Using AOMEI backuppers to clone to dissimilar hardware PC
Hello, I’ll be buying a new PC to replace my old one this upcoming end of the year.
I plan to clone all of my data on my boot drive along with the OS (Windows 10) to the new PC as well.
However, the problem I’m facing now is that the two PCs are dissimilar hardware-wise. And it’s a transfer from HDD to SSD.
I heard that AOMEI Backupper Professional Edition has a restore feature that can solve the Dissimilar hardware migration as stated in this article:
The problem is, according to the article, the dissimilar hardware restore feature is separated from the cloning feature.
It says that to use the restore feature, I will need to create an image file of my original drive which will then be restored onto the new SSD.
My questions are:
1. Does this means that, with AOMEI Backupper Professional Edition, I can’t clone one boot drive (with OS) to another drive(in a dissimilar PC) directly and make it boot?
Is creating an image file and restoring it a requirement that must be done no matter what?
Is creating an image file and restoring it a requirement that must be done no matter what?
2. Can the restore feature (or clone from HDD to SSD) be done from the bootable version of AOMEI Backuppers Professional?
Thank you very much for your answers, any guidance and clarification provided are greatly appreciated.
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Comments
1. Yes, you need to use backup and universal restore feature.
2. Yes, you can use the WinPE bootable media of AOMEI Backupper Pro to do the universal restore.
One more question if you don't mind, can I use restore feature on a newly brought nvme SSD straight up just like cloning, or do I have to format it before I restore?
I would do the following:
1. On the old computer, move all the files you want to keep into a new folder and copy this to a portable hard drive plugged into a USB socket.
2. On the new computer let the new version of Windows that came with it install, then plug in peripherals like printers etc. Windows will almost always automatically find and install appropriate drivers
3. Re-install all your previously installed software. Yes, I know this is a pain but these fresh installs will almost always perform better and faster than ones copied over
4. Connect the portable drive with all your copied files to a USB socket on the new computer and copy the files over to the new computer, either to a new single folder (which is actually quite a good idea for easy backup) or to whatever folder structure you desire.
5. Job done!
If, on the other hand, you just want to replace the HD in your existing computer with a new SSD, then cloning the HD to the SSD (with the SSD connected via a SATA to USB cable) and then removing the HD and installing the SSD in its place will result in your existing computer booting without a problem from the new SSD. I've just done that successfully on the computer I'm using for this posting and it made a HUGE improvement in performance.
If you do manage to boot your new computer from the old HD (it'll need to be connected direct to the motherboard to boot and not via a USB connection, and the new SSD will need to be temporarily disconnected), I think you'll have an issue with the Windows licence not transferring to the new hardware.
If you can resolve this by contacting Microsoft directly then I guess you can use cloning software (AOMEI or my preferred Macrium) to clone the HD to your new SSD connected via a USB to SATA (assuming your new SSD has a SATA connection).
Then replace the HD in your new computer with the SSD and you should be good to go.
I'm not sure whether the old HD will actually boot when connected to the new computer however, but I guess it's worth a try.
If you can resolve this and the Windows licence issue then all well and good. If not, I think you'll need to buy a new Windows licence, install it on the SSD and proceed as I previously described.