Cloning HDD to SSD in new Asus Laptop, Need Help Please

[Tweaterben]

Hey there guys. I started building computers about 3 years ago, and have only used Windows 7. But now I just purchased a Asus Q301L Laptop with Windows 8.1, and do not have a Windows 8 install disc to do a fresh install. So I decided to clone the 500GB HDD originally installed on the Laptop to a 120GB SSD, and even clicked the "Optimize to SSD" button to make sure it adjusted the partitions correctly to fit. But I cannot get the new one to work, even with the Recovery USB that I created from the start of this process. I get things like "Unable to reset PC, a required drive partition is missing", and "The drive where Windows is installed is locked, unlock the drive and try again". Does anybody have any ideas, or maybe any experience with this sort of thing. I sure would appreciate it, my girlfriends birthday is on Friday, and I wanted to have it ready for her in time! Thank you

 

[alkaufmann]

Put the original HDD drive back into the laptop and also connect your SSD. Check that your current HDD does not require more than 120GB. Start the cloning software that you have, choose your source as the HDD and the destination as the SSD. You should be able to choose a manual option to resize the new partitions on the SSD. Only change the size of the C: partition and leave the size of the others alone. Start the cloning process and shut down the system when down. Replace the HDD with the cloned SSD. Start the laptop.

That should work.

 

[Tweaterben]

Put the original HDD drive back into the laptop and also connect your SSD. Check that your current HDD does not require more than 120GB. Start the cloning software that you have, choose your source as the HDD and the destination as the SSD. You should be able to choose a manual option to resize the new partitions on the SSD. Only change the size of the C: partition and leave the size of the others alone. Start the cloning process and shut down the system when down. Replace the HDD with the cloned SSD. Start the laptop.

That should work.

How exactly do I hook both the HDD and the SSD up to the laptop? I just removed the two disks and hooked them up to my desktop to do the cloning process. And I did optimize it for SSD, in which the program down-scaled the partitions to fit on the SSD. Although I did not try to ONLY downsize the C: drive partition, it downsized all 3 or 4 which ever it is. I will give it a try and see what happens. Thanks for your help Alkaufmann

 

[alkaufmann]

[TD="width: 100%"] I put the SSD into a Vantec docking station and plug that into the eSata or USB 2.0 port on my laptop. Your desktop method of cloning should work too. Good luck.

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[Tweaterben]

I put the SSD into a Vantec docking station and plug that into the eSata or USB 2.0 port on my laptop. Your desktop method of cloning should work too. Good luck.

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Well just tried re-cloning it, but I could not figure out how to adjust each individual partition. When I click the optimize for SSD button, it adjusts ALL partitions instead of letting me chose individual ones. I have tried Acronis, AOMEI, EaseUS, and Reflect. None seem to give me the option I am looking for. Any ideas for a program that would help me with this issue? Thanks

 

[alkaufmann]

Sounds like the laptop HDD has some sort of copy protection and you may have to contact Asus on how to replace the hard drive. If you want to do a clean install and give your girl friend a real surprise, put the SSD into the laptop and install the Windows 10 Preview. She may have to purchase it next April but until then.. You can always put the HDD back into the laptop.

 

[Mark Phelps]

put the SSD into the laptop and install the Windows 10 Preview. She may have to purchase it next April but until then..

Personally, I consider this a BAD idea (even though I'm one of the "insiders" myself). The existing Win10 TP is really more like an Alpha version than a Beta version. This is going to get automatically updated on a frequent basis. Plus, what disturbs ME more than other aspects, is that MS had admitted to doing keylogging on Win10TP in order to "collect usage data". It's a bad idea (IMHO) to use Win10TP on a "production" machine -- one you rely heavily on for daily use.

 

[alkaufmann]

You are right it is not the best solution. The best solution is to get an install disc from ASUS so that you can install a new drive into that laptop. However I doubt he would get that in time for the birthday. :-(

 

[Tweaterben]

You are right it is not the best solution. The best solution is to get an install disc from ASUS so that you can install a new drive into that laptop. However I doubt he would get that in time for the birthday. :-(

Ya, I decided to just re-install the factory HDD, and hold off with the SSD until spring. Contacted ASUS and they were no help because their technical support will not help with system upgrades, just fixes to OEM equipment. I am hoping Windows 10 is a huge jump and will make it worth the wait! Thanks for your input guys!