Windows – Which partitions should I clone when migrating Windows from HDD to SSD

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I have a Lenovo desktop PC where I'd like to migrate my Windows 10 installation from the HDD it's currently installed on to a new SSD.

I plan to do this by cloning the relevant partitions on the HDD over to the SSD so I can later setup the SSD as my default boot drive. I plan to keep the HDD in the machine as storage.

In my cloning software I can choose which partitions on the HDD to clone. Other than the obvious C: drive where Windows is installed I see a list of small partitions that I am not familiar with.

Here is the list of these partitions – taken using a program called AOMEI Partition Assistant

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Which of these should I clone over to the SSD and why?

Best Answer

You need both system partition and boot partition (C:) at minimal

Other partition are Windows recovery and Lenovo specific partition

If space is not a concern then clone them all

About Lenovo partitions

  1. Partition 1 - Recovery (WINRE_DRV) - 1000MB Windows RE bootable (for Recovery Mode) Used when booting into Windows Recovery (Win RE) environment
  2. Partition 2 - System (SYSTEM_DRV) - 260MB System UEFI bootable (EFI/Windows boot menu) UEFI boots this partition, it contains Windows NTLDR, HAL, Boot.txt, and some drivers (Windows will not boot without this)
  3. Partition 3 - OEM (LRS_ESP) - 1000MB Lenovo Recovery System (EFI bootable) Lenovo One Key Recovery (OKR) button boots into this partition, which allows to do factory restore
  4. Partition 4 - Reserved (MSR) - 128MB Reserved Microsoft partition for GPT-based disks Must exist and must be 128MB, used by Windows when moving/changing partitions through Disk Manager
  5. Partition 5 - Primary (Windows8_OS) - 218GB Main C: drive - contains Windows, installed programs, etc
  6. Partition 6 - Primary (LENOVO) - 4GB Lenovo D: drive - contains mainly drivers and installers for some bundled apps
  7. Partition 7 - Recovery (PBR_DRV) - 13GB Lenovo factory reset image Used by One Key Recovery system to reset laptop to factory condition

http://www.lionhack.com/2013/12/25/lenovo-yoga-2-pro-partitions/

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