As briefly as possible;
A Lenovo Laptop, Windows 10, with 1GB hard disk, only 40GB used. I want to replace the disk with a 500GB SSD
1) Using my own computer I clone the hard disk onto the SSD. Completes without errors.
Install the SSD into the laptop and it will not boot. It will not repair. Though booting on bootable media does allow me to examine the disk seemingly without issue.
2) Using my own computer I take a backup image of the hard disk and restore to the SSD
Install the SSD into the laptop and it will not boot. It will not repair. Though booting on bootable media does allow me to examine the disk seemingly without issue.
3) Putting the non-booting SSD into the laptop, then using Windows Installation media, I boot and install Windows 10.
The SSD works perfectly. Including rebooting.
Both disks are GPT, both disks report no faults. Computer shows no faults.
As much as anything it has now become a battle I want to win rather than a showstopping disaster. I can always stick the still functioning original disk back in. I do suspect that the original hard disk is considering failing.
But I am without clue. Any and all suggestions welcome.
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Last time I had a problem with a drive not booting, it was because I forgot to change the jumper from slave to master!
This may be helpful...
www.easeus.com/partition-master/windows-10-8-7-will-not-boot-from-ssd.html
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Thanks, there's a little bit at the end that might be worth ago, I'll read it again later.
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.....you have cloned the whole disk, and not just the "data" partition? (On Win10 and GPT you'd normally have at least three partitions; the main one, an EFI boot partition, and a recovery partition).
Check the BIOS boot settings, and make sure they are set to UEFI, then check any boot compatibility mode (which allows boot from MBR even though the prime option is UEFI) is turned off (I've read that this can create problems with booting from some SSDs - though your last point indicates this is unlikely to be an issue).
I've just gone through a very similar process with a Lenovo laptop, with no issues.
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Cloned the whole disk, incl. therefore all partitions.
BIOS set to UEFI only
I also did it recently with my desktop and did not have any issues.
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I also upgraded hard disks to dissimilar sized SSDs on 3 laptops recently with no problems. All were full images of all partitions using Macrium Reflect.
It obviously sounds like your cloned boot image is the problem so maybe you might be able to use your clean-install (working) disk and just overwrite the c: drive partition, or something like that...
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I also used Macrium Reflect (Free). It would be interesting to know what Mark used (and possibly a different toll would be appropriate).
One thing that occurs to me is that the clone is from a larger to a smaller disk. This may cause problems in some tools.
I'm trying to remember what I did with Macrium, but I have a strong suspicion I cloned the partitions in separate steps. The two "system" partitions (individually) first, and then the "data" partition, which was "downsized" as a result of that final step.
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>>maybe you might be able to use your clean-install (working) disk and just overwrite the c: drive partition, or something like that...
Tried overwriting with a backup image, it failed. I could just overwrite the data, I guess, but then none of the programs would actually be installed.
I've re-cloned it a number of times, but nothing obviously wrong.
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One thing to add is that when I try to boot on the cloned disk it is an instant fail. Doesn't spend any time hunting or thinking about it, just instant failure. It doesn't think about it long enough for it to be a Windows Installation issue.
Got to be something to do with the boot compatibility I guess.
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...if you enter BIOS, does the SSD show up in the list of bootable devices under boot priority, and is it (either natively, or via "Windows Boot Manager") the first in the list?
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>> ...if you enter BIOS, does the SSD show up in the list of bootable devices
>> under boot priority, and is it (either natively, or via "Windows Boot Manager") the first
>> in the list?
Even after it has failed to boot it still shows up in BIOS and is mostly first. I switch it with USB when I want to boot on a stick because the SSD won't. If the SSD is first, then when it fails it will not then go on to the USB stick.
If I boot from a USB stick then the SSD can be accessed as normal. It just won't boot.
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I cloned from larger to smaller, and some of the "other" partitions have ended up full, and I have got a partitioning tool ready to use when I get back home to extend them all a bit. I deffo didn't clone them partition by partition but I now have a sneaky feeling I may have used something other than Reflect!! Something which had a trial period, now expired. Presumably because Reflect didn't work, or I read that it wouldn't.
I'm thinking it may have been AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition but I can't be sure (as I'm not at home and unable to look!!)
EDIT Apols for earlier fake news :-)
Last edited by: smokie on Wed 20 Mar 19 at 09:54
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s'funny that, as I avoided using Aomei my last time as I thought Macrium looked better for downsizing.
(I've used Aomei PM for resizing, etc before and it is installed on my main PC. Aomei Backupper is my preferred backup solution across all my m/cs, which have weekly full, and daily incremental backups scheduled).
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...could be a (missing) driver problem that's making the old image unbootable. (A new Windows install would find the appropriate drivers whilst installing). Unlikely though, as most SSDs will (AIUI) still work with default drivers.
I cloned mine on the host m/c (since the SSD was mSATA, and the laptop had a mSATA slot, I was able to leave the hard drive in-situ until cloned). This might make a difference in how BIOS finally sees things, but that is really clutching at straws.
Frankly, I'd try a different clone tool. I remember what I did with Macrium - it allows you to drag and drop the partitions you want to clone. So, in preparation for a single-pass clone, I first dragged the two "system" partitions in turn (and they set up to clone to the same size), and finally the data partition, for which there was nominally not enough space on the target disc (for the partition - though plenty of room for the data it contains). This by default then resizes the target partition to the maximum space available, and you then fire off the clone process for all the dragged partitions.
I suspect Aomei PM should (and might have) cope with resizing, but if you try with a different tool, at least you eliminate one potential suspect (and Macrium certainly introduces an additional step if you're going to (have to) resize partitions).
The free version of Macrium is sufficient for the process, and it is well described under "cloning" in their knowledgebase.
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I don't think it can be drivers, since if I boot from a memory stick I can still access the disk and it's files.
I'll give Macrium a go, frankly I'm at a loss as to what else to try.
Thank you.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Wed 20 Mar 19 at 11:50
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Tried everything. cannot sort it out.
It shall remain a mystery for the time being.
Thanks for the thoughts, all.
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I know nothing about cloning /SSDs or anything after about 1996.
However, I have had a PC since 1984 & the first of these machines were twin disk only
You formatted the blank disks a>format b: & to get a bootable disk it was a>format b:/s
/s transferred the boot files of DOS 1.0 to the new floppy
SSDs - maybe format /s might just do the trick working from the command prompt (admin?) in Window 10 or whatever
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Unbootable SSD - zippy
