Best Terabyte Unlimited product to copy a HDD to SSD

Which is the best product to do the following:

Migrate/Copy an entire 160GB WD HDD with two partitions, one C: (Windows) and two D: (Data) to a new SSD (120GB).

I like IFL now very much, but you tell me which one. Then I need assistance to set it up accordingly to get the best results.

 

Any Terabyte product can do that for you. They are all (pretty much) the same. But I prefer IFL because it's faster.

 

Thank you. I like IFL a lot now too. Silly me I was just using IFD for years but never tried IFL before until a few weeks ago.

 

Thing is how to configure IFL correctly to copy/migrate my current HDD to SSD. I've never done this before. I don't know which parameters (partition alignment, resize partitions, etc) to check and to take into account for my HDD. Btw my OS is Windows 8.1 x64.

 

Mister X,

I've done this a lot recently. Can you post a screenshot of your Disk Management? What size SSD are you proposing to use? In IFW or IFL click Backup, select the Win8 partition (highlight it) and click Information. What is the "MiB to Restore" number? What are the LBA numbers? What are the Used and Free numbers?

Edit.. You mentioned SSD is 120 GB.

 

Thanks for your reply Brian.

Spoiler: diskmgmt

Yes it is 120 GB.

26418 MiB Used
13247 MiB Free
31951 MiB to Restore

LBA: 14336-81248255

Device CHS: 1022/254/63
Device Sector Size: 512
Device ID: 0xCE7D764D

 

Thanks for that. You have no problem with the data or sectors in use fitting on the SSD.

14336/2048= 7. An integer so your partition is 1MiB aligned and it will remain so after the restore.

I'd create an Entire Drive image of the HD. Then remove the HD, install the empty SSD (to the same SATA port if it's a desktop) and boot into IFL. Restore the Win8 image first (out of the Entire Drive image) to Free Space. For Options, choose Set Active and Restore First Track. It will restore as a 38.74 GB partition. Then restore the DATA partition to the remaining Free Space. No Options are needed. In both cases you can choose Validate if you desire. Done.

Edit... I omitted to ask, what is the MiB to Restore for the DATA partition. It needs to be less than 73000 MiB.

 

The reasoning behind MiB to Restore...

Let's say you had a 500 GB HD partition with 50 GB of data. You would expect the image to restore to a 100 GB SSD. But it depends on the data spread. If the data was spread over 200 GB (200000 MiB to Restore) the image wouldn't restore. In this situation you would use IFL to compact the data to a figure less than 100000 MiB. Then create your backup image.

 

94198 MiB to Restore

 

I guess:
14336 is taken from LBA: 14336-81248255
and
2048 is taken from ?

Should I always take that first number from LBA parameter?
Should I always take 2048 as a fixed divider?

 

2048 is 1MiB on disks using 512B sectors. You use the starting LBA (first sector) of the partition.

 

Thanks.
In this case, isn't a good idea to "Align to target" to get the best sector size for SSD disk to increase performance and lifespan?

 

Mister X,

On the same screen where you selected Information, highlight the DATA partition and select Compact. Compact the data to say 60000 MiB. Then you are ready to create your backup image.

 

It says something like there's a risk of loss of info. Do you think it's safe enough to skip this warning?

 

Just asking. Isn't better in these cases just to use Copy operation? Instead of Backup > Restore operations.

 

One more thing. I decided a couple hours ago, to use a 2.5" 500 GB HDD for DATA storage, instead of dividing my SSD in two.
Why? Because I use to run programs that renders video, Minecraft server which forcibly uses a page file which I intend to put it on the HDD, also make use of WMware activity a lot, also Shadow Defender which makes a hidden partition on each volume but I'm going to redirect it to the HDD as well. Then I think this would reduce SSD wear.

 

It's safe but have an image backup before you start the Compact.

You still have to use Compact. Copy is fine but the new drive should ideally be mounted internally for the copy and you have to be careful to not boot the computer after the Copy has completed. Remove the old drive before booting. Or use "Change Disk ID and GUIDs". If you do an Entire Drive Copy the new OS partition will be proportionately smaller (160 GB to 120 GB drive). I prefer image/restore when going from a larger to a smaller drive as I have more control but it's personal.

Then there is no need to compact any data. Restore the OS partition image to the empty SSD and in the "Resize after Restore" field enter the Max number (or your own number).

The SSD should outlast your computer.

 

Thanks Brian. What about my question above?

 

"Align to Target" is really for changing partition alignment, which you don't want to do. It has nothing to do with sector size and isn't a relevant option for your project.

 

Ok, thanks a lot.

I am ready for my project now!
Before undergoing my project I need to do family things and chores today and will work on it tonight...

Have a nice Sunday @Brian K and @MudCrab

 

Everything went well. Thanks guys.

 

Good news!

 

Just a minor issue with disks IDs. As I re-utilized the old one as D: then IDs of both disks collided. Fixed with diskpart...

 

Nice work.

 

ifw and acronis so far are the two go to's for me for swapping a hdd to a ssd. as much as i love macrium it seems to sometimes take forever when doing this task. i did however find yesterday a hdd that for some reason no matter the settings i used ifw just didnt want to copy. it was only 5% done and had been running for nearly 1.5 hours already and there was only about 50-60gb total to be moved. the drive was mounted internally in the desktop (not through usb) on a new 990fx board. first time for me ifw in years has ever had any kind of issues. i still wish i knew why. i dont have the system anymore to run tests on so im curious now. also btw the hdd was fine according to chkdsk and showed no errors. os was windows 10 x64