Cloning of Windows 8.1 from HDD to SSD failed

I attempted to clone my HDD to an SSD drive using ATI 2014 Recovery set up on a boot flash drive. I attempted cloning by doing a Backup in Disk mode from the HDD to an external drive, and then Restored it to the Kingston SSD drive. After I disconnected the HDD and booted from the SSD all that happened is Windows booted and kept saying "Preparing Windows" for the longest time with a spinning ball. It never finished setting up. So I had no success in migrating my OS 8.1 from the HDD to the SSD. Does anyone know what I may have done wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated.