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Move from HDD to SSD - Laptop - Does not work

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I really am frustrated and have spent way too much time on something that should be a simple task. After researching and searching for like problems I follow the steps and still am having an issue.

I have a Samsung Laptop that I am trying to put an SSD in it because of crappy performance of the HDD.
I have a license for TI 2015 and for TI 2014 Premium

Running Windows 8.1

First- Tried cloning - error - so I tried just to test, how about using a desktop to clone a HDD to HDD - Error - either versions can't handle cloning

Second - I saw that to clone a drive - put the SSD in the laptop and put the HDD at the USB port - did it. Error, Basically when it hits trying to copy over the main partition - it errors out

Third - Did a full backup with TI 2015 - Able to restore All partitions EXCEPT the Main partition - grayed out when trying to select. When it comes up asking to select destination and partition size - it shows the main partition, the SDD drive is grayed out and it selects size as 0, destination size as 0 and space after as 0.

Forth - Tried to do a Full restore of the full backup - No drives available - I can't select the SSD (HDD is disconnected now otherwise it shows as the only drive to restore to.

Fifth - Tried to do a full backup of the HDD with TI 2014 Premium - tried restoring partition at a time - Exact same results as "Third, above"

Sixth - Tried backing up ONLY the partition that is giving me the problem and there is No way of restoring that partition onto that SSD card.

Where I am dealing with the TI 2015 - I boot with the 2015 Recovery Media I created from the SW
Where I am dealing with the TI 2014 - I boot with the 2014 Recovery Media I created from the SW

I am going from a 1TB HDD with 187 GB used on the Entire HDD - the Main partition is 184GB, when I get all partitions moved over Except the Main, i have 442GB Free - there is no reason that HDD partition cannot go to that SSD partition.

I purchased this product because of the success I have had with older versions and being in the technical field for over 25 years. These last 2 products are extremely frustrating and are not working as advertised.

2015 Build 6525, I don't have the 2014 build at my fingertips, but 2015 should be the product that works anyway. There is Way too much time put into this as I have professional work to do that this has completely eaten up. Frustrated is the nice word to describe this process to be. If a cloning cannot be used - even between 2 similar HDDs - it is a useless tool for me to keep for my laptop backup and recovery as it was purchased for and offers a complete false sense of security, which scares me. I expected a little difference between a 1TB HDD and a 500GB SSD, but not this way. I am afraid to even test dissimilar system restore.

So what am I missing that will change my mind and change the experience I have yet to see positively with TI 2015?

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Hi:
I had the same experience with a Lenovo T430 under Win 8.1. I have been turning arround for two days without success. I'm trying to install a Sandisk UltraII on my t430 using acronis 2015_6525 in french and following the exact peocedure provided in the user manual and web docs. When it comes to select the destination drive to restore the disk backup: impossible to select it ! It appears in light gray in the list. The ssd is seen by the computer, the original HD is "Basic"type. I Hope a solution will be found... Thanks in advance.

Here some instructions for Windows 8.1 and ATI 2015:

- Boot your computer on your current disk

- Run chkdsk X: /R on each partition of your disk. You can use Windows disk management to assign a drive letter to the hidden partitions temporarily. Remove these drive letters after checking before the next step.

- Open the disk management console, in the view menu choose top > List disks. Capture the screenshot for future reference, and post it to this forum.

- Uninstall any program you don't want on the SSD (eg: games, ). You need to make sure that the spaced used on the partitions you are going to backup will be of a much lower total size than the available space on your SSD minus 10% (see below about the 10%)

- Do an "Entire PC" backup of your current disk. This will include all partitions, even the hidden ones (no need to use the sector by sector setting). At restore time, we can leave some user-created content partitions out to fit the SSD if required. If space is a concern, you can exclude some file types (eg videos, pictures, movies, etc.).

- Put your SSD at the same spot at your current disk. Remove your current disk from the computer for the time being.

- Boot your computer on the Acronis recovery CD

- In the Acronis tools, choose add new disk. Initialize your disk as GPT. When the add new disk wizard asks you to confirm a new partition, skip that test. No worry if you do create a new partition.

- Choose the restore tool, select the backup you just did, within the backup select the disk level box, choose the new SSD as the destination. If you don't see the SSD. Let us know.

That's it.

Reboot on your new SSD. Then, if you want to use your old disk, put it back in the computer, reboot. Delete whatever you want, etc.

Hi
Please could you tell me how to assign a drive letter to a hidden partition. I have tried by "computer management"-->disks managament It doesn't work.
Thanks.

Hi there,

This is the right way to do it. On a GPT disk, you will not be able to assign a drive letter to certain partition necessary for the GPT layout. Everything else should be fair game with NTFS, FAT file systems. Given what you describe, the error is located in the main partition anyway.
Do you have SSD disk caching on this computer?

In Windows disk management, in the view, top, list disks, your disk is listed as basic, right?

SSD Caching could explain why the backup is failing. Try to disable it form the UEFI bios just to try.

Pat L wrote:

Here some instructions for Windows 8.1 and ATI 2015:

- Boot your computer on your current disk

- Run chkdsk X: /R on each partition of your disk. You can use Windows disk management to assign a drive letter to the hidden partitions temporarily. Remove these drive letters after checking before the next step.

- Open the disk management console, in the view menu choose top > List disks. Capture the screenshot for future reference, and post it to this forum.

- Uninstall any program you don't want on the SSD (eg: games, ). You need to make sure that the spaced used on the partitions you are going to backup will be of a much lower total size than the available space on your SSD minus 10% (see below about the 10%)....

Thank you Pat L. I believe it was that I didn't Add the Drive and make it a GPT from within ATI 2015. It recovered correctly and I am up and running now. Thank you.
Don