What to do if SSD won’t boot after cloning

Maybe, for one reason or another, your PC can't boot from cloned SSD drives. Well, it is not obvious that most advanced PC users prefer SSD to HDD because SSD runs smoother and has better properties. The stereotype that a computer won't boot from cloned SSDs isn't real, and here, you will understand how to solve this problem irrespective of your Windows OS version.

Here you will find out:

what to do if SSD won’t boot after cloning

why this problem occurs

solutions on how to fix this problem

how DiskInternals Partition Recovery can help you

Are you ready? Let's read!

SSD won’t boot in Windows 11, 10, 8, or 7 after cloning

Cloning your HDD to an SSD may cause your heart to miss a beat when you try booting up your PC. However, when this happens, you shouldn’t be too scared; although most cloned SSDs won’t boot Windows 11, 10 or previous versions, there are a few possible ways to fix the error without having to reinstall Windows.

Why a cloned SSD won't boot

For people who love understanding the root cause of any PC error message, the possible reasons why a cloned SSD won't boot Windows 11, 10 or 8 are:

Maybe the cloned source disk has bad sectors, as a result of which Windows can't read the source disk.

Your computer is not using the right boot mode.

The SSD needs some specific drivers which are missing on the computer.

The cloning process didn’t go successfully for a variety of different possible reasons.

It may be due to a GPT/MBR conflict.

You connected the SSD using a USB cable.

Solution 1: Connect the SSD with a SATA cable

Instead of using a USB cable, try using a SATA cable to connect the cloned SSD to your computer. Some Windows 10/11 users who have faced this problem were able to get their PC to boot from a cloned SSD when connected with a SATA cable.

Solution 2: Use the drive support to SSD

Sometimes, a computer won't boot from a cloned SSD as a result of some missing drivers. You may need to find the necessary driver support for your SSD if you want to boot from the drive.

For this solution, install some drivers after the disk cloning process. Connect the SSD to your computer, either by embedding a SATA controller on the motherboard, or you can use a SATA add-on card. However, if you’re using a SATA add-on card, there may be a need to install recommended drivers via prompt messages. Lookup the SATA controller driver on the disk or website of the SATA controller card manufacturer.

Solution 3: Recover the lost files

It may be that your cloned SSD won't boot your PC because of some missing system files. In this case, you need a software to get back the lost files.

Using DiskInternals Partition Recovery for Windows, it is easy to recover lost partitions and all the files saved in them. DiskInternals Partition Recovery is very intuitive to use, thanks to the distinctive user interface.

If a partition is deleted, keep in mind that the data from the partition is actually still on the logical disk for some time, but it is not accessible for reading.

DiskInternals Partition Recovery is an advanced software tool that is capable of recovering data lost due to accidental deletion, bad sectors, OS errors, virus or malware attacks, etc.

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