Small SSD to Large SSD Migration

September 18, 2014 9:57 AM

I want to move the contents of the current C-drive (128GB SSD) to a new 250GB SSD and wonder if it's best using a USB-SATA cable before the new SSD is properly installed inside the pc.

{Windows 7}

My current (Samsung 830 series) 128GB SSD is fine and I don't want to reinstall the OS or programs, I just want to clone the contents onto a new Samsung 840EVO-250GB SSD. Not sure what I'll do with the smaller/old one; I'll reformat it and then maybe add it to a spare pc or put it to some other use in my main box. I only use my C-drive for progs and OS - I have a couple of other 1TB drives for data/media storage.

So anyway, I installed the new SSD today, but have not activated it as yet (it appears in Disk Management but not in my computer). Stupidly, I hooked up the new SSD inside the pc and screwed it in and tied down all the cable etc etc and THEN looked at the visual instruction sheet (no words) that came with the new SSD (typical guy)

It seems that the 840EVOs come with migration software that the pictures say you use after you hook a sataIII-to-USB3.0 cable from new SSD to a USB port. The data transfer happens externally. After which you put the new SSD into the pc and update drivers / install Samsung Magician software & change boot order.

So my question(s) out of all this rubbish is(are):
can I initalise the new SSD in Disk Management and use the Samsung migration software to clone the old SSD as it stands right now - ie. with it already installed with data/power cables inside pc - or should I go through the very annoying process of removing the new SSD, getting hold of a usb-to-sata cable and doing the migration externally?? Is there much difference in outcome or in ease of process or are there any other factors here that I should be thinking about here??

posted by peacay to Computers & Internet (4 answers total)

Try it internally first. Be sure to format the new SSD as a Primary bootable partition.

If it doesn't work (I don't know whether Samsung's migration software is worth a damn or not) then you can start again.

Note that when you clone a smaller disk to a larger disk, sometimes the cloning software enforces a smaller partition on the larger disk, i.e. it'll create a 128GB partition on the 256GB SSD. This is not aproblem; partitions, even on boot drives, can have their size changed. I would use the (free for home users) program Easeus Partition Master for that.

Normally I'd strongly encourage a backup here, but in essence the original SSD is the backup, as long as you don't do anything that would erase it or tinker with its partition.
posted by Sunburnt at 10:22 AM on September 18, 2014

Best answer: I've used the Samsung software, worked perfectly, install the new drive in its final position, use the software, Bob's yer uncle.
posted by Cosine at 11:39 AM on September 18, 2014

If you don't have USB3 ports on the machine, your transfer time will be a lot longer than if you are able to use the Samsung software to clone when both disks are on SATA connections.
posted by tomierna at 1:31 PM on September 18, 2014

Response by poster: Thanks, esp. Cosine: I was sure someone had used this software post-install.
(But yeah, I have USB 3.0 ports, alternatively. And I've got an ext. backup of C drive)
posted by peacay at 3:10 PM on September 18, 2014