XPS 8920, cloned HDD OS doesn’t show as boot option in BIOS

The answer requires more information:

1.  What was the default boot originally?  Windows boot manager is the usual default.

2.  What did you use to make the clone?

3.  Did you boot the system at any time with both the cloned drive and the original in the system?

@ejn63​

1. That is the original default boot that I listed with Windows boot manager as option #1

2. I used Tenorshare 4DDiG to clone

3. I have continued to boot the system with the C Drive from the SSD that came with the computer when I bought it a couple of years ago.

You are not doing anything wrong but in UEFI you don’t see individual boot device listed in boot priority. WBM was set up to be linked to original ssd/EFI partition boot mgr.  to boot from her assuming it is cloned correctly you need to WBM setup to efi partition of hds

@redxps630​ Thanks. That sounds logical. How to I find WBM on my computer to change the setup to EFI the partition of hard drives?

@Oldcaliforniakid​ 

Re-clone the drive.  This time, make sure you shut down the system immediately thereafter.  Remove the original drive and install the replacement in its place.  The system should then boot from the new drive.  Once you've done that, you can reinstall the original drive and use it for storage.

You can't allow the system to boot with both the original drive and the clone in place -- once you do, the clone is then set as a secondary and only the original drive will be bootable.

That said, if you're replacing a speedy SSD with a spinning hard drive, bear in mind you will see a major decrease in system performance.    You may be better off installing the hard drive as a secondary and moving your data to it -- and if still more space is needed, uninstall less demanding applications from the SSD and install them to the new hard drive.

@ejn63​ Thanks. Will use the HDD as large photo storage and get a larger SSD.

So, if I put a larger SSD in the spare slot, clone the OS C Drive to it, should I just shut down the computer normally, pull the older C Drive, reboot, hoping it will recognize the new larger SSD? Should I leave it in the second slot or now put it where the original one was?

First be sure you have two SSD slots -- some desktops, particularly older ones only have one.  As long as you remove the original drive before booting the system for the first time after cloning, it should be straightforward.   You may want to turn off secure boot in setup (F2 at powerup) before doing so.

If I do the cloning, I would create system image of ssd using an external usb hdd, then replace ssd with 2tb hdd, boot pc from a small recovery usb drive, connect external hdd to pc, restore system image to 2tb hdd, works like a charm. Pc will boot from hdd not evening noticing you had swapped the physical drive

OK. Now I’m getting confused. I understand cloning the C Drive to an external drive via USB but don’t understand booting the pc from a small recovery USB drive. Where does that recovery drive come from?

@Oldcaliforniakid​ Also, do I need to format or do anything to the new SSD before putting into the second slot on my Dell 8960 XPS and begin the cloning?

Thanks for everyone's help. I'm trying to get this right the first time.

You can't have two of the same identical Windows drives connected concurrently (it's a security precaution). 

What I do is image to a file (with Verify), connect only new drive, boot USB-Rescue, restore Image. Windows Boot-Manager entry in BIOS is correct. Works fine (no tricks required).

https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/optiplex-desktops/how-to-clone-ssd-to-another-ssd-without-third-party-tool/652b338043dbba53b173f0b7?keyword=Clone%20ssd

It also applies to how to clone a ssd to a hdd.  The recovery drive is a temporary boot device to bridge between old ssd and new hdd. When you boot from small recovery drive, you enter a small Windows PE environment which gives option to recover from a system image you had saved before, in this case the image of ssd saved on an external usb hdd. 

Hello @Oldcaliforniakid , I think you should forget about the whole  cloning thing.  A 512gb solid state drive should be plenty to hold Windows operating system and most apps for a regular daily usages.

You can continue to use the SSD for boot drive and just using the new 2tb HDD for storage.  Go to Windows Settings, then Storage Settings.  You can keep Apps on the SSD, or C: drive, change all others to the HDD, or D: drive, see picture below.

After Windows creates new folders on the HDD, or D: drive, you can move some existing data from the SSD to the new HDD.  Running Windows and applications from the SSD will allow your system be operated at optimal performance.

It doesn't matter how many drives you have, all important data should have been backup externally.

@Oldcaliforniakid , my suggestion was responding to your original posting regarding the issue of cloning 512gb SSD to a 2tb HDD.  There was no mention of 1tb SSD.

Nevertheless, the end result that counts.  Am glad that you got your computer working again with good performance and plenty of space.

Will mark your result as accept answer.