From: Hank@nospam.invalid   
      
   J. P. Gilliver wrote on 12/19/2025 5:35 PM:   
   > 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.)   
   >   
      
   I'm pretty sure you can store the image on the macrium rescue USB drive.   
     I haven't done that in ages because I use faster usb drives (nvme in   
   usb3 enclosures) instead of putting it on the rescue drive which is   
   usually a USB3 flash drive.  So the rescue drive is mostly to boot   
   without running windows, but I think there is no problem also putting   
   the image file on it IF there is enough room, and if you're happy with   
   the slower speed.   
      
   > 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.)   
   >   
   >   
      
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