Computer won't boot from cloned SSD

[Chris8818]

Hi there,

I've searched on the forums and online to resolve this issue, but it continues to persist. The only thing I have not done yet is a fresh windows install or update BIOS. The computer has Win 10.

My father bought a HP Pavilion 570 from a store and got a Samsung 850 to replace the HDD.

I formatted the drive and got Samsung Data Migration installed and cloned the SSD. I swapped the Sata and power from the HDD and put it on the SSD, like I've done many times with other computers, and turned on the computer. It does not boot and restarts endlessly.

I checked BIOS and the SSD does not show up in boot. So I turned on Legacy and restarted the computer and the computer just displayed the HP logo, slightly off centered.

I've cloned my mom's laptop just fine before and my father's office computer with all the same SSDs and Win10 without an issue, but this new one will not cooperate.

So my question is: do I need to update BIOS or start on a fresh install of Windows?

Thanks. And sorry, I've seen many questions asked about the same issue before...

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

I suggest that you update you BIOS to the latest version.

The Samsung 850 has a speckled history.  You may not have a good one.

Try the following:

Leave Legacy mode disabled in the BIOS and secure boot disabled.

Cable the 850 to the SATA port that contained the original HD.

Leave the original HD/SSDs disconnected.

If the above doesn't work then power off the PC, remove the power cord and hold down the power button for 60 seconds. Now remove the CMOS battery for 60 seconds and then replace it.

Plug the the PC back end and see if it boots up on the 850.

BTW---I had to use the above procedure on a different motherboard in order to clear out faulty UEFI boot device pointers.  I am not in favor of cloning and the original Windows Boot Manager UEFI pointer also gets copied and this may not work with the BIOS in all PCs.

[tangaiqing]

Hi, try the follwong solutions.

1. Enter BIOS settings. Under Boot tab, make sure the cloned drive is first boot order. If your cloned drive is a GPT disk, make sure the UEFI boot mode is enabled, and if it is an MBR disk, then set it to Legacy boot mode. If your computer does not support UEFI boot mode, you need to do a GPT to MBR conversion before you can boot from the cloned drive. As you may know, some software allows you to clone MBR to GPT disk or back without disk conversion. The computer is not using the correct boot mode is one of the reasons why cloned SSD not booting.

2. Use repair option via a Windows System Repair Disc or Windows installation disc. Boot from the repair disc, and try the first option, Startup Repair. If it doesn’t work, you can try Bootrec.exe, which can is available in Command Prompt, to fix cloned HDD won’t boot. Open the last system recovery option, Command Prompt, and enter the following command in order:

bootrec.exe

bootrec.exe /fixmbr

bootrec.exe /fixboot

bootrec.exe /scanos

bootrec.exe /rebuildbcd

3. If you have neither a repair disk or insatllation disc, you can use third party software AOMEI Partition Assistant to create a bootable media, and boot from it to use one of its features Rebuild MBR.

For more deailed information, you can refer to this article Cloned Hard Drive or SSD Won’t Boot - How to Fix?