“Disk cloning is the process of copying the contents of one computer hard disk to
another disk or to an "image" file.
Unlike standard copying functions, disk cloning involves copying hidden and in-use files,
and thus presents special challenges, as those types of files are typically not available
for copying.”
I ripped that straight from Wikipedia because I’m too lazy to make my own formal definition.
Simply put we copy over bit-by-bit the contents of drive A over to drive B.
This includes hidden partitions like the boot sector, recovery partitions, and Windows’
EFI partitions.
This process do require the use of third party software and the one we are going to be using
in this video is Macrium Reflect Free (not sponsored).
I picked this software for cloning because it has a clean and simple UI.
I.
What to clone
For this entire video, I would call the original hard disk drive Drive A while the destination
SSD Drive B.
A simple scenario is like this where all you have is the EFI partition, Windows C:/
partition, maybe a separate DATA partition, and the recovery partition if you still have
it.
Assuming you are going dual drive, clone only Windows EFI and the Windows partition.
Leave DATA and the large recovery partition on the hard disk drive to save space on the
smaller SSD.
Windows 10 tends to create extra little partitions before and after the Windows partitions, especially
after a major update.
When cloning you have to include those and those are small anyway at under a gigabyte.
Now I can’t guarantee that the recovery partition would still work when placed on
a different drive, but I don’t care.
A clean install of Windows is best to avoid any pre installed crap by your computer manufacturer.
II. Space Constraints
If you have all your personal data like pictures, music, movies, memes--on the same partition
as Windows (C:/) [on Drive A] and the total used space is more than what your SSD [Drive
B] can hold, you should move your personal data over to an external drive until you can
fit Windows on it.
If it’s still too tight, you will need to uninstall your large programs
(like games) and reinstall it later on the hard disk drive--but at this point it is more
beneficial for you to have a bigger SSD.
III. Cloning
So first we download the Free Home version of the software, then uhhh...download it again
because that was just the downloader.
Home licence... this part is optional...
I want a clean desktop... then Finish.
Now that we know what to include, let’s fire up Macrium.
So uncheck all the drives but the one that is going to be cloned [Drive A], pick your SSD
Then check all the partitions you want to copy.
Select clone this disk, [Drive B], Next, Next, Finish, then OK.
When you have those extra little partitions before and after Windows, it may error out
saying “Not all copied.
Insufficient space.”
In this scenario, we sacrifice some space on the Windows partition then drag that last
little partition over to that space.
A little adjustment on that little partition and you’re good to go.
There should be no errors during this entire process.
Once successful, you will see that you now have another smaller Windows partition in
This PC.
To avoid any confusion, I recommend naming it Windows SSD.
Go and restart your computer.
IV.
Booting
The hotkey to bring up the boot menu during startup varies from laptop to laptop.
In some cases jabbing that key isn’t enough.
Sometimes you’ll have to hold down the key as soon as the power LED on your computer
turns on.
Another method is using another hotkey, go to Setup and change the boot order so that
the SSD is picked first.
If you fail, just restart again.
We need to do this so, [1.]
We boot to the SSD [Drive B] instead of the hard disk drive [Drive A] and [2.] to verify
that the cloning process is successful.
If it goes as planned, you should see that Windows SSD is now the C:\
drive [Drive B] and you should notice that you booted up much faster than before.
Maybe even do a comparison where you stopwatch the boot up time between the hard disk drive
and the SSD from a cold start (like a restart).
Once booted up, go to Disk Management and delete the Windows partitions and other extra
partitions from the hard disk drive [Drive A].
Look carefully and you delete it from the hard disk drive, not the SSD.
Also if you still have the DATA partition and a recovery partition on the old drive
[Drive A] leave it there.
V. What to do with the old drive
This process will either leave you with: [Scenario 1] A completely blank hard disk drive or only
be left with the recovery partition --or [Scenario 2] the first half of it unallocated if you
still have the DATA partition.
Scenario 1
This is easy.
Format the unallocated space as your DATA partition.
Pick a drive letter, like D, because some of you want the D...to keep things simple
so Windows is on C and DATA on D.
For file system pick NTFS, or exFAT if you’re going to want Linux to access it in the future
for whatever reason.
Default allocation, quick format, and you’re done.
If you moved your personal data out to an external drive, you can now move it into here.
Scenario 2
You can extend the DATA partition to the unallocated space before it and have a dynamic disk, but
Microsoft no longer recommends that*.
You can instead format that unallocated space as another DATA partition, but once things
start to fill up you have a lot of moving files back and forth to do.
The best solution is to just move your personal data to a external drive, delete that DATA
partition, then follow the steps in Scenario 1.
VI.
Closing
We’re done.
With this setup you now have Windows and your programs on the nice and snappy SSD while
your larger personal data like pictures, movies, and whatever on the hard disk drive.
Likers gonna like, haters gonna hate, subscribe so you don’t miss any of my future videos,
and thank you for watching.
Also feel free to rewatch this guide if you become unsure at a certain step.
Best to double check now than screw up later.