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Symptom: I've just bought an Acer Predator 17 (model number G9-793-73MB) and although the Technical Specs say it only has two (2) HDs it actually has three (3): 2 M2 SSDs and 1 HDD. However, the 2 SSDs are installed in a RAID-0 array and as RAID-0 is actually worse than no RAID at all from a reliability perspective, I'd like to change that to anything but RAID-0 and restore Windows back to SSD

What I've tried already:

Question: How do I restore my CloneZilla Backup to one of the SSDs and update the UEFI NVRAM to now boot from that SSD?

Note 1: Yes, I've used dd to copy them over already, but as the BIOS only allows legacy (BIOS) or Secure UEFI and not "unsecure" UEFI, I can't boot rEFInd and have a hard time booting its secure alternative to drop into an UEFI shell.

Note 2: Yes, I know about EasyUEFI, but to add stuff I need the professional version :-(.

Fabby
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  • I'm a little confused, you mentioned you may have installed Windows 10 fresh with updates. You've also tried to clone an image. If you are simply trying to reinstall Windows without RAID 0 then remove the RAID 0 volume on the SSDs and either create a new RAID 1 or use the drives individually. Then reinstall Windows on the SSD. Or, you can clone the current OS, destroy / recreate the RAID like mentioned previously, then restore the image. So can you be more specific about what you exact issue is here? Are you having trouble configuring your RAID? If so, please remove the other info. – Appleoddity Nov 02 '17 at 14:57
  • I don't have any installation media, @Appleoddity only the clone of the pre-installed Windows 10, which refuses to be restored to the individual SSDs as the 2SSDs are each half the size of the RAID-0 array. Question more clear now? (edited) – Fabby Nov 02 '17 at 15:11
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    Ok, if you are not opposed to starting fresh, then you can download your own installation media here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 This will be the most straightforward way to go as Windows will rebuild everything on its own. It sounds as if you managed to get rid of RAID 0 - that's good. Your alternative here is to backup/restore in a way that allows you to resize partitions. Could be hard with CloneZilla: https://serverfault.com/questions/568227/prepare-a-disk-to-be-imaged-by-clonezilla-for-use-on-smaller-disks You could use Windows Backup/restore, or others. – Appleoddity Nov 02 '17 at 15:15
  • Here is info on Windows backup/restore: https://www.pcworld.com/article/3154713/windows/how-to-create-and-restore-an-image-backup-in-windows-10.html – Appleoddity Nov 02 '17 at 15:16
  • Looks like there may be trouble restoring to smaller partition with Windows system image also. So, if you have a running system on your HDD, then defrag/optimize the drive and then shrink the existing partitions below the size of the SSD. Then clone or backup/restore it to the SSD. – Appleoddity Nov 02 '17 at 15:18
  • That's 2 answers already... Going to try to use the resize... – Fabby Nov 02 '17 at 15:20
  • After reducing, resize the partition to be the size of one SSD to ensure you don't have any hidden system files. Do not use CloneZilla to backup, since the backup will always be too large - use [AOMEI Backupper Standard Freeware](https://www.backup-utility.com/free-backup-software.html), and create its boot CD/USB for [restoring](https://www.backup-utility.com/articles/restore-system-image-to-a-smaller-disk-1122.html). You might manage to escape a fresh install. – harrymc Nov 02 '17 at 15:48
  • Image backup/restore doesn't work on Windows 10 home, but thanks for adding that. – Fabby Nov 02 '17 at 15:49
  • @harrymc The freeware can't do any clones, but thanks anyway. – Fabby Nov 02 '17 at 15:52
  • Of course it can. This is not called clone but rather backup+restore. – harrymc Nov 02 '17 at 16:02
  • @Appleoddity Running from the SSD! Can you copy-paste the ServerFault answer here? I'll edit it to add that I needed to change the .parted and .sf file and then it worked! I was going in an entirely different direction and you pointing me in the right direction is what made it work and I want to give you some credit for that! – Fabby Nov 02 '17 at 17:18
  • @Appleoddity: Please let me know if you're willing to post an answer or not ... If not, I'll self-answer but want you to give it a try first so I can thank you with some rep. – Fabby Nov 02 '17 at 19:01

1 Answers1

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Remove the RAID 0 and recreate a RAID 1 or stand-alone setup.

If you are not opposed to starting fresh, then you can download your own installation media here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

This will be the most straightforward way to go as Windows will rebuild everything on its own.

Your alternative here is to backup/restore in a way that allows you to resize partitions. This is not straight forward with CloneZilla: https://serverfault.com/questions/568227/prepare-a-disk-to-be-imaged-by-clonezilla-for-use-on-smaller-disks

You could also use Windows Backup/restore, or another 3rd party tool. Acronis comes to mind, but AOMEI Backupper Standard Freeware was also suggested in the comments.

Additionally, you can resize your working partitions by defragging/optimizing the drive first, then shrinking the main partition so that the total space used is smaller than one of your SSD drives. Then a clone should work fine.

Appleoddity
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