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4. Create a backup image of the drive or partition
Once the source partition or drive is ready (files moved, partitions compacted, file
systems checked, etc.), create a backup image.
5. Restore the image to the new location
When restoring, specify the desired new smaller size. Or, if restoring a drive
image, use one of the scale options (e.g. Scale to Fit).
If you are planning on copying the source partition(s) to the smaller drive you can skip
Step 4 and perform the copy instead of Step 5.
For more specific details on restoring to a smaller drive or partition as well as several
example scenarios, please continue reading.
Preparing for the Move
Depending upon the specifics of the move and which method will be used, it’s possible
extensive changes will be made to the existing data – file systems resized or compacted,
data deleted, programs uninstalled, file systems repaired, and so on. It is recommended
to create a backup image of the drive before proceeding if data safety or the ability to
return to the present state is important to you.
As an example, you may be moving from a 500GB Windows drive to a 128GB SSD. You
plan to delete many gigabytes of files you won’t need and uninstall several large
programs. However, you would also like to preserve the data on the 500GB drive. One
way to do this is to create a backup image of the drive and then make the desired
changes. A new backup image can then be created and restored to the SSD (or the
drive could be copied). Once the SSD is ready for use, the original drive image can be
restored to the 500GB source drive, returning it to its original state.
Understanding Partition Data Organization
When you set up a hard drive, you can create logical partitions. A logical partition is
simply a conceptual division on the hard drive. You can use different file systems in
different partitions, and many users partition hard drives so that they can store different
operating systems or segregate data on the same hard drive.
Formatting is the process that prepares a partition on the hard drive to accept data by
creating an empty file system that is organized into clusters. A cluster, a logical grouping
of contiguous sectors, is the smallest logical unit of storage that you can allocate to hold
a file’s data.
Table A depicts the layout of files within clusters on a hypothetical partition. 44 clusters
contain data, with the last cluster in use (the cluster closest to the end of the partition)
being located 75% into the partition.
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