That is close enough to be able to use Ghost or Acronis (or other) to do this. It depends on where the data is exactly, so it may or may not work. But you can try.

Can you just get the correct drive ?

You can go to Lenovo Support and get one free copy of Windows 10 Installation media for your machine. That will take the place of the recovery partition.

I have a 1 TB SSD main drive for my X1 Carbon and I got the free recovery software from Lenovo.

Looked at Acronis and Ghost but if I interpret correctly neither of them are free. If I did this often it would be worth paying but I was hoping for a freebie. I bought a 480 instead of 500 drive because it saved me $50. My laptop originally came with Win 7. Can I still get the free Win 10 from the Lenovo web site? Given I have Win 10 now, is there any point copying the Lenovo recovery partition anyway?  This is all new to me.

I think the Lenovo recovery software came with Windows 10 computers. Put in your serial number and see.

My laptop originally came with Win 7 Given I have Win 10 now, is there any point copying the Lenovo recovery partition anyway?  

None.  You can make a recovery ISO from the Microsoft Media Creation Link. I have done this as well.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

My hard disc has a 447.85GB C:\ a 1.46GB System Drive and 15.63 GB Lenovo recovery Q:\ plus 838MB Healthy recovery (whatever that is) when I look at Disk 0 on Disk Management. So it sounds like I can ignore Q:\ whenever I do the copy. Does that sound right?

BTW I will look into the other suggestions tomorrow

What's the make of the SSD?
Most newer SSD's come with  free software that will let you clone(Western Digital).

Go to Disk Management; right-click on the C: partition; and select Shrink Volume.    With the parameters you mentioned, there should easily be enough "shrink space" that you can shrink C: enough that the total amount of used space on the drive is less than your SSD's capacity.

You'll then easily be able to use any imaging utility to simply copy the current drive to the SSD -- the unallocated space won't be copied, so all of your partitions will fit with no problem.

As already noted, there are plenty of free utilities that will let you do the copy -- and once you've reduced the size of C: so the total space used by all the partitions is < 480Gb this will be VERY simple => but if you want a REALLY simple way to do this, just buy the excellent $20 "Migrate OS to SSD" utility from Paragon:  https://www.paragon-software.com/technologies/components/migrate-OS-to-SSD/index.html

Thanks for all the suggestions. Unfortunately I ran out of weekend sooner than expected. I hope to have time to tackle this again soon and will close out the question as soon as I can.

II am ready to resume work on cloning my disk and need some clarification.

I thought I would try AOMEI to start with. It gives me the option to clone a partition or a whole drive. My drive has the following and I am not sure if I should clone partition by partition, or clone the whole disk and then remove the one I don't want. As has been pointed out there's no use cloning the drive that has the old Lenovo Windows 7 image. So am I better off cloning the whole lot and later removing Q:\ or should I just clone partition by partition excluding Q:\
   C:\  => 447.85GB  
   System Drive => 1.46GB  
   Q:\ Lenovo recovery => 15.63 GB  => I don't need to clone this
   Healthy recovery (whatever that is) => 838MB

You do not need Q: since Q: is Windows 7 and you have a Windows 10 operating system. So just clone the Windows 10 partition.

Without the recovery partition it may not boot.
Had a Dell that after a clone would not boot without it.

best image the whole drive - since both have about the same size
you can Always remove unwanted later - to avoid not imaging enough

"... Given I have Win 10 now " ==>  Okay, you've already upgraded to '10 ... SO, there's another option that you may want to consider ...

Go here:  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
... and click on the 2nd link [ "Download Tool Now"]
This will download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool.   You can now run the tool and use it to create a bootable USB flash drive or DVD (your choice -- a USB flash drive is what I'd do as long as you have one to use).

Now you can replace your SSD with the new one;  boot to the Windows 10 boot media you just created; and do a clean install of Windows 10 on your new SSD.    When prompted for an install key, just skip that step -- you don't need to enter one ... Windows 10 will activate just fine once it's installed as it will recognize that your computer has already been activated with Windows 10.   The only thing you need to be sure of is that you install the correct version (the one you already have -- either Home or Pro).

Then you can install any programs you use; and copy your data from the original disk using a USB adapter.   If you don't have a way to do this, then copy all of your data to an external drive or a flash drive BEFORE you do the drive swap.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I have a version of MS Office 2013 that I bought some time ago that came with a license that only allowed a once off install and I have a matching version of Codestone which cost a fortune. If I start with a fresh Windows 10 I know I can reload my Office 365 but I may not be able to install the 2013. So for that reason I would prefer to clone the drive. Reloading will be a last resort.

I just finished cloning using AOMEI. The clone took about 3 hours to make and seemed to work fine. I connected the cloned drive to another PC and it looks like all the files are there. But when I installed it in this machine it wouldn't do anything. The Lenovo welcome window appears and that's it. Is there anything else I should have done before trying to install the cloned drive?

Just a thought, should I have turned off my Trend Security before creating the clone? Might that have caused problems?

You can clone with Symantec Endpoint installed but I do not know about Trend Micro.

Cloning drive using AOMEI is nothing else but creating exact drive mirror for using is SAME COMPUTER after first crashed
It's not attended to create backup drive and use it in complete different computer.
If hardware is different you're not going to be able to run Windows because of drivers incompatibility

Thanks for your replies.

I decided to turn Trend off and try again.

Just to clarify, the cloned drive is intended to go in the same computer as a replacement but it wouldn't work. I only connected it externally to another computer to make sure it had been written.

I have now cleared two partitions ofc the old drive and I am trying to clone again.

Cloning is a long process. It's faster to do SYSTEM BACKUP to file then restore from file to new drive

Oh. I didn't know.  If it fails again I will try that. Will the same software do that?

Yes, AOMEI first option is system backup

so does the paragon software - very easy to use

The most reliable way I've found clone a drive is to do the following:

(1)  Attach it to another PC; then IMAGE the entire drive and save the image on one of the PC's drive.
(b)  Remove the drive; attach the new drive; and now boot to the imaging program and RESTORE the image to the new drive.

Done :-)

To work that easily, the total size of all the partitions must not be larger than the size of the target drive -- that's why I suggested resizing the partitions earlier ... since your drive is so close to the size of the source drive this is simple on your system.

By far the most reliable utility I've found for doing this is Image for DOS -- not free, but for a one-off usage the free 30-day trial will do the job just fine.   http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/image-for-dos.htm

Ok thanks.

I just tried AOMEI clone a second time
1. I deleted two partions so now I inly have a System Drive and C:\ partition on the PC
2. I loaded the SSD in a caddy (my laptop won't accommodate two internal drives) and did a clone from Disk 0 to Disk 1

Again it was a total failure - it will not boot.

Since I already have AOMEI loaded on the laptop I will now try to do a backup and restore.

Is there a switch or something else I need to do to let the PC know that it's now working off a SSD instead of a HD?

No, there is not,
But in process of restore there is an option optimize SSD drive for restore.
You can select this one.

Make sure you did System backup instead of Drive backup.
System backup will have boot partition in image as well.

I am getting ready to do the backup. The instructions above are:
<<(1)  Attach it to another PC; then IMAGE the entire drive and save the image on one of the PC's drive.>>
I presume this means I create an IMAGE of the entire disk on a backup drive. I have a 1TB external backup so I will backup onto that.
<<(b)  Remove the drive; attach the new drive; and now boot to the imaging program and RESTORE the image to the new drive.>>
Not sure how I do this. If I need to remove the HD from my laptop and insert the SSD, then how do I boot the laptop and run the restore?

If you have external drive and you have an option to connect SSD using some USB cable then just simply do SYSTEM BACKUP to external drive and RESTORE SYSTEM BACKUP to SSD.
You don't need disconnect anything.

If you don't have external cable to connect SSD to computer then you need to remove your primary drive, replace by SSD and boot computer from AOMEI recovery image (CD or flash drive) you can create in program / Utilities.

Before shrinking my HD I decided to see if I needed the SYSTEM_DRV on my pc or if I could get rid of it like I got rid of the other drives. I found the following link. Can anyone tell me if, now that I am running Windows 10, do I really need SYSTEM_DRV or can I simply delete it too and just get down to one drive one partion? https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/forums/v3_1/forumtopicpage/board-id/tp01_en/thread-id/81415/page/1

Look in Disk Management. My Windows 10 show the UEFI BIOS in its own partition. See if your partition is marked UEFI or just EFI.

<< simply do SYSTEM BACKUP to external drive and RESTORE SYSTEM BACKUP to SSD>>
Perfect. My laptop has 3 USB ports so I can backup to my 1TB then restore from the 1TB direct to the SSD, then replace my HD with the SSD and hopefully it will work this time. All I need to do is work out if I can get rid of the SYSTEM_DRV.

Not sure where to look. Here's a screen print of what I see.
Temp.png

That says it is a healthy system partition. I would not be inclined to get rid of it because it is very small and may contain the EFI BIOS depending on how it was marked.

If you do SYSTEM BACKUP and then restore SYSTEM BACKUP (remember if you still have your original drive in computer select RESTORE TO DIFFERENT LOCATION and point to SSD) then you'll have everything moved to SSD.

Again I ask, what brand SSD?
Seagate ,WD and many others offer free cloning software that when all else fails ,works.
I've done many, many HD to SSD upgrades and believe it or not,their freebies work just fine when others won't.
Lenovo does strange things when it comes to security and partitions,so the less messing around you do with the partitions ,the better.

This is a Kingston SDD and it didn't come with any software. I am now starting to worry that perhaps the failure of the clone is because the BIOS may be in that partition and it isn't cloning the BIOS properly. Will backup/restore correctly copy BIOS files? This is turning out to be a nightmare.

pgm554 you inspired me to do a Google search and it looks like they recommend Acronis. I had a look at the packaging but can't see anything that suggests free software, but they do offer free technical support so if the backup/restore doesn't work then I will try their tech support.

Depending upon the model of Kingston,it will have a card with a serial number for a download of Acronis.
I just did one last week.
http://support.kingston.com/us/support/technical/acronis-download

I've transferred regular HDD to SDD more than 100 times and more than  25 times with AOMEI software.
Don't worry, all will work with no problem :)

FWIW, this process has NEVER failed with ANY system I've used it on -- Windows, Linux, even multi-boot systems with 3rd party boot managers ...

First, you need a bootable Image for DOS CD [Details after this].

Then ...

(a)  Be sure the drive you want to clone is connected.   In your case, I gather you want to do this on a laptop, so just be sure the drive you want to clone is installed in the laptop.

(b)  Connect a drive with enough space to hold an image of the drive (an external drive is fine).

(c)  Boot to Image for DOS.  Then do the following -- note that most of the things I say to "Select" will already be highlighted -- I.e. they're the defaults -- so you just need to confirm that's what's shown and then click Next each time.

Select Backup;  then click on Next.    Select "Full Backup"; then click on Next.    Select "BIOS"; then click on Next.   Highlight the drive you want to backup -- probably "Hard Drive 0" -- then click on Next.    This next is important:  Click on the box just under the "Backup From" label -- this will automatically highlight ALL of the partitions on the drive, and will ensure the image is of the entire drive;  then click on Next.      Select Single File Set; then click on Next.    Select "File(Direct); then click on Next.    

At this point the best interface depends on the system.   If you're using a USB external drive to save the image,  first try selecting USB; then click on Next.   Wait for it to show the next screen, and as long as it shows your external drive, just click on Next.    It will then show the partition(s) on that drive;  highlight where you want the image saved (probably the only partition); then click on Next.     Now give the image a name -- by default it will call it "Backup ..."  (year, month, date, and time appended) ... that's fine if you want; or just give it a name of your choice [e.g. Image of My Old SSD);  then click Next.    On the next screen, I would leave everything as is EXCEPT for two things:  CHECK the "Validate" box; and UNCHECK "Log Results to File".   Then click Next.     Now click on Start ... and wait for the image to complete.

If you decide to use this technique, let me know when you've finished this and have the image ready, and I'll give you the equivalent walkthrough to restore it to the new SSD.    Basically, you simply shut down;  remove the old disk and install the new SSD;  then boot to the Image for DOS CD, and do a Restore - Normal to the new disk => pointing to the image file you created; then setting the destination to the new SSD.   But there are a few details that I'll outline to be sure you don't miss any steps.

To create a bootable Image for DOS CD, just do the following:

(a)  Download Image for DOS from here:   http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/image-for-dos.htm  [Use the "Download (GUI)" link.
(b)  Extract all of the files from the download.
(c)  Run the MakeDisk program.    Click on Next;  then Next again;  then accept the license and click Next;  then click Next four more times;  then highlight where you want the bootable image stored or written => if you have a recordable optical drive you can simply select it and it will burn a CD/DVD for you;  if you have a USB flash drive inserted in the system before you run this utility then it will also be an option;  or you can simply save it as an ISO image and then burn a CD from that ISO later.

When you've finished that, you'll have a bootable CD or USB flash drive for Image -- and can then create the image as I outlined above.

Note:  Be SURE you haven't done anything to your original disk that is causing issues.   Clearly THAT must still be working okay for a clone to work as well.   I haven't read all of the details of everything you've done, but it looks like you've made a few changes I would not have recommended => I just want to be sure none of those have messed up the original disk.   But as long as it's still working fine; imaging/restoring with Image for DOS will absolutely do what you want with no problem.

... One final note that I forgot to add above:   In the paragraph where I said "... At this point the best interface depends on the system. " ... if the USB choice does not work [either doesn't find the USB drive or "hangs" the system -- either of these CAN happen on some systems];  then reboot and redo the process; but this time choose BIOS instead of USB; and then just select the external drive (which should show with no problem).

Also, the external drive MUST be connected to the system before you boot to Image, or it probably won't be shown as an option.

Well after a full day trying to get this to work with AOMEI it's time to give up and try another solution. There must be something strange about the way my laptop reacts with AOMEI but it keeps failing. When I do the backup and select to check the data after the backup the check fails. If I try to restore from the backup anyway it does the small partition first then takes 3 hours trying before it tells me the data is corrupted. Tried it twice today with the same result. I am letting it go for a 3rd time to keep it busy for the evening but I can already see it's stalled.

I am just about ready to try a fresh Windows install as was suggested by some and reload all the software (which would mean sacrificing Office 2013 and Codestone) but now I am worried that my BIOS may be loaded on the HD and i don't know how to transfer the BIOS files.

So I guess the next step is to try garycase's recommendations. Unfortunately tomorrow I have to travel out of town for much of the day so now this is going to be a job to do on Tuesday, my next day off. If I had to factor in the cost of time then I think I may have been better off buying a whole new computer.

Thanks to everyone for your ongoing patience with me.

BTW I pulled the blister pack that the SSD came in apart looking for a key for the Acronis software but it's definitely not there.

Maybe your data is corrupted on your original HDD or you VSS agent can't backup opened files.?
If you wan to try again there is option i backup to switch between VSS and AOMEI build-in technique

try my suggestion :

by:nobus
ID: 41921888·2016-12-11

Your BIOS isn't "loaded on the HD' ... so that's not an issue.

Note that while the list of steps looks long, it's really VERY simple to do this with Image for DOS.    Clearly you'll take a bit longer since you're not familiar with it; but the total time from booting the IFD disk to having the image in process typically takes me no more than about 60 seconds.    You're mostly just clicking "Next" and typing a name for the image (and you don't even have to do that if you just use the default name).

Hi garycase, I decided to try your recommendation next so this is what I've done and what I am up to:

<<First, you need a bootable Image for DOS CD [Details after this].>>
Done

<<(a)  Be sure the drive you want to clone is connected.   In your case, I gather you want to do this on a laptop, so just be sure the drive you want to clone is installed in the laptop.>>

The drive I want to clone is in the laptop

<<b)  Connect a drive with enough space to hold an image of the drive (an external drive is fine).>>

I have connected an external 1TB drive with over 700GB spare space on it

<<(c)  Boot to Image for DOS.  Then do the following -- note that most of the things I say to "Select" will already be highlighted -- I.e. they're the defaults -- so you just need to confirm that's what's shown and then click Next each time. >>

Done

<<Select Backup; >> 

If I have the right product it says "backup this computer to an alternate drive"

<< then click on Next. >>

Done

<<Select "Full Backup"; >> 

There is no Full backup option. It just says "Backup from Drive 0 (465.76 GB) C:
There's also a button under that that says "Compact"

<<then click on Next.>>    

When I do it says "Simple Operations requires an additional HD that was not found NOTE "Simple Operations" can be disabled in settings"

I can go  back to the settings but I am not sure what to change

Okay, there's a newer version out now (v3), which has a very slight difference in the dialogue.   I just downloaded the v3 version, created a boot CD, and indeed the interface is a bit difference.

Run MakeDisk again and create a new boot CD, but this time select "Traditional" instead of "Simple" on the first option screen.    Then the choices will match exactly what I outlined earlier.

You could probably just use the "Simple" choices that you're seeing -- but if it's not seeing the external drive you likely need to change the interface to USB for the destination drive (as I noted in my outline) -- and it'll also clearly be better if the steps exactly match what I outlined :-)

Let me know when you have the image created and I'll outline the restore process.

Now the first problem.  It started the backup and came up with the message "A hard drive error has occurred reading from 127 sectors at LBA 16907. Ignore all errors y/n". I will try y

Not a good sign.   Did it finish okay after you say "Y" to the ignore error message?   Whether that's serious or not depends on exactly what wasn't readable -- and there's really no way of knowing the answer to that.    If it finished okay, you can restore it to the new SSD and then see if there are any issues.   I'd definitely run SFC on the OS after booting to the new drive, to confirm all system files have good checksums.

Its still running - slowly.  I can't help but wonder if this hd is in a really poor state and that's why it's so slow.

Well I just got home again and the pop up says "Unable to read data from file". Looks like its pointing to the small SystemDrv partition I described earlier whose function is unknown.  I wonder if I should try to restore without that partition or do a fresh backup without it.

post a screenshot, or picture plse

You have been a long time with this issue. Might be easiest just to install Windows and start fresh on the new drive.

That's what I've been thinking.  I just need to find where on the lenovo website I can get their other software. A job for the morning I think

"...  I just need to find where on the lenovo website I can get their other software. " => What "other software" ??   You don't need anything to install Windows 10 => just an installation DVD or USB Flash drive that you can create for free via Microsoft's Media Creation link.    The only thing you need to know is what version of Windows 10 are you running (Home or Pro) ??

Then you simply put in your new SSD;  boot to the install media; and let Windows 10 install.   When prompted for a key, skip that -- you don't need to enter one -- and when it finishes you'll be running a clean copy of Windows 10 on the new SSSD.   Then you simply need to install any other programs you use -- e.g. Office 2013 (which should activate fine since it's the same PC) and your CodeStone software (I don't know the details on that - you may need to contact the vendor, but in general a reinstallation on the same PC isn't a problem).


HOWEVER .. BEFORE you do a clean load on the new SSD ...

(a)  Is the original disk still booting okay?    I re-read this whole thread, and see that for some reason you didn't follow the advice to simply shrink C: a bit, but instead deleted a couple of partitions.   That's okay as long as it didn't mess up the disk -- does it still boot okay?    And were those partitions large enough to make the total size of the other partitions < the size of the SSD?   From what you detailed earlier, I don't think that's the case -- so you would STILL need to shrink C: a bit.    In fact, even if your image had completed successfully, it wouldn't have been restorable to the new SSD, since your total assigned partition space is still too large.    This doesn't matter at all if you do a new, clean install -- but I'm just curious what the current state of the original drive is after the "fiddling" you've been doing with the other partitions (which I wouldn't have done ... at least not until you had a successful clone).

(b)  Other than Office 2013 and Codestone, is there any other software that you need to install?    ... and, if so, do you have the installation media?

(c)  Have you got a current set of backups for all of your data?

In answer to your questions

<<(a)  Is the original disk still booting okay?>>
Yes, apart from being very slow and the hard disk spending much of it's time at 100% for the first 10 minutes or so

<<you didn't follow the advice to simply shrink C: a bit, but instead deleted a couple of partitions.>>
I thought it would be wise to get rid of the unnecessary partitions first. The partitions I got rid of were the Windows 7 recovery partitions. I didn't get rid of the System DRV partition because I didn't really know what it was for. The search I did seemed to imply that it held the BIOS.
At any rate I did shrink the hd such that the two remaining partitions, C:\ plus System Drv, occupy a combined total of a little less than the new drive. I then ran a Defrag. I did all that before I used the AOEMI software as I thought it would reduce the potential for problems

<<And were those partitions large enough to make the total size of the other partitions < the size of the SSD?>>
The SSD is now a little bigger than the combined drives

<<(b)  Other than Office 2013 and Codestone, is there any other software that you need to install?    ... and, if so, do you have the installation media?>>
When I look through the Programs and Features list there are a number of programs that came with the laptop. I don't know if I need some of them. E.g.  to name a few
   Bison Cam Twain Pro - do I need that to run the camera?
   Atheros Communications ...Ethernet driver
   Conexant HD Audio
   Corel Burn.Now Lenovo edition
Of course there are many more and I simply don't know

Other than those most of the programs I have installed can be restored relatively easily. The one I will have problems with is MS Office Professional 2013. I purchased that from a web site (AdvantageITtech)  but the license was described as a once only install. A little later, but before Office 365 was released, I had reason to buy Sagekey (sorry not Codestone), (software that allowed me to distribute a MS Access progam I wrote for a former employer). Sagekey cost over $800 and can be transferred to another PC but Office 2013 cannot. Upgrading SageKey to Access 2016 will cost another $400 odd. It's a nice to have program in case I ever need to distribute another Access program

<<(c)  Have you got a current set of backups for all of your data?>>
Most of the dynamic data is stored on OneDrive now as it came with 1TB online storage so I should be able to easily restore it from there if required. I have some relatively static data that is not on the cloud but I have other backups of it so that shouldn't be a problem. At any rate I should be able to put my HD in a caddy and access that data and copy it across

sorry Nobus, I could not get a screenshot before seeing your message.

I can't win on this one.  I started going through the process and when I ran the WD software it showed that the SDD has a zero capacity. When I tried running Disk manager it too shows the disc as no media. Unless someone knows how to recover it looks like all these attempts have somehow destroyed the SDD

Wow ... something clearly isn't looking good.   It looks like your dock isn't "seeing" the SSD.   Are you sure it's plugged in firmly -- and has power ??   Data Lifeguard is showing the "Generic ATA/ATAPI Device" ... but isn't showing your drive (it should show the name of the SSD there).

Note that disk manager seems to be showing the same thing -- i.e. it's seeing the dock, but "no media" tends to indicate it doesn't think there's a disk plugged in to it.    Double-check that you've got the SSD firmly seated in the dock; and that you have power to the dock (and it's turned on).

Note:  It appears the issue now is with the dock -- NOT with the SSD.    One way to confirm that is to skip the clearing of the disk with Data Lifeguard.   If the dock isn't working, just do the next step and see if the SSD is seen okay when you install it in the laptop and boot to the Windows 10 install media (I presume you've already created that).

In other words, skip the optional Step #3 in my list above; and just proceed to Steps 4, 5, etc.    When you boot to the install media (Step 5) and start the installation, there's a point where you can look at the current partitions on the disk and delete any you don't want.   I don't recall the exact dialogue -- but pay attention and it should be fairly apparent.   If you simply delete any current partitions it'll be almost the same thing I wanted you to do with the erasing of the drive in Data Lifeguard.

Dldiag does not recognise ssd's  i would say; it's made only for running on WD drives

Give me some time to explore this. I suspect that it may be a faulty cable. Will report back asap

I had issues similar with sector not found when cloning ,it was more of an issue with the usb ports not being able to power the SSD .
I had a spare self powered usb sata bridge and things worked fine.

https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Converter-Adapter-Cable-included/dp/B005B3VO24

"... Dldiag does not recognise ssd's  i would say; it's made only for running on WD drives "  ==>  WRONG !!  Have you never tried this excellent utility?   It works with ALL manufacturer's drives; and works just fine with SSDs.

i have used it many times - but never on SSD, since that's an other disk style and system
but i will
i use the manufacturer's diagnostic, intel's toolkit for SSD, or kingston's :  https://www.kingston.com/us/support/technical/kingston-ssd-toolbox

IT WORKED!!!! Finally I have a lightning fast startup and a cleaned up machine. It will take a while to download all my files from the cloud and reinstall my programs. I have little doubt that I have lost Access 2013. I recently reinstalled Windows 10 on my old tablet and the Access Key wasn't recognised so I don't think it will work here. A call to Microsoft may be needed to confirm.

My only remaining problem is to work out how to share the meagre 500 points to all the contributors. This has been a marathon issue that has left me quite embarrassed given the amount of your time it has taken. Everyone who contributed has made valid suggestions and deserve something but I don't know how to work out a fair distribution. THANK YOU to everyone. I really appreciate your ongoing patience.

Awarding points was the hardest part. I have distributed based primarily on number of comments made so everyone gets something but all of you have stuck with me through this and I really can't thank you enough for the valuable contribution you made, especially John for your pragmatic recommendation that I should have listened to from the start, Tom for your patience and Gary for your detailed explanations. Thank you again!

Glad all's working well.    Was the issue with the dock simply that it wasn't connected well?   Or did you simply install the SSD in the laptop and do the install without worrying about that issue.

r.e. "... I have little doubt that I have lost Access 2013. I recently reinstalled Windows 10 on my old tablet and the Access Key wasn't recognised so I don't think it will work here. A call to Microsoft may be needed to confirm." ==>  Did you extract your key from the old disk?   (Or do you have it noted somewhere)    It SHOULD work just fine, since you're installing it on the same computer.   If not, a call to Microsoft's activation line should resolve that -- just be sure they know you've simply re-installed Windows 10 on the SAME system.

One final note:   You should now make an IMAGE using the Image for DOS process I outlined so you'll have a safe copy of the completed and up-to-date installation just in case you ever need to "reinstall" it -- which, with an image, is a simply matter of just restoring from the image [Takes about 3 minutes of "your time" ... and then you just wait a bit for the restore to complete.
As I mentioned earlier, I'd do that again after you have all of your programs and data restored -- but I'd also do one now, just in case anything goes awry in the process of reloading all your "stuff".

Hi Gary, I don't know what was wrong with the cable. The cable that was supplied with the caddy was faulty from the start so I was using another cable for the entire process. I had several times formatted the SDD with it and written to the SDD with that cable but when I did the final Windows install you saw the result. Windows could see it but not see anything on it. I had tried reconnecting and even rebooted the PC but it still failed. I then, in desperation, tried the faulty cable that came with the caddy and it worked.

As for MS Access, I still have the original email documentation that came with MS Access which has the key so I will try to install but I have had bad experiences with this kind of software before. I will, however, give Microsoft a call to see if they will help.

As for the backup, I didn't say before but before even doing the upgrades to Win 10 after the initial install I tried to do a standard Windows image backup but that failed - telling me something like it couldn't read the file. When I looked at the newly formatted hard disc, Windows has installed 3 partitions - I presume that's normal. At any rate I thought that it really doesn't take that long to reformat so rather than spend time creating an image at that early stage I would do it after I installed everything but before I resume work on it.

Thanks again for all your very kind assistance.

With a clean install, Windows 10 normally creates 2 partitions -- a "System Reserved" (500MB) and the OS.    What is the 3rd partition you're seeing?   [If you didn't wipe the disk before doing the install (the "Erase" I suggested using Data Lifeguard) there may have been a smaller System Reserved partition from your earlier attempts to clone; and it would probably then result in two small partitions instead of the single one.]

An EFI System partition, whatever that is

Interesting -- the extra partition(s) are apparently a bit different when you install in UEFI mode.

Did you zero (erase) the SSD before you did the install?

No but I did a quick format. Also I had a look at my brand new Lenovo tablet and it too has 3 partitions

Clearly UEFI installs get 3 partitions; non-UEFI installs just get 2 :-)

I took a quick look at my newest system that I installed under UEFI, and it also has 3 partitions => I simply hadn't noted that before, as every other system I've set up just had 2 partitions (these were on older non-UEFI systems).