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Transfer and create new primary from SSD SATA Windows 10 OS to a SSD M.2. NVMe Windows 10 OS

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All,

 

Looking for some guidance, pointing me to a "white paper" or "forum topic" or "ulr/website" of how to move/transfer data (Windows 10 OS plus programs) from one primary physical OS drive to a brand new one, in turn transferring the boot capabilities from one to another.   

I currently employ an Acronis True Image Differential Backup weekly schedule.  Full version created after every 5 differentials.  4 months saved at a time.

I thank you in advance.

Scott  

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Scott, there is no white paper for what you are seeking to my knowledge, though there will be some forum topics that deal with similar scenarios.

First, how does your current computer system (using the SATA SSD) boot into Windows 10? Please run the msinfo32 program in Windows and check what is shown for BIOS mode - this will need to be UEFI in order to support your new NVMe M.2 SSD drive.  If your current OS uses Legacy / MBR then you will need to be migrated to UEFI / GPT before attempting to transfer the OS to the NVMe drive.

The actual transfer process can be done in two different ways but you should ensure that you have a good full disk backup before starting (including all hidden / system partitions on the source disk).

You can use Backup & Recovery or use Cloning to achieve the transfer but you should do this after booting from the Acronis Rescue Media in UEFI mode.

Note: you should install the new NVMe M.2 drive in your computer and ensure that you have all required device drivers installed on your working Windows 10 OS, then check that you can see the new drive when you are booted from the Rescue Media.

Thanks Steve, once again, your information is invaluable.  Yes, I have verified that I truly have a UEFI mode for BIOS.  So, all set there.  I think I am going to make a "clone" using the tool that is Acronis.

So, you are saying to conduct the "actual transfer" I need to be booted from the Rescue Media?  Why exactly?  And if I am is that when I should do the initial clone?  Or can I do that ahead of time?  Thanks again for your help.

Scott

Scott, as per the referenced forum topic on cloning, if you start a clone operation from within Windows using the installed ATI application, then this will require you to restart after ATI has modified the Windows boot manager configuration to create a temporary Linux based OS environment.  The downside of this process is that you can lose the ability to boot back into your Windows 10 OS if this modification is not reversed later.

It is much safer to boot directly from the Acronis Rescue Media rather than doing the above and in going this way, you can also confirm that the NVMe drive is visible from the boot media.

There is a real possibility that your older ATI 2016 rescue media or Linux boot environment will not have the required device support to recognise your NVMe drive.

There is a real advantage of upgrading to ATI 2019 (or 2018) where there is much better support for newer drive hardware, plus also the introduction of Active Cloning which uses the same Microsoft VSS snapshot method as used by regular full disk backups created by the Windows ATI application.

Ok Steve, I think I am still following.  Use Acronis Rescue Media to do the Clone Operation from start to finish.  I will readup on your referenced Cloning Disk Link.

However, you mentioned 2016 ATI may be too old and its rescue media set to recognize the NVMe drive.  If that is the case then I am assuming there is no workaround?  Is that true?  If so, maybe I should look for an affordable upgrade to 2019 so as not to risk any trouble?

Thanks again.

Scott

Scott, the standard ATI Rescue Media is based on a Linux kernel OS and as such is fairly limited in terms of device support and flexibility.

There is an alternative type of Rescue Media which can be created which is based on WindowsPE which you can create.  ATI 2018 & 2019 can create this WinPE type Rescue Media based on the Windows 10 Recovery Environment but your older ATI 2016 would require you to install the Windows 10 ADK to do this.

The MVP community have produced an MVP Custom ATIPE Builder tool that will work with your ATI 2016 and can also use the WinRE files to create WinPE rescue media, and this has the added ability of being able to add new device drivers to support new hardware.  One feature of the MVP tool is the option to add Custom drivers which will add the Intel RST drivers for RAID support used by NVMe drivers to give enhanced performance.  Link to the MVP tool in my signature.

Steve, if you would be so kind to answer one more question.  I think, when all is said and done, it maybe easier for me to just purchase and upgrade to ATI 2019.  I did some reading and wasn't completely sure.  Can I install ATI 2019 over ATI 2016?  I would hate to lose my backup settings and everything from 2016.  Please let me know the best way to achieve this?  Thanks.

Scott  

Scott, the official statement would suggest that you should uninstall your ATI 2016 before installing ATI 2019 - see the Upgrade Procedure section of this KB document.

What you can do prior to doing the above would be to save the C:\ProgramData\Acronis\TrueImageHome\Scripts folder contents then copy this back after installing ATI 2019.  This would bring back your task configuration but not your backup history detail.

Note: the files in the Scripts folder all have long names with a file extension of .tib.tis and are XML data files.  You can open these in Notepad where you will see the name of your backup task near the top of the file.  You should only copy back those files related to your tasks and discard any other files you find there from such as validation actions etc.

Thank you Steve, for all your help.  Once I am on ATI 2019, would I still be able to restore any of my backup files created from my ATI 2016, I am assuming yes, but anything to do special?

Scott, there should be no problem with your backups created by ATI 2016 - see the link in my signature for Backup Archive Compatibility which deals with this.

Excellent, I have some nice references from you Steve that I will start perusing and learning more.

Finally, I understand now how to import and setup the backup scheme  (thank you for that info).  The question, is once I start my backup scheme with 2019 I am assuming it will start fresh (i..e if under 2016 ATI, I was on my 3rd differential it won't do a 4th differential under 2019, it will start probably from an initial full backup).

Thanks.

Scott 

Scott, it is likely that your backup tasks will restart with a new full backup.