Change SSD to HDD Raspberry Pi 3B+ Root to USB

Hello,

i have used the function to copy the Root to USB and copied to a SSD. Now i will change the SSD with a HDD. I’m a Raspberry/Linux noob and wanted to ask if some one can help me. Can i just copy all the files from SSD to the HDD and all is fine? Can i do it with Windows 10 ? Wich filesystem i have to use?

Thanks for your help :slight_smile:

This is a tall order for a new to Linux user, what is the end goal you are trying to achieve by migrating from an SSD to a HDD?

Also never ever try to mount a drive formatted with a Linux file system on Windows, as it loads as a RAW drive and will prompt to format it.

What OS image do you with to run? Raspbian Lite or OpenHABian image?
That makes a difference in my recommendations.

See replies below: describe your real goal. I assume you want to avoid SD wearout… best option is to use openHABian and zram (menu option 6A, you can even install it if you didn’t install the image)

I need the SSD for another PC, so i want migrate from SSD to HDD. I’m running at OpenHABian image now. I’m happy with this configuration, but i need the ssd. maybe its easier so boot a linux distribution from usb-stick and copy the ssd to hdd? i have no plan :confused:

You need extensive Linux knowledge to properly do that, don’t expect anyone of us in this forum to teach you.
I suggest you backup your OH config (openhab-cli backup ...) and setup your system from scratch on a new SD card (using new just released openHABian image) and then import your OH config.
You can fall back to your old SD card should that fail .

Thanks for your help, but this is no option actually. I have some more installations than openhab on this machine. so i have to search and learn how i can backup the ssd and restore it in an hdd. but thanks for your help, i will search.

If running an OpenHABian image, it might work to use Etcher to install it on the HDD. I setup an SD with another image like that a while back.
Another option would be to use Windows to install NOOBS Lite on the HDD, use that to install Raspbian Lite and then follow the Linux install for OpenHABian. I believe the OpenHABian image is Raspbian Lite anyway.

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You could use Amanda for that (openhabian menu option 51), but as I said this kind of work requires Linux knowledge. I wouldn’t do that as a newbie. Why not get another SSD, they’re cheap.

Sure, ssds are cheap, but I have a HDd and need a ssd. The ssd is overpowered for the raspberry, isn’t it ?
I have found clonezilla and will give it a try.

If you’re using a 3B+ it might be quite simple and low risk.

  1. download something like clonezilla. (I use win32 copy or something like that)
  2. copy the sd card into iso on your local machine
  3. burn iso to ssd (you’ll overwrite everything on ssd)
  4. plug in ssd and power rpi.

It should boot as if nothing has changed.

Inside rpi run sudo raspi-config, find the resize hard disk option and do that to use the full ssd.

Keep sd card safe in case you bork it

Edit
I use this.

It’s OK to mount it so long as you are aware that you must click cancel on that prompt to format it.

Or, there are third party tools that let you read EXT2/3/4 (I think one of those is what Raspbian uses) and many other file formats on Windows. I’ve used the one from Paragon Soft in the past. It can be quite handy if you’ve messed up your sudoers and need another machine to fix your problems and all you have is Windows. It’s lighter weight than installing a whole VM.

If you are not up with Linux, your best bet is to start from scratch on the HDD with a fresh install and then restore a backup. You are keeping backups, right? You should probably take this opportunity to figure out what you need to backup for this other software you have installed now because if it’s too hard for you to reinstall and configure everything to migrate to a new drive it’s going to be too hard for you to recover from a failure when it eventually occurs.

Because your time has value too it might be worth the cost of a new SDD.

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I have used Clonezille successfully. It was very easy to copy the full ssd to hdd… everything works like a charm. thanks for your help!