Samsung Data Migration Software for Windows 10/11
While some users want to fresh install Windows 10/11 on a newly purchased Samsung drive, most users prefer to keep the OS and installed programs intact, and the easiest way to do this is cloning HDD to Samsung SSD using Samsung data migration software.
Samsung has its own tool for data migration from hard drive to SSD - Samsung Data Migration Software (SDM). This Samsung proprietary software was designed for Samsung consumer SSD products, including 470 Series, 750 Series, 830 Series, 840 Series, 850 Series, 950 Series 960 Series and 970 Series.
You can download it from Samsung website, and keep reading to learn its usage.
How to Use Samsung Migration Software on Windows 10/11
✎Precautions:
◇ This tool is designed to transfer data from old hard drive to a Samsung SSD. If you want to migrate Samsung SSD to other brands of drives, please refer to the next method.
◇ While cloning, all data on the target Samsung SSD will be deleted and unrecoverable. So if you’ve stored any important data on it, backup the hard drive first.
◇ When your source disk has multiple volumes, SDM will only clone the system volume and two more volumes.
◇ Before starting to clone, it is recommended to close all active programs and allocate sufficient memory first.
Steps to migrate data to Samsung SSD with SDM:
1. Install and open data migration tool for Samsung. It will automatically scan and choose the Windows sytem disk as source disk.
2. Select the Samsung SSD as the destination.
3. Then click Start to clone HDD to Samsung SSD in Windows 10/11.
This is how you perform Samsung data migration in Windows 11, 10. When it’s finished, shut down your system, swap out the old HDD for the new SSD, and boot up (make sure to enable AHCI in BIOS if it’s not already set up).
The only thing you need to pay attention to is to switch IDE mode to AHCI mode in BIOS. For user who is in RAID mode, just leave it alone. If you find it cannot work in RAID, you may need to reinstall the operating system.
Samsung Data Migration Not Working (5 Possible Cases)
Samsung migration software for the EVO Series and PRO Series SSDs may be the most wanted. Although SDM does a big favor in hard drive upgrading, there are some drawbacks reported on the Internet. Here are some common situations about Samsung Data Migration errors.
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The software use issues. Some users say they find Samsung Data Migration not responding or not working after installing, and some users even cannot install the SDM.
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The cloning process stuck. Many users complained that Samsung Data Migration stuck at 99%, 100% or even 0% in the event of cloning.
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SDM cannot change source disk. The SDM only recognizes the hard drive that contains an operating system as its source disk and there is no option to change it. If you’d like to clone a different hard drive, it will not suitable.
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SSD recognize error. Many people find that Samsung 850 EVO not detected in Windows 10/11. The causes are complicated and you can find corresponding fixes from the given list if necessary.
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Manufacture brand compatible issue. It is known to all that Samsung Data Migration can only clone boot drive to a Samsung SSD, and will not work on other brands of SSDs such as Kingston SSDs, WD SSDs, Crucial SSDs, etc.
These are just part of the Samsung SSD users' feedback in fact. In case you encounter any of the situations unluckily, it's always a good idea to have a “Plan B” in hand.
The Best Samsung Data Migration Alternative for Windows 10/11
AOMEI Backupper Professional is a reliable and mighty Samsung cloning software that helps you transfer all contents from old storage including MBR and GPT disks to the new Samsung SSD, and auto-align partitions to optimize target SSDs. The following will dwell on the clone feature in AOMEI Backupper:
✤ Flexible clone options
- System Clone: it allows you to move only operating system drive and boot related drives to Samsung SSD.
- Disk Clone: it is capable of cloning hard drive to SSD including all the contents on it. When you don't clone a hard drive in bit-by-bit mode, you can edit partitions on the destination Samsung SSD.
- Partition Clone: it enables you to copy a specific partition to another.
✤ Clone between different sizes
This software allows you to clone hard drive to smaller Samsung SSD as well as larger one without interrupting since it supports intelligent clone, sector-by-sector clone, and hot clone. You can also edit the partition size and allocate unused space to make full use of the target drive.
✤ Advanced clone options
- For advanced users, here's a way to clone hard drive from command prompt, which allows for unattended task.
- Creating bootable media (USB drive or CD/DVD) to clone hard drive without loading Windows is also available.
- If you don’t have a USB-to-SATA cable, this software allows you do Samsung Data Migration without cable.
You can download the free trial of the Samsung migration software to experience all these features:
*Clone features in free trial can only be demonstrated. Please upgrade for full functionality.
Step by Step Guide: Samsung Data Migration in Windows 10/11
This software runs in an intelligent-sector clone mode by default, which copies only used sectors and therefore enables you to clone larger drive to smaller drive successfully. If your target drive is larger, you can edit partitions to fully utilize disk space.
You just need to make sure the target disk has enough space to hold all the existing data on the source disk. Not I will clone hard drive to SSD 850 EVO as an example.
Steps to use Samsung data migration software in Windows 10/11:
1. Install Samsung SSD to your PC and make sure it can be recognized by Windows.
2. Install and launch AOMEI Backupper. Go Clone and then Disk Clone.
3. Select your hard drive as the source disk.
4. Select Samsung SSD as the target disk.
5. Now you have entered into the final page. Check SSD Alignment box in the lower left corner to improve its reading and writing speed. You can edit partitions on Samsung SSD before you start if the need ever arises. Finally, click Start Clone to execute Samsung SSD data migration.
6. Replace old hard drive with the cloned Samsung SSD after cloning. If you have an extra slot and want to use the old hard drive for storage, you can also keep it installed, and simply change the boot order.
To change boot priority, you need to press a specified key (depends on manufacturer) during startup to enter BIOS, and then select the cloned drive as the first boot option. Thus Windows 10 will boot from it, and you can even keep the old hard drive as the secondary storage.
Tip: For laptop users, it is suggested to replace hard drive via backup and restore method to increase boot success. For more information with screenshots, please refer to Samsung laptop SSD upgrade kit.
Conclusion
This page offers you two kinds of Samsung data migration software for Windows 10/11: Samsung Data Migration tool and AOMEI Backupper. If the Samsung Data Migration tool fails, AOMEI Backupper can be the best alternative.
The steps in AOMEI Backupper are simple, even a computer novice can handle it well. And you can use it to clone all kinds of SSDs, regardless of the disk brand, including migrate Windows 10 to M.2 SSD, clone hard drive to SanDisk SSD, clone Windows 10 to NVMe SSD, clone HDD to Seagate SSD, etc.
As a matter of fact, AOMEI Backupper is a great backup solution as well. You can keep this software installed to protect your PC when Windows 10 backup not working.