How to transfer a Windows system from HDD to SSD! Transferring the system to SSD Copying the system to ssd.

Hello, friends! I often had the opportunity to transfer Windows 7 and Windows 8 from a simple HDD to an SSD. I mainly used the following programs: Acronis True Image, Paragon Migrate OS to SSD, Paragon Home Expert 12 and AOMEI Partition Assistant Home Edition. The longest, but most interesting, way to transfer Windows 7 from HDD to SSD using the tools built into Windows.

  • If you are interested in the article, visit where they are collected all publications on our site on the very interesting topic of transferring operating systems from one storage device to another.

The easiest and surprisingly fast waytransfer Windows 7 from HDD to SSDusing the program Paragon Migrate OS to SSD , with the help of this program I suggest that you today transfer the system to an SSD.

The program is paid, it costs a fortune 390 rubles. If you have Windows 8, then only the latest version of the Paragon Migrate OS to SSD 3.0 program is suitable for migration.

Website http://www.paragon.ru/home/migrate-OS-to-SSD

Important Note: If you have Paragon Home Expert 12 installed, then the Paragon Migrate OS to SSD utility is included in the package of this program.

If you want to transfer Windows 7 from HDD to SSD using Paragon Home Expert 12, go to the end of this article, there are short instructions there.

After transferring the operating system from the HDD to the SSD, you need to check the correct alignment of the disk partitions relative to the SSD architecture. Aligned partitions ensure maximum performance, speed and longevity of your SSD, trust me, this is very important. We will check the correctness of partition alignment using the free utility AS SSD Benchmark.

How to migrate Windows 7 from HDD to SSD using Paragon Migrate OS to SSD program

So, pay attention to the Disk Management window of my computer, there is a 250 GB hard drive, divided into two partitions, on one of them - drive (C:) there is a Windows 7 operating system, we will transfer it to a 120 GB SSD solid state drive, representing unallocated space.

Launch the Paragon Migrate OS to SSD program. Next.

The program automatically found my SSD drive and is ready to transfer the operating system. Pay attention to the item “Use all available space for the partition with OS”, be sure to check the box here and all the space on the solid-state drive will be allocated to create one new disk (C:) with the transferred Windows. After all, solid-state drives are used mainly only for installing the operating system.
If you click on “Please select what folders should be copied”, then you can select the folders you need to copy. I need the whole Windows, so I'll leave everything as is.

Click on the Copy button.

A suspiciously short migration process occurs without any reboots.

I couldn’t help but remember the good old Acronis True Image, where you had to create an image of the operating system, then deploy it to an SSD, although Acronis works flawlessly, it takes several times longer.

While we were talking about Acronis, the Paragon Migrate OS to SSD program had already transferred our Windows 7 to an SSD. The final window in which we are offered to boot from the SSD. Let's reboot.

Now you need to enter the BIOS and set it to boot from the SSD. Select Boot Menu (F8).

Using the arrows on the keyboard, select our solid-state drive and press Enter. The computer is booting from the SSD.

Note: What I like about UEFI BIOS is that it has its own bootloader, which accommodates all existing bootloaders and will never get confused in them. The UEFI BIOS remembers the last operating system you loaded and will load it exactly next time. Switching between operating systems (no matter how many of them you have installed) is simple, fast and error-free.

If you have a regular BIOS, then the transfer should also occur without problems. The only thing you need to do is to find in it the parameter responsible for the primacy of Hard Disk Drives (AMI BIOS) or Hard Disk Boot Priority (AWARD BIOS) and set your SSD as the first device. How to find these parameters can be found in.

I think you managed it and booted from the SSD into the transferred system. We go to Disk Management and see this picture - the system has been transferred.

And then restore them in a clean installation of Windows. However, I'm sure there will be people who will want to move a carefully configured system from one drive to another. Initially, I did not plan this post, but having received another question by mail, I decided to highlight this simple process on the blog.

There are special programs for disk cloning (for example, Acronis or Paragon). In them, the marketing focus is often on transferring the system from HDD to SSD, as in the title of this guide :) However, you can solve this problem using free Microsoft tools, without unpleasant surprises, and my instructions apply to any disk types.

I want to emphasize that this guide describes the process of cloning a system and moving it to another drive within the same PC. Transferring the system to another PC (even with the same hardware configuration) is only supported for images generalized using the sysprep utility. Formally, Microsoft does not support cloning without sysprep at all (even with third-party software). In my proposed method, support is hampered by several technical limitations, but I do not consider them significant for home PCs.

Today on the program

You will need...

First, let's define the terminology. Where you see the phrases “installation disk”, “Windows PE disk”, “recovery disk”, you can equally well use either an optical disk (CD/DVD) or a removable USB disk (flash drive).

So, you need:

  1. Environment in any form. It could be:
  • Windows installation disk
  • recovery environment on the recovery disk that matches your operating system (see instructions for Windows 7 or Windows 8 and later)
  • Windows PE 3.1 or 4.0 disk you created
  • An external or internal disk with enough free space to save a compressed image of the system partition.
  • Ability to boot into Windows PE and determine drive letters.
  • Utility imagex the same bit depth as Windows PE. The utility can be located anywhere except the partition you are cloning.

    • Why imagex and where to get the utility

    With the release of Windows 8, the imagex utility has been deprecated, and Microsoft now recommends using DISM. However, imagex works and is still supported, while DISM requires you to create a bootable Windows PE disk with the .NET Framework and PowerShell, which complicates the process.

    If you prefer a GUI, there's Gimagex, but I try not to add extraneous factors to the OS deployment process. The imagex utility can be downloaded as part of the ADK by installing deployment tools only about 50MB (thanks, Semyon Galkin). Once installed, you will find imagex in Program Files (x86)\Windows Kits.

    There is an alternative and very interesting way - you can receive a link to the utility by mail from Microsoft by requesting it from the knowledge base article KB2525084.

    Capture the system partition into a WIM image

    Boot into Windows PE and run all the commands in its console. To reduce image size, page and hibernation files, as well as the Recycle Bin and shadow copies are automatically excluded during capture. If you want to exclude some other folders or files, create an imagex configuration file. You will definitely need it if you are using Windows Subsystem for Linux ( WSL) in Windows 10 - you need to add the %LOCALAPPDATA%\lxss folder to the exceptions (see also KB3179598).

    Command line option /compress maximum You can slightly reduce the size of the image. I don’t use it because maximum compression delays the process, and I have no problems with free space to save the file.

    At the end of the procedure, turn off the PC and connect the SSD in place of the HDD. The hard drive can be connected to a different connector.

    Preparing the SSD for applying the image

    The task comes down to creating a new partition in Windows PE. For SSDs, proper biasing is important to avoid performance degradation and shortened drive life. The installer automatically sets the offset to 1024KB, which is easy to verify. When creating partitions on a blank disk using the diskpart utility, the same thing happens, but in my commands the offset is specified explicitly to avoid accidents.

    Here is a minimum set of partitions that is suitable for all supported Windows operating systems (a Windows RE partition is not created). Run the following commands sequentially in the Windows PE console. They imply that one main partition will be created on the SSD, occupying the entire disk.

    Diskpart:: display a list of disks list disk:: select a disk (instead of N, specify the SSD letter) sel disk N:: clear the disk of partitions (erases all data) clean:: convert the disk to MBR convert mbr:: create a primary partition with an offset of 1024KB create partition primary align=1024:: make the partition active (nbh for booting from it) active:: format in NTFS, set the disk label format fs=NTFS label="Windows" quick:: assign a letter to the partition assign letter=W exit

    Now you are ready to apply the saved image to the SSD.

    Applying an image to an SSD

    This operation is performed in Windows PE with one command:

    Imagex /apply E:\migrate.wim 1 W:

    • E:\migrate.wim— path to the saved image
    • 1 – the index of the single image in the WIM file you created
    • W– SSD drive letter in Windows PE, assigned a little earlier in diskpart

    Your letters may be different, of course.

    Setting up booting into a cloned system

    MBR partitioning

    Utility bootrec available in Windows PE when booted from the installation disk, but it may not be included in the built you Windows PE disk.

    Bootrec /rebuildbcd

    This command looks for installed Windows on all drives (equivalent to the /scanos parameter) and offers to add systems that are not there to the BCD. Pressing Y adds the OS to the boot store, and N rejects the offer.

    It also makes sense to immediately run two more commands:

    Bootrec /fixmbr bootrec /fixboot

    GPT partitioning

    In the GPT partition, the files necessary to boot the system are copied to the EFI (FAT32) partition with one command:

    Bcdboot W:\Windows

    Here W is the drive letter to which you transferred the OS.

    This completes the transfer process. After restarting your PC, you will see the system that you transferred to the SSD in the boot manager list.

    What to do if both drives were connected when creating the image

    I warned above that it is better not to do this. In this case, the drive letters in the cloned system are mixed up, although this can be easily corrected in the registry (thanks to reader Artem for the addition). This is the picture observed after loading into the cloned OS. The system is booted from drive D, and profiles and programs are launched from drive C.

    To fix this you need rename drive letters in the registry. In fact, you need to swap the letters in the names of the registry parameters corresponding to the problem drives (you don’t need to touch the values).

    In this example, you must first change \DosDevices\C: V \DosDevices\K:, after which the name will be freed for renaming drive D.

    Actions after cloning

    Take a Windows Performance Assessment

    Running an assessment will tell the system that it is installed on an SSD. As a result, Windows will apply the appropriate settings - from sending TRIM commands to disabling SSD defragmentation (a must for Windows 8 owners).

    Set up a download manager

    I cannot provide all possible multiboot configurations, but in any case, at the end of the process, you will have two systems with the same names (old and new) displayed in your boot manager. I will give some examples of commands that may be useful to you.

    The command displays information about the systems displayed on the boot manager screen bcdedit. In its results, the system identifier (ID) is indicated by the parameter identifier. The system you are currently booted into always has an ID (current).

    These examples assume that the commands are executed in new system.

    Renaming a New System Entry

    Bcdedit /set (current) description “My New Windows”

    Bcdedit /default (current)

    Deleting an old system entry

    Bcdedit /delete ID

    If you are unable to boot into the cloned system or need help setting up the boot manager, please write here following the thread rules.

    Discussion and poll

    From previous surveys, I know that most readers have already acquired an SSD. This survey will show you how you approached the issue of installing the system on a brand new drive.

    If you transferred the system, write in the comments what software you used for this. I know some of you have already talked about this in other posts. But then it was off-topic, but now this will help other readers looking for information on the topic!

    This is the transfer of all data from the old drive ("donor") to the new one ("recipient"). Everything is copied without exception: the operating system with drivers, installed programs, photos, music, and so on. After cloning and replacing the disk, there is no need to remember passwords, all files will be in their usual places.

    Why clone your hard drive?

    This operation is carried out for the following purposes:

    1. To use a new and faster drive. A typical case is replacing a slow HDD with a modern SSD. This will significantly speed up the responsiveness of Windows, and due to cloning, upgrading your computer will be as comfortable as possible for the user. All shortcuts and settings will remain unchanged, but the system will become faster.
    2. To avoid reinstalling the operating system. For example, after buying a new computer, you want everything to be the same as on the old one and without reinstallations. This will happen when transferring information from the “donor” to the “recipient”, and the procedure itself will require relatively little action and attention on the part of the user.
    3. To synchronize work on different computers. Remote work is becoming more common. Cloning a hard drive will allow you to deploy a full-fledged workstation where it is convenient and there can be as many such places as you like.
    4. To backup your data. You can lose information on a storage device at any time - nothing lasts forever. Thanks to cloning in a few clicks, you can be protected in case of force majeure and have a fully working “cast” of all data.

    It is important that the “donor” is free of viruses - clone the drive only after a thorough scan for malware.

    Utilities and programs for cloning

    There are many cloning apps available. Some are specially designed to perform such an operation - suitable for inexperienced users who value the simplicity of the process. Other programs have broader functionality. In them, creating a disk clone is just one of many available options.

    Before using any application, connect the new drive to your computer. To do this, it is convenient to use the external hard drive pocket

    Renee Becca

    A simple utility that everyone can understand. With its help, you can clone a storage medium in a few clicks. The algorithm of actions consists of the following steps:

    • download, install and launch the application;
    • select the item in the left panel "Clone". Using "Renee Becca" you can also clone only certain local disks or transfer only the operating system to a new drive. The corresponding items are located below in the initial window of the program;
    • indicate “donor” and “recipient”. To get a full copy of the “donor”, ​​check the box “Make the target disk bootable...” at the bottom of the window. On the left, expand the “More” list and check the box next to “Clone all sectors...”. Then start the operation by clicking on “Clone”;

    A functional program that costs a lot, but the demo version is also suitable for cloning. To download it, follow the link and enter your e-mail. After launching the application, do the following:

    • select "donor". It is important to specify not just a local drive, but the entire drive. To do this, right-click on the line with this drive and click on “Clone basic disk”;
    • indicate the "recipient". When choosing this disk, remember that the data on it will be overwritten, and its volume cannot be less than the size of the occupied information on the “donor”;
    • so that the “recipient” is exactly the same as the “donor”, ​​check the box next to the “One to One” line in the next window;
    • in Acronis Disc Director, any manipulations with drives must always be confirmed separately. To do this, at the top of the window, click on “Apply pending operations” - only after this the cloning will begin;

    If you do not use the program for commercial purposes, then you do not need to pay for it. You just need to go to the developer’s website, click on “Home Use”, specify your e-mail and confirm it - you will receive a corresponding letter. After downloading, installing and launching Macrium Reflect, follow these steps:

    • on the start screen, click on “Clone this disk”;
    • on the next window, check the box for all local disks on the “donor”;
    • at the bottom, click on “Select a disk to clone ...” - a selection window will appear where you specify “donor”;
    • at the end of the operation, click on “Finish”;

    Paragon Drive Backup Personal

    A free utility with enough capabilities for cloning. It is available for download on this page, and after downloading, installing and launching, do the following:

    • create your own account in the application. This is done in a few clicks - you only need to specify your e-mail and personal information. After that, on the left, click on “My new backup”. On the right, indicate the “donor” in the “Backup source” field and the “recipient” in the “Destination” field;
    • start cloning by clicking on “Back up now”;

    Simple and free application. To download, go to the developer’s website and select the version with Russian localization.

    After installation and launch, follow these steps sequentially:

    • indicate "donor". If you need to clone not the entire drive, but only one of the local drives, then check the “Show partitions” line and select the required local drives. Then click on “Next”;
    • Specify the “recipient” and click “Next” again.
    • The settings window will appear. You don’t have to change anything and click “Next”;
    • A window for setting the sizes of the “donor” and “recipient” will appear. Just check the box “Resize partitions proportionally” and click on “Next”;
    • in the last window, confirm the start of the operation by clicking on “Start copying”.

    A good utility that has a demo version, the capabilities of which are enough for one-time disk cloning. After downloading, installing and launching the application, follow these steps:

    • in the top panel, click on “Clone” - unfortunately, the program does not have a translation into Russian;

    Moving your system to an SSD is an effective way to organize your computer. In addition, after purchasing a flash drive, you will not need to install the OS on it from scratch and configure all the drivers. Moving an existing system to disk will save time and free up your PC disk to store other files.

    Along with the transfer of Windows, absolutely all programs, games, settings and drivers that are already installed on the PC will be moved to the SSD. You can solve the problem in one of two ways:

    • Using built-in OS functions;
    • Using third party utilities.

    Please note that depending on the version of Windows and the parameters of the purchased flash drive, transfer methods may vary.

    What data can be transferred toSSD

    Storing the operating system on an SSD not only speeds up its operation, but also improves the response of other programs and files that are stored on the disk. The user can transfer the following types of data to a flash drive:

    • Operating system . It is added to the SSD with all ready-made drivers and settings. In essence, a duplicate of it is created, which was previously stored on the HDD;
    • Programs – choose yourself which applications you want to add to the SSD and which you want to leave on the computer’s hard drive (HDD). We advise you to leave extensive programs for video editing and software development/testing on your computer - this way they will work many times faster;
    • User files . This can be any of your documents, photos, music, videos and other types of data.

    Components to move

    To add used Windows to the SSD, the following objects are required:

    • Installed transfer utility;
    • The SSD itself;
    • Computer or laptop;
    • An adapter of the SATA-USB type, with which an external drive is connected to a PC.

    If you only work with OS resources, you won't need to install a third-party utility to transfer.

    Computer requirements

    Before you perform any OS migration steps, make sure that your device meets all the minimum requirements that allow the utility to interact with the SSD and transfer large amounts of data. The minimum requirements are shown in the following table:

    You can compare your computer's settings with the specifications listed above using the About window. It displays correct data about the main hardware and software components of the device:

    Fig. 2 – window for viewing Windows and computer parameters

    We use the built-in capabilities of Windows

    Follow the instructions to transfer the operating system to a flash device:

    • Open the Disk Management window. To do this, enter the command diskmgmt.msc in the Run window and confirm the action;

    Fig.3 - launching disk management tool

    • Now you need to reduce the size of the OS on the disk. You can perform this action using the “Shrink Volume” function. All data will remain in the same state, only the space occupied on the HDD will decrease. Right-click on the “System” section and then on “Shrink Volume”;

    Fig.4 - Volume compression

    • After successfully reducing the size of the OS, a free partition will appear in the disk layout. This means that everything was done correctly;
    • Connect the drive to your computer and restart the Disk Management window;
    • Now click on the “Wizard” tab and select “OS SSD Transfer” from the list;

    Fig.5 - “Master” tab

    • A standard utility for cloning the operating system will open. Click on the “Next” button to go to the settings;
    • Click on the “Unallocated space” item and go to the next window;

    Fig.6 – disk space selection

    • Now you can independently change the size of the future disk or leave all parameters unchanged;

    Fig.7 - changing the disk partition size

    • After clicking the “Next” button, the wizard will begin moving the system. After completing the action, you can turn off the computer and the next time you boot, select the OS that is located on the SSD.

    Windows will also remain on the hard drive. You can delete it or use it as a backup copy when you need to restore the system.

    Fig. 8 - the result of a successful Windows move

    Don't forget to click on the "Apply" button in the upper left part of the "Disk Management" window, otherwise all changes made will not be saved. If you encounter error windows or freezes during the transfer, you should reset the settings, restart your PC, and try the transfer again.

    Fig.9 - applying changes

    Instructions forSSD fromSamsung

    Samsung has released an official utility that allows you to quickly move the OS from your hard drive to a purchased flash drive. The utility is called Samsung Data Migration. You can download it for free from the company’s official website (section “Memory” - “SSD”) or using the disk that comes with the device.

    The initial program window looks like this:

    Fig. 10 – Samsung Data Migration utility window

    Immediately after launching the utility, connect the SSD to your computer using the appropriate adapter. Click on the “Start” button. Next, the application will automatically scan the HDD in use and display information about the remaining free space and disk partitions.

    Fig. 11 – analysis of a disk with an installed copy of Windows

    After analysis, the program will automatically detect the SSD connected to the computer and display it on the screen:

    Fig. 12 – reconciliation of the source and destination disk

    If the space occupied by Windows on the HDD does not exceed the available space on the SSD, you can immediately begin the transfer by clicking on the “Start” button. The automatic movement of all components will begin. The procedure can take from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours, depending on the version of Windows used.

    Fig. 13 - successful system transfer

    As a result, you will receive a notification that the operating system has been successfully cloned to the flash drive. Close the window and delete all Windows data from the HDD.

    The advantage of using Samsung Data Migration is its simple interface. The program will do all the work for you and minimize the likelihood of errors or bugs appearing after transferring the OS.

    What to do if during the analysis stage you find that there is not enough space for the OS on the SSD? In this case, you need to clean Windows of unused data and applications. You can do this directly in the Samsung Data Migration utility window.

    Fig. 14 - Error. Not enough SSD space

    After the error text appears (highlighted in red), click on the “Next” button and in a new window, delete all library files that are cluttering the system. Clean the OS until the text “Ready to clone to SSD” appears in the main utility window.

    Fig. 15 - successful cleaning of unnecessary files

    Acronis True Image utility

    Fig. 16 – main window of the Acroins application

    To move the system, connect the removable drive to the computer and in the program window, click on the “Disk cloning” - “Copy partitions” tile. In the window that opens, select automatic movement mode. It is suitable for all tasks and copies data quickly.

    Fig.17 - selection of cloning mode

    All partitions will be copied to the flash drive. All data that was on the SSD before cloning will be deleted. The disk itself will become bootable and can only be used to run operating systems installed on it.

    Fig. 18 – copying process

    Seagate DiscWizard utility

    The utility completely replicates the Acronis interface. It must be used if your PC has at least one hard drive from the manufacturer Seagate. To clone, you should follow the same steps as described in the previous paragraph of the article.

    Fig. 19 – Seagate Disc Wizard main window

    Changing bootloader configuration

    After cloning the system, a copy of the OS will remain on the computer, and every time you boot, a window will appear with a boot selection. After the transfer, we recommend that you perform a number of actions:

    • Without deleting the original copy from the HDD, test the operation of Windows on the HDD. There are times when the system starts to slow down and performance deteriorates. This happens extremely rarely and depends solely on the selected SSD. As long as the first copy is not deleted, you will always have the opportunity to return to using it and remove the OS from the SSD;
    • Change your system bootloader settings.

    The boot manager is a built-in component that helps your computer determine which installed operating system to run. You can also configure the startup order of hardware components.

    Immediately after cloning, the manager will show two systems with identical names - the original and the copied one. If Windows runs normally on an SSD, you need to remove the version that remains on the computer’s hard drive. Follow the instructions:

    • Restart your PC and run the version that was moved to the flash drive;
    • Open Windows Command Prompt;
    • Enter the command shown in the figure below, giving the OS copies on the SSD a unique name;

    But what to do if you don’t want to buy the same Acronis, you’re too lazy to tinker with all sorts of clonzillas, and make a complete clone of the system disk for the purpose of, say, transferring it to a new one (or HDD), or maybe, let’s say, putting it on a shelf as a static backup?

    Let's get a look.

    How to make a full copy of a disk - SSD or HDD

    Well, let's figure it out. We will talk, as you understand from the subtitle, about the HDClone program, which has a free version, supports the Russian language, is incredibly easy to use, and also has pleasant functionality.

    When you first start, they will unobtrusively tell you that you can get more goodies if you buy one of the extended versions of the program. You can safely ignore this information (or study it on the developer’s website) and click the “Close” button.

    The main window of the program is simple, concise and provides access to its functionality. The functionality in the free version is simple:

    • Disk cloning (we will consider this);
    • Creating a disk image;
    • Creating backups (including backups not of the entire disk, but of partitions);
    • Testing tool;
    • Sector-by-sector disk browsing tool.

    Everything is done extremely simply and literally in two clicks, but let’s still consider, for example, creating a complete copy of one disk to another (let’s say we need to transfer Windows from HDD to SSD), for which we click on the appropriate button.

    In the first step, we will be asked to select the source disk or partition that we want to copy.

    It is logical that at the second stage they will be asked to select the disk (or partition) to which we want to make a copy.

    Now you will be prompted to configure partitions. Most often, this is not necessary and a tick is enough" Resize partitions proportionally", but if suddenly you need some adjustments, you can do it here.

    It goes without saying that a warning will appear stating that the data on the disk where cloning will be performed will be completely deleted. It is worth taking it seriously so as not to lose anything valuable.

    Next, if you did everything correctly (however, even if you did it incorrectly), the disk cloning process will begin. During it, you will be reminded once again that there are paid versions that allow you to copy faster:

    Time, of course, is money, but with such a process and difference, I still choose money, especially since while the process is going on, you can do other useful things.

    At the end of the process, you will be asked to adjust the partition (this is indeed necessary). If you don’t understand, then you can use the automatic option, but for those with hands, there is a manual setting.

    At the end you will be able to see the result, as well as see some details. At this point the process can be considered completed.

    Additional functionality

    What else? Well, perhaps I’ll say that in the main window of the program, in the lower right corner, you can call up the settings menu (by clicking on the wrench icon) and create a bootable USB/CD/DVD media, which is no more difficult to manage than the program itself, and also look at the instructions and do other little things.

    The SpeedTest section, as mentioned, allows you to test disks for the speed of the media in sequential and random reading (although in my opinion, this is not enough and it is better to use it).

    Well, DiskView will allow you to look indecently deeply, right into the very sectors of any HDD/SSD media. If, of course, you know why it is needed.

    That's probably all for now.
    Let's move on to the afterword.

    Afterword

    This is such a wonderful tool that, it seems to me, will be useful to anyone who cares about their data and/or who has ever faced the need to move from disk to disk (to the same SSD).

    As always, if you have any questions, thoughts, additions, etc., then welcome to comment on this article.