Hey everyone! I've been using an HDD for booting my system for years, and I'm finally ready to upgrade to an SSD. However, I'm concerned about the data I have on the SSD. I've had it for a while and don't want to lose anything when making the switch. Most resources I've seen online assume you're starting with a fresh SSD, but I want to know if I can boot from my SSD without losing any of the data already stored on it. Can someone help clarify whether the cloning process will erase anything on the SSD? Thanks!
4 Answers
Yes, cloning your data will definitely overwrite what’s on your SSD. You need to back it all up first. You could even use the HDD you're cloning from as temporary storage for your data during the process.
When you clone your boot drive from an HDD to an SSD, it typically **will** wipe everything on the SSD. There are ways to switch your boot drive without affecting the data, but they can be pretty complicated for average users. The easiest and safest route is to get a brand new SSD to clone your HDD to. There are many tools for cloning, some of which are free. Trying to clone to an existing SSD with important data could lead to irreversible data loss.
Guess I’ll have to invest in a new SSD then!
If you’re moving to an m.2 SSD, just a heads up that you might need to install a driver.
You can check out this guide for cloning: https://www.diskgenius.com/manual/clone-disk.php. It walks you through cloning to another drive step by step, which might help!
What size is your SSD? If it’s too small, consider putting it in an external enclosure to back everything up to another location. It could save you a lot of headaches.
How would I go about doing that?
Would it be fine to back everything up on Google Drive?