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Moving HTPC OS from HDD to SSD

post #1 of 33
4/22/12 at 10:28am
Thread Starter 
I am going to buy a new SSD for my iMac and move that SSD to my HTPC. It will be used for the boot drive. But my question is will I have copyright problems with my current recorded shows when I copy the OS from the HDD to the SSD? And will there be any other problems? Currently all of my recorded shows from WMC is stored on another dedicated HDD.
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post #2 of 33
4/22/12 at 12:03pm
I can't answer your question about your recorded shows but I would advise that you use a disk utility to ensure the ssd is properly aligned before restoring the OS. After the OS has been installed, I would check the alignment again to ensure it has not changed.
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post #3 of 33
4/22/12 at 12:24pm
Thread Starter 
I was going to follow these instructions to move the OS.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...ng-system.html
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post #4 of 33
4/22/12 at 12:29pm
Is your OS Win7? What is the brand of mechanical drive?
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post #5 of 33
4/22/12 at 12:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by audit13 View Post

Is your OS Win7? What is the brand of mechanical drive?

Yes it is Win7. But hard drive is Western Digital Black Caviar 7200 1TB 3Gb/s
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post #6 of 33
4/22/12 at 12:45pm
Here's what I recommend:

1) download and install WD's Acronis True Image: http://support.wdc.com/product/downl...19&wdc_lang=en and create a bootable usb or DVD;

2) install the ssd and WD OS drive;

3) use the original Win7 installation disc or usb drive, select repair, go to the command prompt, use diskpart to "clean" the ssd, create a primary partition using the entire drive. No need to format.

4) reboot the machine using the bootable WD Acronis usb or DVD and copy the OS partition from the WD to the SSD. This version of Acronis will only work with a WD drive in the system and it maintains the proper offset.

I use an ssd in my desktop and I'm always loading programs and crap. I keep an Acronis image my OS and I am restoring all the time to get rid of the programs I don't want rather than uninstalling.
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post #7 of 33
4/22/12 at 12:52pm
I reinstall from scratch every time.

That's just how I do it.
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post #8 of 33
4/22/12 at 12:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

I reinstall from scratch every time.

That's just how I do it.

I thought of that but I install my OS, all of the Win updates which take forever sometimes, and install all of my programs. Everything is set up the way I like it. Then create and image and each time I restore my drive, everything is good as new
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post #9 of 33
4/22/12 at 1:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by audit13 View Post

I thought of that but I install my OS, all of the Win updates which take forever sometimes, and install all of my programs. Everything is set up the way I like it. Then create and image and each time I restore my drive, everything is good as new

I have had mixed results cloning a larger OS drive to a smaller SSD drive (Windows hates when you do this, btw). Sometimes it works and sometimes there are files/folders that don't transfer.

I have tried a few different software options including Acronis.

I think its ok to give it a try but don't hesitate to just do it from scratch if things don't look right or act right after you clone it.
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post #10 of 33
4/22/12 at 1:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

I have had mixed results cloning a larger OS drive to a smaller SSD drive (Windows hates when you do this, btw). Sometimes it works and sometimes there are files/folders that don't transfer.

I have tried a few different software options including Acronis.

I think its ok to give it a try but don't hesitate to just do it from scratch if things don't look right or act right after you clone it.

I have been using Acronis for years and I have never encountered a situation where files were not copied over.

I went from a 120gb ssd to a 90 and then to a 60. The 120 and 90 had to be rma's at different times and Acronis got me up and running again in minutes.
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post #11 of 33
4/22/12 at 1:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

I reinstall from scratch every time.

That's just how I do it.

I thought about this but will I be able to watch my recorded shows on my new install? I am using a cablecard through Cox.
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post #12 of 33
4/22/12 at 5:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

I reinstall from scratch every time.

That's just how I do it.

basically this.

Everytime I ever tried anything else I found it was more hassle and trouble than it was worth.

It's actually easier for me to fresh install.

The performance is always better too.

Nothing like a fresh install and clean registry. Moving an OS is always a bad idea unless you absolutley can not reinstall something very important.
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post #13 of 33
4/22/12 at 7:20pm
I've used Acronis True Image both ways -- big to small, small to big, etc. and never a problem. When going from big to small you just need to ensure the data on the larger drive will all fit on the smaller drive. Acronis True Image will align the partition correctly. I have not found cloning/replacing the drive to affect DRM.
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post #14 of 33
4/22/12 at 11:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post

basically this.

Everytime I ever tried anything else I found it was more hassle and trouble than it was worth.

It's actually easier for me to fresh install.

The performance is always better too.

Nothing like a fresh install and clean registry. Moving an OS is always a bad idea unless you absolutley can not reinstall something very important.


I know you and I are in different camps for SSD manufacturers but wondering if you use Ccleaner to clean up the registry afterwards. I'm not familiar with OCGs trim function.

The last couple of Spinners to SSD conversions I was lazy and just used WD's version of Acronis to transfer from much larger drives to the Crucial M4s with no issues. Not sure if it matters but I also did the SSD speedup list that Assassin has. FWIW I always allowed Acronis to delete particians and that might have had some influence on the transfer process.
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post #15 of 33
4/22/12 at 11:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

I reinstall from scratch every time.

That's just how I do it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post

basically this.

Everytime I ever tried anything else I found it was more hassle and trouble than it was worth.

It's actually easier for me to fresh install.

The performance is always better too.

Nothing like a fresh install and clean registry. Moving an OS is always a bad idea unless you absolutley can not reinstall something very important.

100% agree and will do nothing but that, if I move HDD OS to SSD.
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post #16 of 33
4/23/12 at 5:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by hlkc View Post

100% agree and will do nothing but that, if I move HDD OS to SSD.

But he will lose access to any recorded TV shows with copy flags. That was his requirement from the first post.

The guide that you posted from sevenforums should work. I did something similar recently on two machines. In hindsight it would have saved time on one of them to just do a clean install. In the end they both cloned and work fine. The time sink is the shrinking of the existing HDD partition if it is larger than the SSD. Then the second time sink is getting the new SSD partition aligned if it is out of alignment.
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post #17 of 33
4/23/12 at 5:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tomandbeth View Post


I know you and I are in different camps for SSD manufacturers but wondering if you use Ccleaner to clean up the registry afterwards. I'm not familiar with OCGs trim function.

The last couple of Spinners to SSD conversions I was lazy and just used WD's version of Acronis to transfer from much larger drives to the Crucial M4s with no issues. Not sure if it matters but I also did the SSD speedup list that Assassin has. FWIW I always allowed Acronis to delete particians and that might have had some influence on the transfer process.

I just reinstall windows. Lol.

I have USB 3.0 stick with common programs . It takes me about an hour or two to completely start fresh. I do it every six months because I am usually upgrading something.

Otherwise I would use back up image on server or other disc image and load that . A known fresh working OS.

When your SSD is a OS only drive and all my data is backed up or stored in other places I see no reason to move a partition or try repairing it.

Windows 7 install takes 15 min. Windows updates take 30. Installing everything else might take 15 up to 30 depending on what I am doing.

I pull it off a a few hours of time at night.

I don't mind installing fresh once or twice a year if I see the need. It's easy for me.

FYI I have acronis too.
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post #18 of 33
4/23/12 at 5:47am
I'm with the imaging and restore camp. If we're talking about an identical hardware platform, then I don't see the upside of an OS rebuild. Especially if we're talking about an HTPC here. Having to set up recordings again. Re-creating junction points. Re-configuring all my 3rd party plugins and apps and such. Not worth it.

If it's my primary desktop and I'm trying to squeeze every ounce out of it. Ok, then maybe I install fresh to get the registry cleared out and such. But we're talking about what should essentially be a black box with 99.99% uptime. What does that conversation with the wife look like anyways? "Honey, I'm going to marginally increase the performance of the HTPC. For that reason, no TV for you for the next 4 hours. And oh yeah, your existing HBO recordings will be lost."

Swap > Rebuild.
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post #19 of 33
4/23/12 at 9:51am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bryansj View Post

But he will lose access to any recorded TV shows with copy flags. That was his requirement from the first post.

The guide that you posted from sevenforums should work. I did something similar recently on two machines. In hindsight it would have saved time on one of them to just do a clean install. In the end they both cloned and work fine. The time sink is the shrinking of the existing HDD partition if it is larger than the SSD. Then the second time sink is getting the new SSD partition aligned if it is out of alignment.

Currently my OS is smaller than the current HDD than the SSD so that shouldn't be a problem.
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post #20 of 33
4/23/12 at 2:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bryansj View Post

But he will lose access to any recorded TV shows with copy flags. That was his requirement from the first post.

The guide that you posted from sevenforums should work. I did something similar recently on two machines. In hindsight it would have saved time on one of them to just do a clean install. In the end they both cloned and work fine. The time sink is the shrinking of the existing HDD partition if it is larger than the SSD. Then the second time sink is getting the new SSD partition aligned if it is out of alignment.

Sometimes that is how life goes..

I would scrap it and just install clean. It's how I roll.

Is there something I am not seeing here? I mean won't the previously recorded shows still be able to play back on the new OS?

Is the problem you don't want to have to reset all your settings and shows to record again ?
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post #21 of 33
4/23/12 at 2:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post

Sometimes that is how life goes..

I would scrap it and just install clean. It's how I roll.

Is there something I am not seeing here? I mean won't the previously recorded shows still be able to play back on the new OS?

Is the problem you don't want to have to reset all your settings and shows to record again ?

Yes, you are not seeing something here. He has PlayReady copy protected content.

xnappo
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post #22 of 33
4/23/12 at 3:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by xnappo View Post

Yes, you are not seeing something here. He has PlayReady copy protected content.

xnappo

Why would you have content that is copy protected making it hard to play back privately inside your own home?

Seems not worth the trouble.
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post #23 of 33
4/23/12 at 4:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post

Why would you have content that is copy protected making it hard to play back privately inside your own home?

Seems not worth the trouble.

Feel free to write the FCC! Trust me everyone hates it - but better than the cable co DVR.

xnappo
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post #24 of 33
4/23/12 at 4:39pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post


Why would you have content that is copy protected making it hard to play back privately inside your own home?

Seems not worth the trouble.

As xnappo stated I did not choose this. I have a Ceton cablecard tuner and everything I record is copy protected to the computer it was recorded on. I am going to Acronis to copy my HDD because I have no experience aligning hard drives.
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post #25 of 33
4/23/12 at 4:44pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Makaveli6103 View Post

As xnappo stated I did not choose this. I have a Ceton cablecard tuner and everything I record is copy protected to the computer it was recorded on. I am going to Acronis to copy my HDD because I have no experience aligning hard drives.

Just seems like a lot of trouble to preserve a tv show that is easily replaced.

I guess I don't get it.

But I end here. Any further will get me into trouble suggesting torrents or some alternative that is easier to replace the content on a fresh install. That's probably a no no.
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post #26 of 33
4/23/12 at 7:45pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post

Just seems like a lot of trouble to preserve a tv show that is easily replaced.

I guess I don't get it.

But I end here. Any further will get me into trouble suggesting torrents or some alternative that is easier to replace the content on a fresh install. That's probably a no no.

I thought about going the torrent route to get the shows again. Or I might wait until I am caught up then reinstall my OS.
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post #27 of 33
4/24/12 at 5:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Makaveli6103 View Post

I thought about going the torrent route to get the shows again. Or I might wait until I am caught up then reinstall my OS.

Depending on your provider you may not even have any flags in the first place. If you have another PC you could try to play some of the recorded TV files. If they play then you can clean install, if not then those need replaced somehow or you stick with the clone plan.
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post #28 of 33
4/24/12 at 2:50pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by bryansj View Post

Depending on your provider you may not even have any flags in the first place. If you have another PC you could try to play some of the recorded TV files. If they play then you can clean install, if not then those need replaced somehow or you stick with the clone plan.

Good to know. I thought all of my shows had flags on them. I will try it out tonight. Hopefully I can do a clean install. Now with Shark007 codecs are 10x faster to install.
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post #29 of 33
4/24/12 at 3:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Makaveli6103 View Post

Yes it is Win7. But hard drive is Western Digital Black Caviar 7200 1TB 3Gb/s

Since OS is Win7, your Western Digital OS partition may already be correctly aligned. Here's a link to a Lifehacker page that discusses correct SSD partition alignment:

http://lifehacker.com/5837769/make-s...ve-performance

Here's what the above source says about checking your current alignment:

Quote:


To see if your partitions are aligned correctly, hit the Start menu and type in msinfo32. Enter Msinfo32 and go to Components > Storage > Disks. Look for your SSD on the list and find the "Partition Starting Offset" item. If this number is divisible by 4096 (that is, if dividing it by 4096 equals a whole number and not a decimal), your partition is correctly aligned. If not, you need to realign it.

I've done an OS transfer from HDD to SSD. The first thing to do is check the alignment of your existing OS partition on your HDD. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but if the HDD is of the advanced format (AF) sector variety (such as the Western Digital models with EARS in the model number), then Win7 should have installed with the proper alignment. If it is properly aligned for AF, then the partition offset will be divisible by 4096, and you can clone the OS partition with Acronis to your SSD. But not all versions of Acronis will clone from HDD -> SSD without messing up the alignment of the cloned copy. You will need Acronis True Image HD, which comes bundled with many SSD kits from most major SSD manufacturers. Also, if I'm not mistaken, Acronis True Image Home 2011 and 2012 will also clone from HDD -> SSD without messing up alignment... but it must be true first that the HDD has the correct alignment to begin with (i.e. with partition offset divisible by 4096). If not, then the clone will also have an improper offset = incorrect alignment. In this case you will have to use Gparted to re-align the cloned SSD partition after the cloning process, as explained in the Lifehacker article linked above.
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post #30 of 33
4/24/12 at 5:07pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vlad Theimpaler View Post

Since OS is Win7, your Western Digital OS partition may already be correctly aligned. Here's a link to a Lifehacker page that discusses correct SSD partition alignment:

http://lifehacker.com/5837769/make-s...ve-performance

Here's what the above source says about checking your current alignment:



I've done an OS transfer from HDD to SSD. The first thing to do is check the alignment of your existing OS partition on your HDD. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but if the HDD is of the advanced format (AF) sector variety (such as the Western Digital models with EARS in the model number), then Win7 should have installed with the proper alignment. If it is properly aligned for AF, then the partition offset will be divisible by 4096, and you can clone the OS partition with Acronis to your SSD. But not all versions of Acronis will clone from HDD -> SSD without messing up the alignment of the cloned copy. You will need Acronis True Image HD, which comes bundled with many SSD kits from most major SSD manufacturers. Also, if I'm not mistaken, Acronis True Image Home 2011 and 2012 will also clone from HDD -> SSD without messing up alignment... but it must be true first that the HDD has the correct alignment to begin with (i.e. with partition offset divisible by 4096). If not, then the clone will also have an improper offset = incorrect alignment. In this case you will have to use Gparted to re-align the cloned SSD partition after the cloning process, as explained in the Lifehacker article linked above.

Thanks for the info!
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