Clone an operating system

[anyname]

I am looking for some advice with regard to fitting a SSD to my desktop.The desktop is Dell Inspiron 3268.I tried to clone the existing HDD with a 240gb SSD in an external drive. I was using the free option of Macrium Reflect but there seemed to be all sorts of partions etc which i did`nt understand and had the message there was not enough space.It seeems i have to buy a larger SSD? The HHD fitted to the Dell is 1TB. But all i wanted to do was clone the HDD and assumed that 240G would be big enough.the figures that came up while looking to clone the HDD are.

1-esp(none)
fat32 (lba)primary
61.7mb

2-(none)
unformatted primary
128mb

3-os(c
ntfs primary
58.37gb
918.73gb

4-winretools(none)
ntfs primary
38.65mb
458.0mb

5-image(none)
ntfs primary
all red coloured section
10.46gb
10.65gb


6-Dellsupport(none)
ntfs primary
586.5mb
1.07
I was just hoping to speed up boot time and speed up things when surfing.
Also to have a copy operating system should things go wrong.

 

[anyname]

Do not know were the the smiley came from at number 3!

 

[Abraham Andres Luna]

The smiley comes from the characters you typed cause this forum software converts combinations it knows into smileys

 

[muckshifter]

1TB = 1000 GB ... I'm not surprised you ran out of space.

What one would normally do is use an SSD as the boot drive with the OS (Win 7, 8, 9, 10) installed on it.

What Dell have done is Partitioned your drive to seem like several drives. Take note, one of those partitions is usually the backup / recovery image / restore OS partition, you can't really clone that.

I suggest looking for a very reliable repair/PC store and ask them to do it for you. You may need to buy the OS, again.

Some examples:
https://www.dell.com/community/Inspiron-Desktops/Inspiron-3268-adding-500GB-SSD/td-p/5973193

 

[anyname]

Thank you for the reply muckshifter Also thanks for all the links you provided. They are very interesting.

 

[Abarbarian]

You could unhook the old hdd and hook up the new ssd.
You could do a fresh install of Windows 10 on the ssd and if it passes the Microsoft verification then you can use it.
You would need to make a backup of the new os on the ssd as you would not have the Dell backup partition. You could keep the new backup image on the old hdd which you can wipe and reformat to allow you to use it.
If trying the above making one partition for stuff and one for the backup image would be a good idea as it keeps things neatly arranged.
Partitioning tools can be run from a Gparted Live os or almost any popular Linux Live distro.
Backups can be made with Clonezilla.

 

[anyname]

Thank you for the reply Abarbarian.Its all a bit complicated for me though. Also realised my Dell is under G`tee for another 18 mths so guess any changes would invalidate it.Should have bought one with a SSD!

 

[minizv]

Get a free utility called Partition Wizard Free. USE IT CAREFULLY! This programe is brilliant. I have used various versions of it many times over the years, including the current version. Plug you new drive into your PC. Start the program. Click on the drive (Drive not disk) you want to clone and chose "Migrate OS to SSD/HD" and then the drive you wish to have the OS on. Now click "Apply" and wait - you have now completed the copy. Before doing this I would recommend you do a THOROUGH tidy up of your existing C: drive. Get rid of all the Windows update install files and everything in the "Temp" folder. This will cut gigabytes off the size. There are numerous free programs to help you do this. BUT if in any doubt, leave the file there. Good Luck

 

[minizv]

Oh, and be sure to format your new drive first if not pre-formatted. Use minitool again.

 

[Terry James]

I am looking for some advice with regard to fitting a SSD to my desktop.The desktop is Dell Inspiron 3268.I tried to clone the existing HDD with a 240gb SSD in an external drive. I was using the free option of Macrium Reflect but there seemed to be all sorts of partions etc which i did`nt understand and had the message there was not enough space.It seeems i have to buy a larger SSD? The HHD fitted to the Dell is 1TB. But all i wanted to do was clone the HDD and assumed that 240G would be big enough.the figures that came up while looking to clone the HDD are.

1-esp(none)
fat32 (lba)primary
61.7mb

2-(none)
unformatted primary
128mb

3-os(c
ntfs primary
58.37gb
918.73gb

4-winretools(none)
ntfs primary
38.65mb
458.0mb

5-image(none)
ntfs primary
all red coloured section
10.46gb
10.65gb


6-Dellsupport(none)
ntfs primary
586.5mb
1.07
I was just hoping to speed up boot time and speed up things when surfing.
Also to have a copy operating system should things go wrong.

 

[Terry James]

I replaced a 140GB SSD with a 250GB.
I only keep the minimum on the SSD (C Drive) by creating a folder on the Hard Drive to store 'ALL' data, leaving the SSD (C Drive) only for programes & Aps etc.
I used a Samsung 250GB from Amazon which came with Samsung 'Magician' software that made cloning the drive easy.
Also I used an external SSD drive case (about £9) so that after cloning, then fitting the new SSD, I placed the old 140GB SSD into the external case so I now have a high capacity USB.