How Do I Clone Windows Server 2008 (R2) with Ease [within 4 Steps]?

▶ Want to keep old OS while upgrading to SSD
▶ The easiest solution: clone Windows Server 2008 R2 to SSD
▶ Professional cloning software for Windows Server 2008 R2
▶ Clone Windows Server 2008 (R2) without reinstallation
▶ How to fix “OS won’t boot after migration” problem?

Want to keep old OS while upgrading to SSD

“I have Windows Server 2008 R2 installed on a hard disk drive that owns two partitions: Partition C installed with system and partition D stored with data. I have been told that SSD performs better than HDD in many aspects, especially when it is used as a system disk; therefore I’m intending to upgrade HDD to SSD to get better performance.
As I have been familiar with Windows Server 2008 R2 and it works well, I want to apply the same system on SSD. I want to know what I should do. Should I clone Windows Server 2008 R2 to SSD or backup Windows Server and restore it to SSD or make a fresh installation? Which one is the easiest way? Can you give some advice and tell me how to clone Server 2008 R2 or…”

The easiest solution: clone Windows Server 2008 R2 to SSD

As the scenario has mentioned, for keeping Windows Server 2008 R2 on SSD while replacing HDD with SSD, there are three methods for you to choose: fresh installation, backup and restore, and clone from HDD to SSD.

The first way demands you to install a system from scratch, which will cost you lots of time and energy and the previous data will be lost. For the second method, it is workable to do it with Windows built-in tool-Sysprep. However, the operation of this tool is complicated. As for the last way, it can directly migrate Windows Server 2008 R2 to SSD without reinstalling. It is obvious that Windows Server 2008 R2 cloning is the most convenient and simplest. Under this circumstance, if you want to replace a hard drive and retain the same system, the easiest solution is to clone Windows Server 2008 R2 on HDD to SSD.

Professional cloning software for Windows Server 2008 R2

AOMEI Partition Assistant Server is a powerful and reliable tool for cloning Windows Server 2008 R2 to SSD or HDD. It can clone the system partition and related partitions from one hard drive to another and then you can gain an exact OS copy on the target disk. What’s more, AOMEI Partition Assistant Server allows you to copy partition on disk or clone disk to another one in Windows Server 2008 R2, which offers you flexible choices about cloning. With a user-friendly interface, this Server cloning software is easy to use for everyone.

Now, you can download its demo version to have a try!

Clone Windows Server 2008 R2 without reinstallation

Before realizing how to clone Server 2008 R2 with AOMEI Partition Assistant Server, you need to make preparation work:

Connect the target hard drive to your machine and make sure the Windows can detect it. Then open Disk Management and initialize the disk.

When the size of the target hard drive is smaller than the used space of system drive, it is a good choice to delete some individual files such as movies, videos, music, etc. (you can backup them if you want).

Step 1. Install the third-party Server cloning software – AOMEI Partition Assistant Server and run it. In the top toolbar, choose “Clone” > “Migrate OS”.

Step 2. Select an unallocated space on SSD or HDD. Click “Next”.

PS: If there is no unallocated space on the target hard drive, all partitions on the target disk will be deleted. If you are unwilling to do so, you can apply AOMEI Partition Assistant Server to resize partition without data loss on the target disk to get unallocated space.

Step 3. Here you can resize the system partition and change the drive letter. Then, click “Next”.

Please read the content on the pop-up windows carefully and keep it in mind. Then, click “Finish”.

Step 4. Check all pending operations and click “Apply” to implement Windows 2008 R2 migration (reboot is required as the operation needs to be performed under PreOS mode).

Notices:

▪ Please confirm that the destination disk is bootable before formatting or wiping your original hard drive.
▪ These steps about how to clone Windows Server 2008 R2 can also be applied to clone Windows 2025/2022/2019/2016/2012.
▪ To experience the great functions on unlimited Servers/PCs within one company with only one license, you can try AOMEI Partition Assistant Unlimited.

How to fix “OS won’t boot after migration” problem?

Generally speaking, perating system can boot perfectly after a migration. But in a few cases, the OS may be unable to boot for some reason. Some advice to fix this problem will be presented below:

Check the startup setting. Enter BIOS to set the destination disk as the first boot order. If the target disk is MBR style, set boot mode to Legacy; if it is GPT style and your machine supports UEFI/EFI, set the boot mode to UEFI/EFI; if not, you have to convert GPT disk to MBR.

If information like” Operating system not found” or “Missing operating system” shows when you try to boot, there may be something wrong with the MBR table that contains the Partition Table for the hard drive and a small amount of executable code for the boot start. Without a valid MBR, the operating system is unable to boot. You can rebuild MBR via AOMEI Partition Assistant.