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Windows boots to black screen after cloning (using True Image HD)

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Hello,

I am cloning an m.2 SSD that's 128GB in size to a SATA SSD that's 256GB in size. I was using the included Acronis True Image HD software that came with the SSD (Kingston). After many hours of trying to get the cloning done, it finally completed. However, now when I boot into the new SSD, it goes to a black screen. I can move the mouse cursor but nothing happens after this. I have left the machine for about 15mins and still nothing.

The machine I am doing this on is a HP ProBook 450 G4. I didn't know it had an m.2 SSD until I opened it today as I was under the impression it had a standard SATA HDD. But it seems the previous IT guy before me must have done this. I just wish he had used a bigger capacity drive and this 128GB is fast running out of space. Especially if I want to re-issue the machine to another user.

Can anyone give me any pointers as to why I cannot fully boot into the new SSD? The original m.2 SSD works fine. I did also remove the m.2 to allow the new SSD to try and boot on its own but still nothing. I have now put the m.2 back in the taken the SATA out.

Suggestions and advice are welcome.

Thank you in advance!

A slightly worried IT Tech looking to save his accounting firm some money!

Some other info that might be of use:

Both drives use UEFI to boot (legacy is included but not needed)
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit is the OS
I have created the Acronis bootable media on a USB stick
I have also tried all methods of cloning: automatic, as is, proportional and manual

0 Users found this helpful

Welcome to these public User Forums.

I would suspect that the cloned SATA SSD is not booting correctly because the correct device drivers are not being loaded or the correct settings are not being used in the BIOS.

The NVMe M.2 SSD uses different drivers to those needed by the SATA SSD but if you have done the clone on a UEFI system or from Acronis rescue media booted in UEFI mode, then you need to check that you have selected the Windows Boot Manager from the SATA SSD in the BIOS boot priority settings, and have not / are not attempting to boot with both the M.2 and SATA drives connected as doing so can cause a disk signature collision in Windows.