Windows 10 Cloning Solid stage drive to new SSD, windows 1o pro

GDany said:

Hello James,

With your new Samsung SSD you got also two programs called Samsung Magician and Samsung Data Migration. If there wasn't any cd on the box, then just go to Samsung's site and download both programs to your actual SSD.
Use the Data Migration to clone your actual SSD to your new one.
There is no need to reinstall anything, so there is no need for Windows serial number.
You will need to connect your new SSD to your computer in order to clone the old one. You have two options:
1. If you have an internal free sata III connector, then you can use it to connect your new drive.
2. If you do not have an internal sata connector or if you have a laptop, then you should buy a usb to sata III cable like this one:
US $8.49 15% OFF|Ugreen sata usb3.0 turn desktop solid state drive 3.5 inch hard drive transfer cable data cable easy to drive line 2.0|ugreen cable|cable datasata usb3.0 - AliExpress.
After you have both drives connected to your computer you can start the cloaning process as instructed by the Data Migration program.
After the cloaning process is finished, replace your old SSD with the new one and start your computer. If everything is OK, then you can delete the old one.


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I've heard that cloning app that comes with the Samsung SSD, doesn't always work?
Also, back n the days of win 7, I did the above using Paragon, this did well for win 7, but what about 10?
Also (again) about half the time, when I cloned, plugged in the drive and it didnt work....I forget what the issue was....BIOS level maybe, its been several years ago. If I do have to start all over like i did back then, I don't know where my win 10 key is.

I already did this using the Data Migration and everything went fine. This is not a problem and you won't need to reinstall anything. But you are right, you might have a problem making your computer recognize the new drive, for the first time. I also had this problem, three times already, and every time I succeeded somehow to make the computer "see" the new drive, but unfortunately I can't give you a straight solution because every time it worked differently. Once I had to use a different computer, which did "see" the drive and enabled me to make partitions.
Maybe somebody else here will give us a straight solution for this.

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GDany said:

I already did this using the Data Migration and everything went fine. This is not a problem and you won't need to reinstall anything. But you are right, you might have a problem making your computer recognize the new drive, for the first time. I also had this problem, three times already, and every time I succeeded somehow to make the computer "see" the new drive, but unfortunately I can't give you a straight solution because every time it worked differently. Once I had to use a different computer, which did "see" the drive and enabled me to make partitions.
Maybe somebody else here will give us a straight solution for this.

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That exact thing has happened to me several times back in the XP / 7 days. Then putting the old drive back in, it didn't see it either. Its been so long I don't know how I resolved it either. A couple of times I had to start all over.....if that happens I'll need the Key

In my case I always had problems only with the new drive, never with the old one. Just try to connect the new drive and see what happens.

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Here's an idea taken from a forum on Tom's Hardware site.
For this to work you should have a windows setup disk or usb drive at hand. It doesn't matter what windows version.
Now, replace your old ssd with the new empty one and boot your computer from the setup disk or usb drive. Enter the bios and set the sata mode to AHCI.
Start the installation process like you would like to install windows on your new empty ssd.
At some point you will be asked to choose where you want to install windows and because the setup program will not be able to find a partition ready for the installation, it will give you the option to choose a hardisk and to format it. Just finish the formatting process and cancel the installation. You will now have a formatted ssd which you will be able to use for cloaning your old ssd. Of course, replace the new ssd with the old one and reboot the system. Go on with the Data Migration program.
If you still do not see the new ssd drive (which has to be connected in one of the ways I explained in my previous message), open the disk management utility in windows administrative tools and check to see if the new ssd is present. If it is present, then try changing its letter to an unused one (right click on it and you'll see an option to do this).

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