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Trying to clone system drive to new NVMe SSD using MVP Media Creation Tool

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Lenovo ThinkStation P700 (Model 30A8)
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit, Service Pack 1
Processor: Intel Xeon CPU E5-1620 v3 @ 3.50GHz, 3501 Mhz 
24 GB RAM
HDD: WDC WD10EZEX-08Y 1 TB (used space on C: 379 GB)
SSDs: 2 x NVMe Samsung SSD 970 1 TB
Acronis True Image 2019

I tried to use the MVP Media Creation Tool to clone my existing system drive to a new M.2 NVMe SSD (Samsung 970 EVO Plus). I followed the best advice I could find from this forum and from the True Image user guide.

I have two suggestions about the help documentation for the MVP Media Creation Tool (at https://kb.acronis.com/content/59335):

1. In the support video you make the point to unpack the tool to the root of any drive. I suggest you add this instruction to the written documentation on the above page - I unpacked it initially to my Desktop, where it would not work.

2. You say on the above page "You can choose to burn bootable media to a CD/DVD or create a bootable USB flash drive". I tried to use a 64 GB USB flash drive, and got the message "ERROR: Failed to format "G:"; DiskPart errorlevel -2147212243." After some searching, I found that the regular Windows format tool will not format drives larger than 32GB with the FAT32 file system. I suggest that you include the warning not to use a flash drive larger than 32 GB, to save other users this hassle.

To the problems I encountered when trying to use the tool:

Before using Acronis, I had installed two M.2 NVMe SSDs (Samsung 970 EVO Plus). I had initialised the drives, and formatted them as GPT. I was able to view them in Windows Explorer. I had installed the Samsung NVMe Driver. (All on the original HDD.)

I made the assumption (that is, without checking) that my existing HDD was formatted MBR, so I followed the process of making a full disk backup with Acronis (onto one of the M.2 drives), with the aim of restoring it to the other M.2 drive.

I initially tried using the Acronis Media Builder in simple mode, but found that I could not see the M.2 drives when I booted with it; so I then ran MVP_ATIPEBuilder.exe. I chose "Build from WinRE", and chose to inject custom drivers (with the default IRST drivers).

I then booted the computer from the MVP Media Creation Tool, in UEFI mode. I validated the Acronis backup, and tested restoring a single file from the backup. Both these operations succeeded.

I set True Image (in the MVP Media Creation Tool) to restore the backup to the M.2 drive. The Operation Progress window displayed, showing "2 of 5 - Recovering partition".

I left this for an hour, and came back to find no progress registered on the screen. I clicked the Cancel button, and the message (I think) went to "Processing". I left this for a while, but when nothing seemed to have happened I tried to close the Operation Progress window, to no effect. I tried accessing Task Manager, but it would not start. The shutdown and Restart commands also failed to have any effect. Eventually I used the computer's power button to power the machine off.

I thought maybe I had been too hasty, so tried the process again, this time leaving it running for 24 hours. Again, there was no sign of any progress, and I killed the power again.

When I checked Disk Management, I found the M.2 drive I had tried to restore to, is shown as "Unallocated", so presumably Acronis had removed the single partition I had put on it previously. I also saw that my system drive is formatted as GPT - I assume it was like this all along, and that Acronis hasn't changed it.

I am not clear what I have done wrong, or what I have left undone. It seems to me that the restoration process was hanging, as it left no headroom to perform other operations. I am reluctant to proceed any further (for instance, trying a direct clone operation) until I have a better take on the situation. I wonder whether this is a driver issue?

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Christop, welcome to these public User Forums.

NVMe M.2 drives require UEFI / GPT so if your source HDD drive is Legacy / MBR this will need to be migrated to UEFI.

Windows 7 does not have native support for M.2 NVMe drives so any extra drivers need to be installed both in the OS and for the Acronis Rescue Media being used.

Support for Windows 7 ends in around 4 months time (January 2020) so you should be considering upgrading to Windows 10 which does have full native support for these drives.

1. In the support video you make the point to unpack the tool to the root of any drive. I suggest you add this instruction to the written documentation on the above page - I unpacked it initially to my Desktop, where it would not work.

Sorry but the Desktop is never going to be considered to be the same as the 'root of any drive' and the majority of users of the MVP tool have understoood this correctly from the documentation available.

2. You say on the above page "You can choose to burn bootable media to a CD/DVD or create a bootable USB flash drive". I tried to use a 64 GB USB flash drive, and got the message "ERROR: Failed to format "G:"; DiskPart errorlevel -2147212243." After some searching, I found that the regular Windows format tool will not format drives larger than 32GB with the FAT32 file system. I suggest that you include the warning not to use a flash drive larger than 32 GB, to save other users this hassle.

The 32GB USB size limitation comes purely from Microsoft, not from the MVP tool.  This is documented in Acronis KB 58108: Acronis products: using USB sticks with more than 32GB capacity

Without any log information, it is impossible to say why your attempts to clone or restore to the new M.2 SSD has not progressed to a conclusion.  When using rescue media, the log is lost as soon as the system is powered off or restarted, so would have to be saved prior to such actions, but this in turn would require that you could access the Logs option!

ATI 2019 does allow you the option of using the Active Clone feature to try to migrate from your current HDD to one of the new M.2 SSD drives.  I would recommend testing this method as this would also create persistent log data that could be useful if further issues are encountered, but again your source system will need to be using UEFI / GPT before such an attempt.

See webpage: BIOS Mode - See if Windows Boot in UEFI or Legacy Mode

https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/downloads/ds121505

Hotfix for Win7 PCIe NVMe support (above from Lenovo) below from Microsoft .

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2990941/update-to-add-native-driver-support-in-nvm-express-in-windows-7-and-wi

You must install this in Windows 7 before attempting to migrate to PCIe NVME to be bootable.

And as noted by Steve, these drives must have the Win7 OS installed as UEFI/GPT to be bootable.

This will require bios modifications as well, if your system bios supports UEFI.

As Win7 is almost canned, I would start fresh with Win10 too and just port your data over.

Many thanks for your help. I ascertained that my original HDD is formatted GPT, and contains an EFI partition. I had already installed the Samsung NVMe driver. (Re: Windows 10 - I am fully intending to install it, but wanted to maintain a working Windows 7 system in the event that some of my software will not run on the new OS.) I thought I would try using Active Clone to try and clone the disk.
I have set the BIOS to UEFI, and removed the old HDD. I am pleased to say everything seems to have worked. I booted straight into Windows, and there was a dialog telling me that software was being installed.

Is there anything particular you would suggest I do to ascertain that everything is in order?
Re my suggestions for the MVP Media Creation Tool: I tend to read rather than watch videos. All I was suggesting in my first point was that you add the instruction to unpack the tool to the root of any drive, to the written instructions. I certainly would not read the Desktop to be the same as the 'root of any drive', but I only found this instruction when I watched the video. Re the second point, I did not know in advance that the MVP Media Creation Tool would try to reformat my USB stick. I was presented with an error which initially meant nothing to me, and had to research in order to ascertain what had happened. The 32 GB limit I understand is one imposed by Microsoft, not by you; and it is indeed documented elsewhere. I just suggested that it might be helpful to add a reference to this in your instructions, to save people like me (am I truly unique?) an unnecessary step in the process.

Christop, good to read that you have the new NVMe drive installed and working after the clone.

In reality the best additional tests are to use your computer normally and check that everything is as expected (but hopefully much faster).

Glad all is well!  Where there's a will, there's a way!  

Point noted about the instructions to put the tool on the root of a drive.  There hasn't been much need to update the tool in awhile and we have to submit the application for signing with each update so it hasn't been updated in awhile.  When there is spare time, I would like to update the notes/instructions and get some updated IRST drivers into the custom drivers folder.  I'm sure there is room for other improvements as well, and we'll get to it when there's time.  I also hope that Acronis continues to improve the default rescue media builder.