Samsung Data Migration Does Not Start: Fixes and Alternative
User case
Samsung Data Migration cannot start to clone
Having an issue on my Windows 11 Pro PC with Samsung Data Migration. I am trying to clone my 970 Evo Plus (500GB, C drive) to my new 980 Pro (1TB). The tool will not run with the error stating an unknown operation caused it to fail. This is not my first time with the migration tool. I have been cloning drives for some time. The only thing that has changed for my system, recently, would be moving to Windows 11. Any thoughts or ideas? I’m a bit stumped. Thank you in advance.
- Question from tom’s HARDWARE
Samsung Data Migration offers you a simple interface to reduce data migration time and help you transfer user data, operating system, application, software from your storage device to a new Samsung SSD.
But you should know that this program has some disadvantages:
- It can only support Windows operating systems.
- It can only transfer data to Samsung SSDs, other brands of SSDs are not supported.
- It requires the source disk must install the operation system.
- And when you use Samsung Data Migration on Windows 11, it may cause some trouble to migrate data such as the mentioned Samsung Data Migration does not start, or Samsung Data Migration cannot change source disk, etc.
Moving on, I will guide you through the troubleshooting process. You will learn what the common causes and fixes are to settle Samsung Data Migration stuck at 0.
Common causes and fixes to Samsung Data Migration won’t start
Here, I’ve listed some of the most probable causes and fixes to this error. You can check them in turn to see if one of them troubles you a lot.
▶ Fix 1. Check both the source and target Samsung SSDs
If your SSD is corrupted or has bad sectors on it, it may cause the cloning process to fail. Therefore, it is recommended that you run CHKDSK to check the status of the source and target SSDs.
▶ Fix 2. Update Samsung Data Migration to Latest Version
Due to the outdated version of the software, it may fail to work. In this case, you can download the latest version of Samsung Data Migration software from its official website.
▶ Fix 3. Replace the SATA port or SATA-to-USB cable
This problem can also be caused by a loose or faulty connection. You need to replace the SATA port or SATA-to-USB cable that connects the Samsung SSD drive to the computer.
▶ Fix 4. Decrypting encrypted drives
The software cannot clone encrypted SSDs. Therefore, if your SSD is encrypted, you must first remove the password from the SSD before you can proceed with the data migration operation.
▶ Fix 5. Check the data capacity of the files you want to transfer
If you move several large files or partitions at once, a large amount of data transfer can cause the program to get stuck or have errors. So you can try to transfer your files in small batches.
▶ Fix 6. Check if your Samsung SSD model is supported.
You can go to Samsung Data Migration User Manual to check whether your Samsung SSD is included in the target disk list.
If there’s nothing happens after you try the above methods to fix Samsung Data Migration not moving, maybe there are some other unknown errors. In such a condition, to save the troubleshooting time, it is a wise move to choose another Samsung SSD data migration tool. Continue reading to catch more details.
Best alternative when Samsung Data Migration won’t start
Qiling Disk Master Professional is a powerful disk cloning software. Its powerful Clone feature can help you migrate data from others disks to Samsung SSD with no restriction, and make it bootable. You can have a look at the list of its outstanding features.
✐ It supports all kinds of Samsung SSD and other brands SSDs like Western Digital, Seagate, Kinston and so on.
✐ It supports cloning both system disks and data disks regardless of brands and partition styles. You can clone MBR to MBR/MBR to GPT or GPT to GPT/GPT to MBR.
✐ By default, it only copies used sectors on the source drive and migrates them to another drive, which makes it easy to clone larger drive to smaller drive. Once the Sector by sector clone is enabled, the target drive will be exactly the same as the source drive and the extra space will be marked as unallocated
✐ It supports 4K alignment on SSD while cloning in order to improve its performance.
✐ It can be used on different operating system, including Windows 11/10/8/7/XP/Vista. For server users, you can try Qiling Disk Master Server.
Now follow the given stepwise guide to migrate data from HDD/SSD to Samsung SSD with ease.
Step 1. Install Samsung SSD on your PC and make sure it can be detected properly. Then download, install and open Qiling Disk Master Professional to begin data migration.
(🌟 Clone features in free trial can only be demonstrated. Please upgrade for full functionality.)
Step 2. When you land in the main interface, click Clone > Disk Clone. To clone only OS to Samsung SSD, please choose Clone > System Clone.
Step 3. Select current hard drive as the source disk.
Step 4. Select the Samsung SSD as the target disk.
Tip: Then, you will be told the destination disk will be overwritten, please backup files in advance. Otherwise, your data will be deleted after cloning.
Step 5. Check SSD Alignment box and click Proceed. If you want to clone every sector of the old hard drive, please tick Sector by sector clone.
👉 Helpful features:
>> Edit Partitions: it can resize partitions on the target disk or convert the destination disk from MBR/GPT to GPT/MBR.
>> Sector by sector clone: click it to clone every sector of the hard drive. Note that the target drive must be equal to or larger than the source drive.
FAQs about Samsung Data Migration
Samsung Data Migration completion time depends on the amount of data that you are transferring, and disk interface. Once running, Samsung says it will take generally less than one hour to complete.
Yes. It can help you transfer user data, operating system, application, software from your storage device HDD/SSD to a new Samsung SSD. However, this software can't clone OS only, but the whole disk.
This error clould happen if you transfer large files or partitions to Samsung SSD, the SATA port or SATA-to-USB adaptor goes wrong, Samsung Data Migration version is not up-to-date, or the source and target SSD are corrupted or have have bad sectors on them, etc.
Your turn
When you encounter Samsung Data Migration does not start problem, you can refer to this article and find the common fixes to get it done. If there’s nothing happens after you try the above methods, then it’s time for you to rely on another disk cloning software – Qiling Disk Master.
When you finish the data migration process, you may need to secure erase the old one for other use. As the best Samsung Magician alternative, it offers the secure Disk Wipe feature to enable Samsung SSD secure erase, which will make the wiped data unrecoverable. Give it a try, you won’t regret!
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