Setting up an SSD with a Partition Image

Discussion in 'backup, imaging & disk mgmt' started by nozzle, Jun 7, 2014.

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  1. nozzle

    nozzle Registered Member

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    I am expecting a Samsung 840 EVO Series 250 GB SSD. I would like to take an image of my hard drive with partitions C (Windows 8.1) and D (Games, etc.) after I resize them to fit under 250 GB. I plan on using Image for DOS and use that disk image to write to the new SSD.

    Will this work or will I have to clone it?

    Thanks.
     
  2. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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  3. nozzle

    nozzle Registered Member

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    Thank you Brian. I will make my C: OS 30GB and D: Misc 200GB. I appreciate all the helpful information you provide to the forum.
     
  4. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    nozzle,

    How much used space do you expect in each partition when you restore to the SSD? Make sure the C: partition is large enough for future updates/programs. It may well be.
     
  5. taotoo

    taotoo Registered Member

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    I did something similar and used Samsung's included software - worked great other than not copying over shadow copies. I can't remember if it can copy multiple partitions or not.
     
  6. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    nozzle,

    FYI see this page regarding overprovisioning.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write_amplification#Over-provisioning

    Your SSD is already 10% overprovisioned so you should be able to safely use 90% of the 233 GiB for "data". That leaves you with a minimum of 20% for SSD "maintenance". This occurs at the drive level rather than the partition level so the free space can be inside or outside a partition. You can even have a partition 100% full and there will be no performance loss as long as you have 10% free space somewhere on the SSD. As a test I ran a Win8 partition with 1 MiB of free space and it ran fine. A mechanical HD would not have run fine with 1 MiB of free space in the Win8 partition.
     
  7. nozzle

    nozzle Registered Member

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    Nice read. Very informative. I've made my image using a revised quantity. C-OS 35GB and D-180GB. I figure if I need a little more space later I can use the remainder. Thanks again Brian for your info and concern for this noob. When the SSD finally arrives and installed, I'll post the results.
     
  8. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    I like 35 GiB better than 30 GiB. I assume you resized your partitions to 35 and 180 GiB and then created images. Don't bother creating partitions on the SSD. Just restore your images to free space on the SSD and remember to set the Win8.1 partition Active in the Restore Options window. Also select Restore First Track AUTO for one of the restores. This will restore your boot code and Disk Signature as well as any relevant EMBR sectors (if any).

    Make sure the old HD isn't in the computer for the first boot from the SSD.

    Edit.... Connect the SSD to the SATA MB port the HD had been using. Probably SATA Port 1.
     
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2014
  9. nozzle

    nozzle Registered Member

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    Will do. Getting excited about the speed possibilities. If I convert a DVD movie from my Lord of the Rings collection to MP4 to use in my tablet, will there be any writes on C-OS if the converter program is on a hard drive? I know this is not exactly an imaging question but I would like to keep the writes to the SSD to a minimum.
     
  10. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    I'm not sure. You can use this app to see how much data has been written to the SSD.

    http://ssd-life.com/eng/SSDLife-Freeware.html

    I wouldn't be overly concerned about writing too much to a current SSD. My 18 month old Intel SSD has had 6500 GiB Writes and 75000 GiB Reads.

    Edit.. Make sure Windows Defrag (Optimize) is turned off for your SSD partitions. I turn System Restore off too. It writes to the SSD. I haven't used it since I started imaging.
     
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2014
  11. nozzle

    nozzle Registered Member

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    Well, I installed the ssd and after imaging I had a few problems with it. At first, the BIOS would not detect it so I disabled all the sata ports except the ssd and after a few restarts, the BIOS finally found it. The windows startup works like a champ! Then, I found that the Samsung Magician had a conflict with a few of my games, so I disabled it with "Autoruns" and no more freezing or extreme slow downs with my games.

    Other than the minor hiccups stated above, I am very happy and satisfied with my purchase.

    Peace,
    Nozzle
     
  12. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Nozzle,

    Thanks for the feedback. A few of my friends had trouble with Samsung Magician too, if that means anything.
     
  13. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Nozzle,

    When you need to restore a Win8.1 image to your SSD I suggest you use the "Write Changed Sectors Only" option. Instead of writing 20,000 MB to the SSD you will probably only write 200 MB.
     
  14. nozzle

    nozzle Registered Member

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    I get a completely different Image for DOS menu with global choices that doesn't look like the one in the manual. The screen shot in the manual does show the "Write Changed Sectors Only" option. How do I get my IFD CD to show this?
    Thanks,
    nozzle
     
  15. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    nozzle,

    "Write Changed Sectors Only" is not a global option. It is a restore option. Are you using the latest IFD? Which menu are you viewing that doesn't have "Write Changed Sectors Only"?
     
  16. nozzle

    nozzle Registered Member

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    The Restore menu has:

    Geometry
    Align MBR for BIOS Auto Mode
    Align Partitions on 1MiB Boundary
    Assume Same Target System
    Use Source Host Geometry
    Validate Geometry Before Use

    Miscellaneous Settings
    Simple Operations
    Use New Windows MBR
    Automatic Scaling Restrictions
    Automatic Boot Partition Update
    Automatic Restore Drive Search
    Retain Failed Backup
    Completed Alarm
    Output Disk IDT Command Line
    Resize With Caching
    Prefer Target Disk ID on Change

    (some of the spelling might be wrong)

    I use IFD 2.90
     
  17. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    nozzle,

    That is the Global Settings menu. The Restore options menu is similar to this...

    restore partition options 1.PNG
     
  18. nozzle

    nozzle Registered Member

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    "That is the Global Settings menu. The Restore options menu is similar to this..."

    I cannot get that screen in IFD (needed for OS restore). Maybe if I used a differential or incremental image instead of always using a full image I would get that menu. Any way, thanks again for your help. I will figure something out so I won't have unnecessary writes on my SSD.

    nozzle
     
  19. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    nozzle,

    If you can't see that screen I assume it's because you are using the Automatic selection button on the "Select" IFD window. It is the second IFD window. Instead of Automatic, select Normal and you will see the above window at the end of the Restore sequence. On the above window you can click Save Defaults and your options will be saved to IFD.ini. After IFD.ini has the options you can choose Automatic on subsequent restores, if you desire.
     
  20. nozzle

    nozzle Registered Member

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    That did it :D You've made my day. Many thanks.
    nozzle
     
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