I recently posted about possibly replacing my hard drive with a larger model. Here's the situation:
I have a Desktop PC with two internal drives:
- C Drive: 115GB SATA drive mainly for the OS (Windows 10), Plex Server, and a few necessary programs.
- D Drive: 1TB SSD that holds most of my other files.
I purchased a new 1TB SATA drive identical to my old C Drive to replace it. My plan was to use Macrium Reflect to clone the existing C Drive to the new one. Then I would remove the old drive and boot from the new drive.
However, I discovered that my case only accommodates two drives at once. My original plan is now not feasible, so I need to find another approach. I'm considering getting a SATA to USB cable to connect the new drive externally to clone it. My questions are:
1) Will this setup work to clone my drive?
2) How will my PC recognize the new drive to boot from it after I've replaced the old one?
3) Are there any additional steps I should be aware of to make this process successful? Thanks!
1 Answer
Instead of using the SATA to USB method, why not disconnect the D Drive temporarily, connect your new drive, and clone your C Drive to it? After cloning, you can test the new drive by removing the old C Drive and booting from it. Once you confirm it's working, just reconnect the D Drive. Should be straightforward!
That's a clever approach! My only worry would be losing connections between your C and D Drives. You'll want to verify if removing D affects any links to your files. If you put D back after swapping drives, should everything relink fine, or might you have to fix some paths?