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The number of times that we migrate systems for test purposes can be somewhat mind-boggling, when considering that we have tested just about every SSD in existence today. The main staple for this activity has been Paragon’s Migrate OS to SSD for as long as I can remember, and Paragon has just released Version 4.0 of this software, sending us a copy for use once again. We think Paragon is definitely worthy of a detailed report, so follow along as we walk you through the migration process in system migration from a 128 to 240GB SSD.
The Paragon “Migrate OS to SSD” version 4.0 is available for only $11.95 at the time of publication direct from Paragon Software. Version 4.0 adds compatibility with Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2. A new user-friendly interface is compatible with Windows 8’s tile-oriented interface.
A link to this tutorial will also reside in its own discussion thread in our discussion forums. If you have questions or concerns about the tutorial, or about your own unique situation or experience, by all means jump over to our forums and ask away. We are proud to have as forum participants many highly-experienced users who are quite generous with their assistance.
INTRODUCTION
For those of us involved in the technology industry who test and review computer hardware on a regular basis, and for IT professionals, the ability to quickly migrate an operating system partition to another drive is a valuable tool. Between testing a particular drive in multiple hardware configurations, testing multiple drives in a particular hardware configuration, or IT support repairing or replacing desktops, operating system migration offers a significantly quicker alternative to doing a fresh installation every time. As frequently as this need arises, the cumulative time savings is huge.
In today’s world, SSD migration is more important to the consumer than ever. If you are upgrading from an HDD to an SSD, or upgrading an existing SSD to one of larger capacity or superior performance, migration offers a speedy alternative to a fresh installation of the operating system. Bear in mind that a “fresh” install is generally the preferred and recommended method, but migration is steadily gaining traction as its reliability continues to improve. Migration can also be used as a periodic backup method, but we’ll cover that towards the end of this report
When it comes to migrating an operating system to an SSD, one of the most critical factors is to be able to maintain precise alignment of the source partition and the destination partition. Using Paragon’s “Migrate OS to SSD” version 4.0 completely eliminates any alignment concerns. We will demonstrate toward the end of this review how the migration software was able to create a properly aligned partition.
PREPARING FOR MIGRATION
If you have the capability, it is a good idea to create a backup of your current operating system drive before proceeding. If you are migrating from one brand of SSD to a different brand of SSD, and have installed on your original SSD that manufacturer’s drive management software, you will likely want to uninstall it (either before or after migration) as it will no longer be needed. Examples of such software are Samsung’s Magician, OCZ Toolbox, Intel SSD Toolbox, Corsair SSD Toolbox and others. You can always download and install the new SSD manufacturer’s own drive management software after the migration is complete.
Thanks for a great review.
Thanks for a great review, without which I probably would be sitting pondering over how to approach for a lot longer. Your review shed light on all (for me) relevant topics, plus ended research for software alternatives.
I have a source HDD that’s bigger than the destination SSD. I know the software can handle that, since all the data fits on the new SSD. The SSD will simply have a smaller partition with less free space. But I have a question: In the migration process, will the Paragon software shrink the source partition? Also, does it really change the drive letters of the source partition, as seen in your screenshots? I’d prefer if either of these didn’t happen. Just in case something goes wrong I’d like to be able to boot from the original HDD with NOTHING CHANGED.
Yes it will shrink the partitions proportionally to fit on the SSD, but no changes are made to the partition sizes on the source HDD. If 1% of the original HDD’s space was for system reserved, and the O/S partition was 30% full and 69% free space, the SSD will have the same percentages used. Yes, it will change the drive letters to have whichever drive you are booting from be the ‘C’ drive. If after migration, you still want to boot from your old HDD, pick the HDD in your BIOS to boot from, and it will again show up as the ‘C’ drive. Windows always treats the drive you are currently booted from as the ‘C’ drive. Nothing will have changed on the HDD.
Thank you so much for this information! Going to pull the trigger in a few minutes 🙂
Worked like a charm, and faster than I could have imagined! Definitely worth the couple of euros I paid.
Excellent…my personal fav program!
The speed with which it completes the migration is what impresses me about it too. Glad you pulled the trigger and it worked well!
Does the Paragon software take care of the TRIM situation on the drive being migrated to?
I bought the Samsung Pro SSD and cloned my Windows 7 x64 to my Athlon 64 and it boots up in under 30 seconds now. The software is free with Samsung SSD`s.
I installed the Paragon 64 bit version of OS to SSD. It appears to complete the migration process but I do not see my SSD as an option for booting in the BIOS/UEFI. Interestingly, this is a new system with a new drive. When I installed W8.1, I do not have a System Reserved partition. However, the W8.1 boots just fine from the HDD. Can someone tell me how to properly use the Paragon tool assuming that I did something incorrectly? Does the lack of a System Reserved partition on the source drive make a difference? If so, then why does my system boot perfectly without it?
i migrated win7 from an HDD to my new Kingston SSD using Paragon. I boot from the SSD and all of my files seem to be where i left it but when i try to open them, they dont work. what do i do?
Our suggestion might be to reinstall the migrated image, or even start from scratch. Having said that, we NEVER recommend a HDD to SSD migration because their are so many, as yourself, that experience unexplained difficulties and go to the fresh install in the end anyway. FRESH INSTALL RECOMMENDED.
What if I don’t have any partitions on my 2TB HDD. Can it still move the OS? Does it create partitions or how does it work? I currently have about 400GB used on my HDD and am adding a 250GB SDD
You have to have one partition for the OS. It simply duplicates your drive, reducing partition size of you are going from larger to smaller and there is empty space.
Okay, I’ll have to check again, but I think the problem that I may have is that my OS partition is the full 2TB of the drive. Will it be able to fix that or should I just re-install windows completely. I really just don’t want to re-install all of my programs.
So could I just create a new partition somehow and move a bunch of my files over to that?
This software makes an exact copy of your hard drive/SSD. You font create partitions…just follow the instructions.
Yes I think I figured out how to do everything I need using AOMEI Partition Assistant for free. Yeah, I think I figured out what you’re saying, but basically I had to split up my 2tb hdd into two partitions then move all the extra files overto the second partition, then shrink the first partition and clone it over to the ssd. Took a while to move 500GB though…
Hello:
My Toshiba Satellite L505-S6959 (running Win 7 Ultimate w/Bitlocker) Died and I removed the SSD from that and installed it into a Toshiba Satellite _______ that had been running Win 7 Home Premium.
Everything Works EXCEPT I seem to have lost the Network Controller and Ethernet Controller. I downloaded appropriate Network and Ethernet Drivers to a USB and then attempted to let laptop Update with best driver (web and computer).
Still tells me that No driver can be found.
I cannot get to internet and it says No Connections Available………..
I went to a computer store to see about a new laptop and the salesman said to download Paragon Migration software and use that to reclaim the network and ethernet controllers and drivers.
However, from reading this analysis, it doesn’t appear that this is what I should do as I do not want to wipe this SSD clean. I’m not copying from one SSD to another, just using the same SSD that was in one computer and putting it in another computer.
Any Advice as to how to get these controllers back and access the internet and WiFi?
Any Assistance would be greatly appreciated!.
Your only solution is to find out what hardware is in the new laptop that you are trying to do the installation on. Aside from that, Win7 with BitLocker enabled should also pose another problem on the migration no?
Thanks. Bitlocker isn’t enabled right now. I found a great support site and the solutions worked for a lot of folks. However, one solution, registry edit under Local Machine, System, Network, etc… pointed out the fact that the only line of code in that Branch is the default. There should be six lines and mine’s just empty. I’m fairly computer literate but l will have to do some more study in order to I’ll have to copy the registry entries for Network from a working computer. I don’t know if this program can help with that.