From: G6JPG@255soft.uk   
      
   On 2025/12/19 21:47:49, Hank Rogers wrote:   
   > Graham J wrote on 12/19/2025 2:45 PM:   
   >> Steve wrote:   
   >>   
   >> [snip]   
   >>   
   >>> So do I give up and consider the new ssd a waste of time and money?   
   >>> Can anyone think of a work around to make this work?   
   >>   
   >> When I've done this I've bought the SSD from Crucial.  It came with a    
   >> link to install Acronis True Image, for free.   
   >>   
   >> Installed Acronis.  Connected the SSD via a USB to SATA adapter. Acronis    
   >> only finds the SSD when the USB cable is plugged into a front USB socket    
   >> - this is on a OptiPlex 3020 Small Form Factor I5-4570.  So it's fussy!   
   >>   
   >> Run Acronis to clone the HDD to the SSD - completes OK.   
   >>   
   >> Remove HDD, fit SSD in its place.  Boot: works as expected.   
   >>   
   >> However, in the past I've tried repeating the process, and it fails.    
   >> Acronis appears to require a factory formatted SSD which apparently    
   >> contains a key to allow Acronis to work.  Without this key, it would be    
   >> necessary to buy the Acronis software.   
   >>   
   >    
   > There's a half dozen image softwares that work just as well and are    
   > free.  I use the free version of macrium reflect, but there are several    
   > others. These programs don't care what brand the disk drives are, or    
   > anything else for that matter.   
   >    
   > I prefer booting a restore flash usb containing the imaging software (so    
   > windows is not running), then taking an image of the source drive,    
   > saving it on another usb drive. Then I switch out the drives, replacing    
   > the old drive with the new one.  Then simply restore the saved image to    
   > the new drive and reboot the computer.  Sometimes using the "clone"    
   > function will cause a conflict because it will have the same disk    
   > Identifier numbers. You can fix it, but it's one less step fiddling around.   
   >    
   I was thinking of suggesting the same (I use Macrium Free, but for this   
   purpose at least there's probably not a lot of difference between the   
   alternatives); I have my Macrium on a DVD, but a USB would work too.   
      
   But it requires a third storage medium of sufficient capacity to store   
   the image, which the OP may not have. (Well, a bit smaller - Macrium   
   will offer compression when making the image; I don't know if the   
   alternatives do.)   
      
   But if you _do_ have somewhere big enough to store the image, I'd agree   
   - doing it when Windows isn't running "feels" less error-prone. (And you   
   don't need two SATA connections.)   
      
   Make sure - whether you're cloning or imaging - that it copies/creates   
   _all_ the partitions that are on the source drive; there will be the   
   main C: partition, but also one or more hidden ones (100M in size or   
   less). I don't profess to know what they all do, but in order for   
   Windows to boot, they need to be there. (The cloning or imaging software   
   _may_ make all that transparent.)   
      
      
   --    
   J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G()ALIS-Ch++(p)Ar++T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf   
       
   "Bother," said Pooh, as Eeyore sneezed the crack all over Owl.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)