How to properly replace HDD (Win10) with SSD using Macrium Reflect Aspire 5742-6858

rtan2018

Hello --

I have an ACER Aspire 5742-6858 laptop which has served me well from Win7 to Win10 for nearly 9 years.
At this time, the hard disk which I am about to replace has 3 partitions:

(1) Recovery (ACER specific) - 14 GB
(2) C: (NTFS) - 582.07 GB
(3) SYSTEM RESERVED - 100 MB
I have backed up the entire HDD into a single MACRIUM image file. Macrium Reflect, the [free version] software is
"aware" of these 3 partitions although I've never had to deal with the other 2 partitions (Recovery and System Reserved).

My questions are:
(a) How do I properly FORMAT/PARTITION the SSD that will replace the HDD?
(b) Do I just replace the HDD with the new SSD and expect that Macrium Reflect will restore all 3 partitions properly?
(c) I do not "need" these 2 partitions (Recovery and System Reserved) -- I only need the [C:] partition.
But I am unsure if restoring partition [C:] only may lead to unforseen problems that I am not aware of in advance.
(d) Do I have to format the SSD first into the same 3 partitions BEFORE restoring? How do I perform this step?

Would appreciate any tips, guidance or suggestions. Thanks in advance.
(Thread was edited to add model name to the title)

Accepted answers

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JackE

Ideally, you should let MacriumReflect automatically migrate or clone all the partitions on HDD to the new SSD. You do this by connecting the SSD to a USB port with an inexpensive 2.5" USB-to-HDD/SSD connector from Amazon or other vendor for less than $10usd. You definitely need the SystemReserved partition along with the C ; \ partition for Windows to boot properly. Once cloned, you can then exchange the HDD for the SSD.

Alternatively, you can exchange the HDD for the empty SSD. Then use Microsoft USB media creation tool to clean install whichever Windows you want on to the new SSD. Then you can still access the old HDD with the USB-to-HDD connector and transfer personal files to the new SSD if desired.

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