Who’s to be trusted ?

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

I am in the process of upgrading an old DELL Optiplex 390 SFF PC … mostly to act as a ‘capture-card’ for a microscope camera.

Things are going quite well, but the big improvement should come when I replace the mechanical hard-drive with an SSD.

The machine currently runs Windows 10 … which loads very slowly.

My easy option should be to clone the drive, but I’m currently suffering an outbreak of paranoia !

Memories of parental warnings [don’t take sweets from strangers, etc.] are haunting me 🙁

Suddenly the idea of using cloning software seems risky

… rather like trusting a stranger with the contents of my wallet !

So, folks … Who [if anyone] should I trust?

Might it be better to do a fresh install of Windows and the handful of programs I have on the machine ???

MichaelG.

[HowiParticipant @howi]

lots of good free software out there that is non destructive to the original Hdd.

If you don’t have much on the drive then a clean install would be the safe way to go.

Personally I would go the clone route, what have you to lose.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Just as an example … this is one of the very tempting offerings:

How to Clone Windows 10/11 HDD to SSD

https://www.4ddig.net/ads/bing/4ddig-disk-copy.html

Appears to be highly recommended …. but by whom, and with what motives ?

MichaelG.

[Adrian R2Participant @adrianr2]

I’d prefer an established and well known open source tool, any vulnerability or malware inclusion would become public knowledge quickly. Been a few years since I had the need to do this but I most likely used a “live” (USB bootable) version of Clonezilla – linux based but you don’t need to be linux literate so long as you can read and follow instructions.

IIRC it works best if you have the old (source) drive mounted in an external USB case and the new (target) drive in the machine when you do the clone.

[Howi]

On Howi Said:

[…] what have you to lose.

That ^^^ is the very essence of my question

MichaelG.

[DiogenesParticipant @diogenes]

..a bit of due diligence shows that Tenorshare (the developer) is a global software developer founded 2007, has over 15000 reviews on Trustpilot, and have an expansive website from where one can download the application direct without having to trust a third-party host.

.if it’s a scam they’ve gone to a lot of trouble.

– extract below;

[peak4Participant @peak4]

Alternatively, there is an option of using a HDD/SSD docking station, some of which allow for off-line cloning.
This is one example; I have the DS02 model, though I’ve not yet tried it out

https://www.rshtech.com/products/dual-bay-sata-hdd-docking-station-rshtech-ds02

Bill

[Thor 🇳🇴Participant @thor]

Hi Michael,

I have tried something similar to what Bill refers to, and it worked well, Windows 10 boots much faster.

 

Thor

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Thanks for the replies so far … This is getting interesting !

MichaelG.

[VicParticipant @vic]

I no longer use windows but from past experience it’s hard to beat a fresh install.

[NealebParticipant @nealeb]

I have used Clonezilla for this kind of job with no problem, and running it off a USB stick can make it easier on a system with limited disk interfaces.

Not sure if your system is recognised as part of a Microsoft account; if it is, then I would reboot off the new disk to double-check, then wipe and reinstall if you are so minded. Windows licence will still apply to new system.

I have updated a couple of systems recently to use SSD and it’s a great performance improvement.

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

+1 for Clonezilla. Even works on odd format HDDs in testequipment. HDDRawCopy is also OK but can’t copy the drive the machine booted from.

[Diogenes]

On Diogenes Said:

..a bit of due diligence shows that Tenorshare (the developer) is a global software developer founded 2007, has over 15000 reviews on Trustpilot, and have an expansive website from where one can download the application direct without having to trust a third-party host.

.if it’s a scam they’ve gone to a lot of trouble.

– extract below;

On Michael Gilligan Said:

On Howi Said:

[…] what have you to lose.

That ^^^ is the very essence of my question

MichaelG.

I’m confused!!!!

You have already stated that it would be simple/easy  to do a fresh install so why torture yourself over do I/ don’t I.

go on! just do it, you know you want to!!!!! 🙂

 

[HowiParticipant @howi]

ignore the first part of the post, old age and sticky fingers – ho! hum!

 

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Thanks everyone, for the helpful discussion  … I have learned a lot

I must however particularly thank Bill [Peak4] for waking me up

… the off-line hardware solution is the obvious way to calm my paranoia.

[more anon]

MichaelG.

 

 

 

[OldironParticipant @oldiron]

I have used EaseUS Partition Manager for years without any problems. . It is a great solution to all hard disc maintenance/cleaning/cloning needs. I have a paid version but there is a free version at https://www.easeus.com/partition-manager/epm-free.html

Also works on all Windows versions.

Good luck.

[Frances IoMParticipant @francesiom58905]

the startech copier is excellent – CEX sometimes has the older model for about £50 – the later model a little more – you can buy adapters to allow older non-Sata dives to be copied (allows you to keep older equipment running using SSD sata drives)

I use it for backup just buy two SSDs and regularly copy .

(I still dislike this site – forces you to use google thus selling one’s privacy.

[larry phelan 1Participant @larryphelan1]

Michael, a wise man once said “Trust no-one”

Hope this helps !

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

I once did exactly this with an all-in-one desktop computer.  I can’t remember exactly how it went now but the new SSD came with everything I needed to transfer everything.  I know it led me through the entire procedure and I’m struggling to remember but it might have backed everything up to the SSD, plugged into a USB port, before doing the hardware change.  Get a good quality SSD and I’m sure it will come with a means of leading you through the process.  I do remember I didn’t need any third party software, everything came with the SSD that I needed.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Fresh install when transferring from an old computer to a new one.  The hardware is likely to be different, so you can’t rely on the old DLLs, registry settings and other configurations to still work!   Fresh install sorts all that out.  Cloning doesn’t.  The problem with a fresh install is the user has to sort out data migration and upgrading the applications.

Clone when replacing a hard drive in the same computer with a new SSD.   In this simple case, cloning transfers the entire system including user installed applications and user data as a unit, job done.  But only clone if nothing else has changed, otherwise the O/S boots, tries to talk the old way to new hardware, and is liable to fall over in a mumbling heap!  If anything more than a disc drive has to be upgraded, perhaps a new network card, proceed in two steps.  Clone to the SSD first and confirm the system still works; then fit new network card and drivers and reboot.  This the OS should handle as normal business, fingers crossed!

Richard mentions many new SSDs come with cloning software: if so use it!  Otherwise:

• I didn’t find anything nasty in clonezilla last year and it worked painlessly.  It’s open source so you can check it for nasties.
• I also use ‘dd’ which is a bog standard UNIX utility, hence secure.  Simple enough when both discs are the same size, but essential to Read The Flipping Manual.  It’s a command line tool with super powers, so don’t get the magic incantations wrong!   GUI cloners are far more straightforward – my preferred method.
• clone apps are like any other software in the Windows firmament!  Downloading from a dodgy website risks malware galore.  Find someone reputable and put the download through a virus checker before running it!

If it all goes horribly wrong, fresh install.  You did take a full backup, didn’t you…

Dave

PS found my backup system is broken a month ago and haven’t had time to fix it.  I like to walk on the wild side!

 

[larry phelan 1]

On larry phelan 1 Said:

Michael, a wise man once said “Trust no-one”

Hope this helps !

Exactly my opinion … which is why a FIDECO Dual Bay HDD Docking Station with Built-in USB 3.0 Hub/Card reader [a catchy little name for a product] is currently chuntering away.

MichaelG.

.

[Clive Brown 1Participant @clivebrown1]

Samsung Magician is free software intended for managenent and optimisation of Samsung SSDs. It includes a data migration tool. Useful if you’re upgrading to Samsung products.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

For info.

The off-line cloning went well, albeit a long process

The 250GB  HDD was only 19% full but it still took just over two hours

[empty space gets cloned too]

The machine does feel more responsive now, although it’s still a sluggard compared with my M1 Mac Mini

The only application that has played-up so far is DELL Assist … so  I completely removed that using Revo Uninstaller & re-installed it, and it now appears to be stable

 

The FIDECO box is rather flimsy, but it works well-enough

MichaelG.

[Mark RandParticipant @markrand96270]

Edit:- Didn’t refresh the browser. Too Bloody late again. 😀

 

You might want to go to file_manager/explorer/my_PC. look at the C: drive (assuming that’s the drive in question). Right click, go to properties. Go to Tools. Click Optimize. See what it says about fragmentation. If it’s a lot or doesn’t show that it’s been done recently, then tell it to ‘optimize’ the disk (i.e. de-fragment it). It might take a while depending on how full the disk is. if it shows 0% fragmented or close, then it’s probably doing it on a schedule.

If you still need to go to an SSD. Chose your cloning software from other folks recommendations and have at it. The Optiplex 390 has four SATA sockets on the motherboard, so you shouldn’t ave any problem fitting a new/additional drive.

 

If you were confident, you could mirror the original drive to the new one then remove the original one from the mirror, but it helps to have done it on a ‘system you don’t care about’ first 🙂

Final note:- It’s not a bad idea to purchase an external drive that’s bigger than what you’ve got and use a backup software to keep your life’s work somewhere safe for when a meteor lands on the shed…

[Michael Gilligan]

On Michael Gilligan Said:

… The only application that has played-up so far is DELL Assist …

Apologies to anyone who may be confused … That application is called DELL Support Assist

MichaelG.

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