Cloned disk that won't boot
SolvedSATS_fr Posted messages 4849 Registration date Status Member Last intervention -
Hello,
I just tested the trial version of Macrium Reflect Home to clone my disk to a second one of the same capacity.
The copy made is deemed correct by the software, but upon restarting my PC, the UEFI only offers to boot from my original disk and I cannot boot from the clone.
Could this be an unannounced limitation of the trial version or is the problem elsewhere, such as an option I might have forgotten to check?
If I plug in a USB stick with Windows 10, the UEFI recognizes it... I conclude that the cloned disk is not bootable.
Any ideas?
4 answers
Good evening,
No, I haven't tried ... I'll test that tomorrow, but I don't understand why one disk would prevent seeing the other as bootable. Maybe because they have the same OS?
Hello
If I'm not mistaken, the trial version of Macrium does not allow for cloning a system disk; you need the full version, so you have to buy it. This is also the case with most competing software.
What can be done for free, however, with software like AOMEI Backupper Free for example, is a complete backup of the disk to be replaced, then restoring that image to the destination disk. The process takes no longer than cloning but requires an intermediate backup medium (external or internal drive).
Good evening,
Verdict: the cloned disk boots normally if the original disk is removed, as SATS_fr suggested, but I don’t understand why...
I can now reinstall Windows 10 on one of the disks without risking compromising the other, because I can’t stand waiting at startup anymore (3 minutes to get to the login page + 1 minute 30 for the desktop and taskbar to show up once the password is entered! Probably due to the accumulated patches installed by Microsoft... That was the purpose of my cloning.
For flo88: this also confirms that the trial version does indeed allow cloning the system.
Thank you for the advice.
I don't know the ins and outs of booting, but I know that Microsoft is fully capable of "making a mess" with hidden partitions.
It is quite possible that it preferred to read the UEFI partition of the second disk rather than that of the cloned disk.
It is always advised, when installing Windows, to leave ONLY ONE disk in the PC, even if it means putting the others back once the installation is complete.
If I clone, by definition and if everything goes well, I install the boot sector on the second disk as if it were alone, not a multi-boot choice to boot from either disk.
Under these conditions, the computer at startup has no reason to find the second disk; it knows why it preferentially looks for the boot sector on the first one, except perhaps if instead of letting the boot sequence proceed normally, one chooses the Boot Manager at startup using the appropriate key or selects the target disk.
Theory is when we know everything and nothing works. Practice is when everything works and no one knows why. Here we have combined theory and practice: Nothing works... and no one knows why!
Albert Einstein
See at https://citations.ouest-france.fr/citation-albert-einstein/theorie-quand-sait-rien-fonctionne-7663.html