can I clone an SSD using file explorer? (no OS)

[tJuggernaut29]

My laptop has 2 SSD's. A small built in SSD with the OS, and a second one I installed in a free 2.5in bay. The second drive is full and I want to upgrade to a bigger drive. (500GB to a 1TB)

 

I bought an adapter that lets me plug a drive into a usb port. Formatted the new drive with it and all looks well.

 

Can I simply copy and paste the contents of the old drive onto the new one? It doesnt have the OS on it, but does have program files.

Will the drive name change to E once I remove the old E drive? (file paths are all E//: etc)

 

Thanks

[Kedohawyr]

I'm seeing things like Program Files and ProgramData so the most immediate answer is no, you'll break things.

 

To quickly answer your second question before giving a more detailed answer to the first one the drive will not automatically change letters, a drive has a fixed letter for a particular windows installation unless it conflicts with another one and gets automatically reassigned. You need to use Disk Management, right click the volume and choose to change the drive letter manually.

 

Now back to cloning. Just copying program file stuff has two problems, one is that you need to be careful to ensure that you're getting files marked as hidden and system as well as those you (as a non-elevated administrator or even regular user) don't have rights to. The other is that some of those files are probably in use and while you may be able to copy them it could still mess up those programs (since you may copy version 1 of settings file A but because of the small delay get version 2 of file B which was supposed to correctly match up with file A but doesn't anymore).

 

The easiest way to clone them is to have a program that can use Shadow Copy (aka Volume Snapshots). This is a Windows feature that bookmarks the file system at a certain point - changes to files past this point are written to another area so that the program with the bookmark can still see the original file while everything else sees the live version of the file. With Shadow Copy you can even do a live backup of Windows without interrupting your work.

 

There are many backup programs that can do this, but after doing imaging and backups for many years (back to doing it with floppy disks in DOS over a coax cable network) I generally rely on Macrium Reflect which is free for personal use, though you can always use a different program.

 

[Pickles von Brine]

If you just wanna clone the drive from one to the other, use MiniTool Partition Wizard. When you launch the program, select clone and follow the wizard. It will clone your drive, then expand the partition. Will work like a treat. 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Another good program for cloning is Macrium Reflect Free.

[tJuggernaut29]

9 hours ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Another good program for cloning is Macrium Reflect Free.

 

16 hours ago, Lord Xeb said:

If you just wanna clone the drive from one to the other, use MiniTool Partition Wizard. 

 

On 9/13/2019 at 7:49 PM, Kedohawyr said:

The easiest way to clone them is to have a program that can use Shadow Copy (aka Volume Snapshots).

Is there a way to do this with windows (like not with a third party software)?

I dont really trust a 3d party software with all my personal files and programs. 

Thanks

[Pickles von Brine]

Not really. You need to use a third party program. The programs we are listing are ones trusted by many computer users world wide. If you still don't trust it, use clonezilla. 

 

These programs work on a sector level and will do an EXACT copy of your drive. They don't do any funny business. Your altnerative is clean install and manually copy your data, then reinstall your programs. 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

2 hours ago, tJuggernaut29 said:

...Is there a way to do this with windows (like not with a third party software)?

I dont really trust a 3d party software with all my personal files and programs. 

Thanks

You need a third party program, such as Macrun Reflect Free (others mentioned here). I trust programs like this far more than I would trust Microsoft.

[tJuggernaut29]

I used the Macrium reflect and it appears to have worked

Thanks for the help