Samsung Data Migration On Windows 11: Pros & Cons & Tutorial

About Samsung Data Migration software

Samsung Data Migration is a software tool developed by Samsung specifically for their solid-state drives (SSDs). It allows users to migrate their existing data from an old HDD or SSD to a new Samsung SSD.

The primary purpose of Samsung Data Migration is to streamline the process of upgrading to a Samsung SSD while minimizing the hassle of reinstalling the operating system and applications or manually copying files.

You may learn more about Samsung Data Migration pros and cons from the following table:

Best Samsung SSD for Windows 11

If you have upgraded Windows 10 to Windows 11 or installed Windows 11 on the old hard drive of your computer, you may want to transfer Windows 11 from HDD to SSD. Among all the branded SSDs, Samsung SSDs enjoy great popularity. Here are some Samsung SSD recommendations for Windows 11:

How to transfer HDD to SSD via Samsung Data Migration in Windows 11

Samsung offers a migration tool named Samsung Data Migration to help users transfer OS and data from the old hard drive to Samsung SSD. Learn how to use Samsung Data Migration to clone HDD to Samsung SSD below:

Precautions

1. All data on the target drive (Samsung SSD) will be deleted and will be impossible to recover. Therefore, if you have stored any important data on the target drive, please back it up in advance.
2. If you are cloning to a Samsung NVMe SSD using this software, make sure that you install the Samsung NVMe driver first.

Stepwise guide

💜 If the data to be cloned is smaller than the capacity of the target drive

1. Connect the target Samsung SSD to your computer and confirm it is recognized.
2. Get Samsung Data Migration software download and install it on your PC. If your Samsung SSD comes with the Data Migration tool, you can skip to step 3.
3. Run Samsung Data Migration. It will automatically detect the drive with OS installed and select it as the Source Drive.
4. Select the Samsung SSD you just connected as the Target Drive. If you don’t see your SSD, click the Refresh button at the right bottom to make it detected.

5. Select additional volumes that you wish to clone besides the C: volume. You can select at most two more volumes.

6. Click on Start to begin the migration process. Once the cloning process is complete, the computer will shut down automatically within 20 seconds.

Note: The cloning speed may vary depending on the computer specifications and operating environment.

💜 If the data to be cloned is larger than the capacity of the target drive

The main steps are the same as the above steps. The only difference is that you need to exclude some files from cloning before you start clone. Just click the Search button and follow the wizard to scan for files to exclude from cloning.

After selecting the files that need to be excluded, you should also select what to do with the excluded files. Then click the Apply button.

💜 Boot from the cloned target drive

Two situations will be described below.

Situation 1: If the target drive is connected via SATA, just change boot order in BIOS to boot your computer from the cloned Samsung SSD.

Situation 2: If the target drive is connected via USB, connect the target drive to your computer internally and then change the boot priority to the cloned drive.

Note: When there is only one connectable drive inside the computer, remove the source drive and then connect the cloned target drive.

Limitations of Samsung Data Migration

• This software can only clone a system disk. It can’t be used to clone a data disk.
• The OEM Partition can’t be cloned unless the computer manufacturer is Samsung and there is Samsung Recovery Solution 5/6/7 installed.
• This software can’t clone encrypted drives. If you try to do it, the Samsung Data Migration BitLocker cloning failed error may occur.
• The software may not function properly when cloning a dynamic disk.
• You may close all open programs when attempting to clone a drive using this software.
• …

Easiest Samsung SSD clone software for Windows 11/10/8/7🔥

If you are disappointed by the limitations of Samsung Data Migration, you can turn to AOMEI Backupper Professional, the easiest Samsung SSD transfer software. It breaks the Data Migration tool’s limitations and offers more attractive features:

🌟 Disk Clone: it allows you to clone all partitions on a hard drive, whether the hard drive contains OS or not.
🌟 System Clone: it enables you to clone OS only. Boot-related partitions will be selected by default, including boot partition, EFI system partition, system reserved partition, and recovery partition.
🌟 Partition Clone: it allows you to choose a particular partition to copy data from. You can also clone a dynamic disk with this feature.
🌟 Intelligent Clone: this feature copies only used space on the source drive. It is useful when you clone a larger drive to a smaller drive.
🌟 Sector By Sector Clone: this feature copies both used and unused space on the source drive. You may need this feature when cloning a BitLocker encrypted drive.
🌟 Hot Clone: it ensures the cloning process runs smoothly while other programs are running.

Download and install AOMEI Backupper now. Then follow the steps below to perform Samsung SSD clone in Windows 11/10/8/7:

AOMEI Backupper

Easiest hard drive clone software for Windows PC.

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Step 1. Connect the target Samsung SSD to your computer properly. Backup files on it to another place if you still want to keep them.

Step 2. Run this Samsung SSD cloning software. Click Clone from the left panel and select Disk Clone.

Step 3. Select the old hard drive on your computer as Source Disk and the Samsung SSD as Destination Disk subsequently.

Step 4. Remember to check SSD Alignment to optimize the Samsung SSD performance. Then click Start Clone to launch the cloning process.

Step 5. Boot from the cloned Samsung SSD as mentioned in the Second Part.

Note: When you are certain that your Samsung SSD is working properly, you can wipe old HDD for reuse or keep it as a backup drive.

FAQs about Samsung Data Migration

1. Will Samsung Data Migration work on Windows 11?

Yes, Windows 11 64 bit is supported. Besides, Samsung SSD Data Migration can work on 32 and 64 bit of Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10.

2. Does Samsung Data Migration work SSD to SSD?

Yes, Samsung Data Migration supports both HDD and SSD as the source drive. Just make sure there is a supported operating system installed.

3. Does Samsung Data Migration work with other SSD?

No, Samsung Data Migration supports the Samsung SSDs listed in the User Manual only. Other SSDs like WD SSDs, Kingston SSDs and Seagate SSDs are not supported.

To sum up

You have learned how to use Samsung Data Migration in Windows 11 to transfer HDD to Samsung SSD. However, the Data Migration tool has so many limitations that may let you down. If you prefer a more advanced Samsung SSD cloning software, AOMEI Backupper can be the best choice. Actually, it is not only a cloning tool for Samsung SSD but also clone software for Pioneer SSD, WD SSD, Kingston SSD, etc. Why not try it by yourself?