SSD Clone is recognized in Bios but won't boot into Win 8
Hey guys
New to the forum, so cut me a little slack... please.
New Win 8 MSI GT70 system
Installing SSD drive by cloning the HHD.
- YES I know that's considered taboo... but all of my programs are up and running...
The new Vertex 4 was first initialized in Disc Management
The Existing drive is GPT so that is how I started with the new drive.
ROOKIE mistake:
I loaded the SSD in the spare bay and performed the clone...
- Didn't work, found out about "Secure Boot" issues and ACHI requirements, also UEFI vs legacy.
When it appeared to work, I switched drives and found nothing but "unallocated" space on the SSD.
Old HHD went back in and the problem solving search was on.
More research led to placing the HHD (source drive) in a USB enclosure, then putting the new SSD
into the primary drive spot in the laptop. Making an Acronis TI (plus pack) bootable DVD was next.
The BIOS was set to AHCI, disabled secure boot, etc...
All went very well this time around. Using the TI off the DVD on bootup was the way to go. I made
sure to stop (turn off) the computer when finished. I then removed the source HHD and checked
the BIOS for the new drive.
I found it using the "legacy" function. It disappears using "UEFI". Either way, it won't boot into
Windows 8. It will come right back into the BIOS setup screen.
Back to research, and found a suggestion to have Windows repair the problem using a bootable
Windows 8 repair disk. Made one and also made a bootable USB key with Windows 8 >iso on it.
Ran both and they "couldn't repair" my problem.
I put the SSD in a USB enclosure, plugged it in and checked it out in Disk Management. It seems
to be fine. The partitions (all 5) are there and it is also GPT. I looked for a way to make it a "primary"
partition, but it was greyed out. (probably already is one). My guess is some kind of issue with drive
letters (but the repair disk would have corrected that), or something to do with the fact that it is
recognized using legacy but not using UEFI.
ANY ideas would be greatly appreciated.
I'd rather not do a new install as MSI didn't send me an install disc with the necessary drivers for
this machine. When I asked them for one, they told me to burn a recovery disk.
Thanks in advance
Hi Pat
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond.
- I'm now doing another "full' backup onto an external USB drive. (should take about 2+ hours)
- I'm hoping that when I do the restore, (partition by partition), it will be self explanatory.
- "This will allow to control re-sizing and offset to align the disk" Since I don't really know what that means :-)
- When is re-sizing the partitions allowed? I've been re-sizing the "C" partition and decreasing the "D" (storage) before I begin.
- Should I choose to let TI size them proportionately, then make the partition changes after the restore is successful (up and running)??
- "leave 1 MB of space before the first partition", Sounds easy, is it?
- "Do not resize any partition except the C:\system partition or any partition you created and want on the SSD"
-Ok, once again, are you talking about before (or after) the restore is done? I've been customizing partitions before, manually.
The only ones that I touch are the C and D partitions.
- There are 5 partitions on this drive: #1- 60mb recovery, #2- 100mb EFI system, #3- "C" OS install 434 gigs, #4- Data 246 gigs (empty),
#5- 17 gig recovery. I've attached a screen shot.
- My goal is to maximize the space on the 256gb SSD, by reducing the "d" partition to minimal, then elarging the "C" partion to maximum. Leaving the rest "as is". What would be the best course of action, and when would be the time to mess with it?
- "Since you have a GPT disk, per Acronis, do not restore the MBR+Track0, do not restore the disk signature."
- I'm just now learning about GPT and bought the "Power Pack" to help deal with it. I really don't know what the MBR + Track0 are, but I will ignore them when I see them. :-) As well as the "Disk Signature".
Hi Pat
Thanks so much for taking the time to respond.- I'm now doing another "full' backup onto an external USB drive. (should take about 2+ hours)
- I'm hoping that when I do the restore, (partition by partition), it will be self explanatory.
- "This will allow to control re-sizing and offset to align the disk" Since I don't really know what that means :-)
- When is re-sizing the partitions allowed? I've been re-sizing the "C" partition and decreasing the "D" (storage) before I begin.
Yes, it will. Check one partition, in the same order they were laid out before. Choose the SSD as the new destination. You should not have change any other parameter for a GPT disk.
Then ATI will ask you to confirm the layout. This is where you make sure there is 1MB for the first partition. The only difference is for C:\ or any other user partition, you should be able to adjust the right cursor to adjust the size. Again each partition should have a whole number of MB (1024 Kbytes) as size.
- Should I choose to let TI size them proportionately, then make the partition changes after the restore is successful (up and running)??
No. If you adjust the sizes before the backup, then restore them without any adjustments. It is better not to let ATI do any proportional resizing.
- "leave 1 MB of space before the first partition", Sounds easy, is it?
- "Do not resize any partition except the C:\system partition or any partition you created and want on the SSD"
-Ok, once again, are you talking about before (or after) the restore is done? I've been customizing partitions before, manually.
This is done at restore time, in the restore wizard. If your partitions are already at the right size and their size is divisible by 4096 when expressed in bytes (you can do this with using a whole number of MB for the size), then you are OK. Just worry about the 1MB offset for the first partition.
The only ones that I touch are the C and D partitions.- There are 5 partitions on this drive: #1- 60mb recovery, #2- 100mb EFI system, #3- "C" OS install 434 gigs, #4- Data 246 gigs (empty),
#5- 17 gig recovery. I've attached a screen shot.- My goal is to maximize the space on the 256gb SSD, by reducing the "d" partition to minimal, then elarging the "C" partion to maximum. Leaving the rest "as is". What would be the best course of action, and when would be the time to mess with it?
This will work. Do not resize the "hidden" partitions.
Sounds like a plan.
I'm now letting ATI erase my past attempt on my new SSD. I will then start the procedure you so nicely laid out for me.
I opened ATI on boot to do a practice round... and found the adjustment that allows for "1 MB before" in my first partition.
I'm hoping that is what you were referring to. As instructed, I will leave the partitions "as is", but making sure each is a whole number.
So, I'm not really leaving them "as is" :-). (Noobs get confused easily) I plan to maximize the "C" partition and eliminate the empty "Storage"
partition. Then finish the last recovery partition as a whole number slightly more then what it is listed as, (or just leave it alone?)
Can i eliminate the "D" partition at this point? It's empty... and I don't have any use for it.
I'll run it now with the hope that it will actually boot this time. So far all attempts to get this drive to boot using ATI have been futile.
If this doesn't work, I will look into downloading a Windows 8 .iso (evaluation) and use my key on the sucker....
Once again Pat, thanks
Yes, you can NOT restore the D partition.
Well, all went well in the setup stage.
Booted up using the ATI boot dvd and used my image off a usb HD for recovery.
Laid it out according to my printout of the existing partitions. One at a time, I proceeded until successful.
Made sure that 1 mb was left open before the first partition and chose whole numbers from there on out.
Shut it down, booted back into the setup and changed (my now recognized Vertex 4 SSD) "legacy" back to UEFI.
Rebooted again to make the change back to "secure boot", and noticed that once again my SSD was now gone.
All went well... until I tried to boot into Windows.
Right back to the BIOS setup, no choice. Tried again and again.
I believe that's the limit for me. I've tried to make this work 4 different ways.
I was told that buying the "Windows 8 compatible" Plus Pack would cure my GPI issues.
I was told that cloning from to the SSD in it's final drive bay from an outside source would do it.
I was told Imaging and recovering from a USB drive would do it...
I surrender. Clean install, (if I can get the necessary drivers from MSI) seems to be my only option.
I feel that I just wasted my time and money on trying to use Acronis True Image.
I'm sorry I wasted your time too, Pat.
Thanks again for your help, it was greatly appreciated.
Should I bag Windows 8 and get Windows 7 ????
Deano,
I am stumped. You have everything right it seems.
Did you try to repair the startup of the computer?
Since this is a recovery issue, I would submit a ticket to Acronis. Recovery issues support are free, even after the end of support.
This is not a Windows 8 issue, at least not directly. I am guessing this has to do with secure boot (which of course is a Windows 8 feature). For example, see http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19477844.a…
I will raise the visibility of this thread to Acronis.
OK Acronis is already tracking your issue.
We have seen several users not being to boot on the recovery CD. you are clearly past this. This is the first time I see somebody not being able to have a functional system after the restore.
Hey Pat
Yaa, I'm about done. I've attacked this problem in so many ways and with and upgrade to true Image 2013 and then another upgrade to the Plus Pack. When my version of ATI wouldn't work, I was told to try the new 2013. When that version wouldn't clone, I was told to buy 2013. When that version wouldn't clone Windows 8, I was told to buy the Plus Pack. Now that I've spent countless hours and lots of money trying... I'm not convinced that 2013 and Windows 8 get along. If this is truly the case, then I've been had.
I did try one more time to run the Windows 8 repair on my image recovery. It states that it is unable to fix the issue.
I never mentioned the issues I had with trying to get the ATI boot disc to run. It can't be done from windows with a restart.
You have to Start it with a cold boot in legacy mode. It really isn't compatible with this OS.
What's been most frustrating for me, is I haven't seen any errors. No hints about what might be going wrong.
Smooth until the boot to Windows. We're talking about a brand new system here (MSI GT70) and a brand
new SSD (Vertex 4) with the latest firmware 1.5....
ATI seems to run smoothly once you tweak it's environment. Unfortunately, the result has been unbootable.
Both the clone and the images. I've read somewhere that using the "DriveCleanser" first on your new disk might help,
but after staring at the screen for two hours with almost no progress, I gave up on that tool also.
My next step is ordering (done) a Windows 8 Pro DVD and burning the .iso image onto a USB key.
Then, I hope to do a clean install and avoid having to use ATI at all. With a little luck and a lot of frustration,
it should be running by Tues. of next week. I will still need to find software that is capable of imaging and backing
up my Windows 8 drives. It doesn't look like ATI is the answer.
If you have any more ideas Pat, throw them at me now, before I start fresh next week.
And thanks again for taking the time. ATI has some work to do, IMO.
Just checking on something: you are not using drive encryption or any security option on the disk aside from secure boot, right?
Looks like there might be an issue with GPT disks:
http://forum.acronis.com/forum/37943
Deano You are not alone in that landscape. I'm facing the same issue on a brand new ASUS X202e
-Full Windows 8 (not RT) 64 bit preinstalled, GPT, UEFI, secure boot...)
-Source hdd 500go
-Target SSD Vertex 4 latest firmware 1.5
- Acronis True Image 2013 rev 5551
Hereafter are the steps i followed during these 3 last weeks...
1)For the time been i did not try the manual restore as explained by Pat but the only automatic cloning. I reach to the same situation, everything seems to go smoothly with no errors but windows doesn't boot !
2)After cloning (from Command line in Windows repair screen) I tried with no luck to rebuild the BCD startup database using " bcdboot c:\Windows /l en-gb /s b: /f ALL)
3)I tried to reimage from Windows recovery but you cant restore windows on a smaller target drive...
4)On the asus web shop the Restore DVD is not available ...
5)I installed Win8 from scratch with a DVD but some ASUS key functions are missing like instant boot, disk partitions are ntfs and impossible to activate UEFI...
6) I've got a ticket open to Acronis support, requesting me now to take a screenshot of the BSOD which error is 0x000001 and to make sure that the controlers for the Vertex are installed in Windows...
I'm puzzled and would appreciate from Acronis claiming W8 compatibility to issue a clear procedure for booting up windows 8 GPT after cloning with ATI 2013
Hey Francois
It's very frustrating, isn't it.
I've spent so much time trying to do this "simple" clone. I have given up and I'm waiting for my copy of Windows 8 to arrive.
I'm sad to hear that your "clean install" was not successful. As that is what I plan to try next.
Here is a step by step guide for a GPT system, laid out buy Sean at Overclock.net. That being said, he recommends using MBR
because of all the issues and errors caused by conflicts between Windows 8 and GPT images.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1240779/seans-windows-8-install-optimization…
Sean's guide:
Booting and partitioning of GPT for Windows 8:
Boot from the Windows 8 install media (You must initiate this boot from a device labeled as a UEFI device, or the installation of Windows 8 will produce an error that the OS cannot be installed to a GPT partition) These UEFI boot devices will have a prefix UEFI: "name of your device", and show as a boot option in your UEFI.
After booting to the UEFI device you see the Install Windows 8 screen, press Shift + F10 to open a command prompt.
Type Diskpart, press Enter
Type List Disk , press Enter
Type Select Disk # (where # is the number your drive shows up as), press Enter
Type Clean, press Enter
Type Convert GPT, press Enter
Type Exit, press Enter.
Close the Command Prompt window.
Click the "Next" button.
Click the "Install now" button.
Put in your product key and click the "Next" button.
Accept the terms and click the "Next" button.
Choose "Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)."
Select the partition and click "Drive options (advanced)"
Click "New" and then click the "Apply" button. Four partitions should appear. Click the bottom partition.
Click the "OK" button and then click the "Next" button.
From then on follow the on screen instructions till you get to the desktop.
Note: If you can't boot after the install you need to make sure the boot is set to "Windows Boot Manager" in the UEFI. Also, important info.
Deano
Deano, Thanks for the link i'll try to investigate this week-end and keep you posted
WRT Win8 installation, i did it on MBR but i cannot activate the flash boot trigger in BIOS which is to me a key feature and the reason why i still need to clone ...
Acronis and W8 are too much fun :(
François