Microsoft may corrupt the drive. Microsoft doesn't seem to want external boot drives being plugged into just any PC.
redxps630
9 Legend
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15.3K Posts
1
January 19th, 2026 00:22
Try create system image of boot ssd then restore the image on replacement ssd.
https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/xps-desktops/system-image-clone-from-one-pc-to-another-in-windows-11/68916ac71739533d7ffd8d83?keyword=System%20image
(edited)
vertigo2712
1 Rookie
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3 Posts
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January 19th, 2026 20:24
Thanks. Quick question: i was thinking of connecting the new SSD as an external USB drive and then cloning the existing SSD on it (using Macrium Reflect), then removing the old SSD and installing the new one in its place. Would that work as well?
vertigo2712
1 Rookie
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3 Posts
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January 21st, 2026 07:26
Thanks for confirming -- it worked perfectly. I got a 2TB replacement SSD and connected it as an external drive using a USB docking station, then used Macrium Reflect to clone the content of my existing 1TB SSD drive to it.
Macrium Reflect allowed me to resize the partitions to use the extra 1TB of space. After cloning was completed, I shut down the PC, disconected the USB docking station, removed the old SSD drive and replaced it with the new one, then closed it up and turned it back on.
It took a long time to restart and for some reason the screen was black and there was no signal to the monitor instead of showing the usual Dell boot screen so I was about to give up but after about 5 minutes suddenly the windows login screen appeared and I could login and everything was exactly as I left it. Worked like a charm!
bradthetechnut
7 Technologist
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9.2K Posts
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January 21st, 2026 23:48
I'm glad it worked out. Also remember not to have 2 boot drives with the same OS, either Win10 or 11, installed in the same PC. Reason being is if the OS detects it, one or both drives will absolutely eventually become corrupted (that's Microsoft for ya'.). If 2 boot drives installed to reuse one for storage, there is time to go to Disk Management and wipe the old drive to use for storage.
Might be more than you need to know, but wanted to make sure the bases are covered.