Migrate HDD to SSD Without Admin Access

[krognam]

I don't know if there is any good way to do this.

Basically I have my work computer which I have no admin access. I cannot install any programs. It's a 250GB conventional HDD. I want to migrate that to a new disk, probably a Samsung 840 Series 256GB SSD.

The entire HDD is encrypted, so it would require basically a "bit by bit" transfer. This is not authorized by my IT department, so they will not help. I want to enhance my personal experience. I already upgraded from 4GB to 8GB of RAM and it was noticeable. They are using Sandy Bridge Core i5s running Win7, so they are not bad machines.

I have read a lot of problems with migrating to SSD from HDD, problems with sector size or something.

I do have a separate machine with admin access, so I could remove the work HDD and plug it in to clone it.

Does anyone know of a good program or a way to do it without getting errors or sector issues?

I was thinking maybe hook both the work HDD and the new SSD up externally with a SATA-USB cable and using whatever program. Basically I want to know the most reliable program, and that can do a "bit by bit" transfer since the HDD is encrypted. I prefer free, but I am willing to spend a small amount if it's a good enough program.

[chazus]

You could use macrium reflect, however I don't know how that handles the whole encryption thing. Even if you put the drive in another system, that doesn't remove the encryption.

Personally, I would ask them if such a thing is allowed. Adding ram is one thing. Circumventing encryption tactics is another. Make sure that when they say it isn't allowed, its specifically "We won't help you, but if you figure it out, kudos" as opposed to "Changing the drive is a violation of company policy. We'll pack your things up for you."

[vesseblah]

Try Macrium Reflect. Not sure if there are some problems with crypted drives but there shouldn't as long as you choose to copy everything including empty blocks.

If your IT deparment doesn't want to help, you could try just swap the drives and call them "my drive is empty, need it re-imaged" :P

[Deleted]

Some SSD makers box their own cloning tool with the SSD. Intel does this, and it works pretty well. It's made by acronis, but licensed by intel so it only works if there's an intel SSD connected to the system. Samsung might have something similar.

[krognam]

You could use macrium reflect, however I don't know how that handles the whole encryption thing. Even if you put the drive in another system, that doesn't remove the encryption.

Personally, I would ask them if such a thing is allowed. Adding ram is one thing. Circumventing encryption tactics is another. Make sure that when they say it isn't allowed, its specifically "We won't help you, but if you figure it out, kudos" as opposed to "Changing the drive is a violation of company policy. We'll pack your things up for you."

It's kind of both. It's certainly not allowed, but I won't get in any trouble. And I don't want to really circumvent the encryption, I am perfectly happy transferring the encryption to the new drive. It's software level using a program called Guardian Edge.

[chazus]

Give macrium reflect a try. Its free, so the worst that can happen is.. it doesnt work.

Keep in mind though, if your system is set to IDE mode now.. You won't be able to change it to AHCI (as you likely can't access regedit), which will hurt your SSD response.

[Deleted]

Give macrium reflect a try. Its free, so the worst that can happen is.. it doesnt work.

Free for private use is not the same as free for corporate use, and since it's a corporate PC, he would likely have to pay for a license to do it legally.

[krognam]

Well it's only one corporate PC, for my private use. I think of a corporate license as a corporation rolling something out, not one person improving his computing experience.

And I can boot from a DVD, but I can't access the BIOS or regedit. So it will probably run in IDE mode. But anything is better than a 5400 RPM HDD. I have SSDs in all my personal machines, and oh lord I can't believe it's still legal to install an OS on an HDD...

[chazus]

Free for private use is not the same as free for corporate use, and since it's a corporate PC, he would likely have to pay for a license to do it legally.

I might be mistaken, but "Free for private use" means you are using it. As opposed to using it to make profit, or sell, or distribute to a company.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

Free for private use is not the same as free for corporate use, and since it's a corporate PC, he would likely have to pay for a license to do it legally.

Private use: using it for yourself
Corporate use: using it to generate (more) profit for a business