>>Hi,
>>
>>I am preparing to clone my existing 500 GB drive to a new 1 TB SDD drive. I am going to use the Apricorn SATA Wire EZ Gig with the cable. I already have both the new drive and the Apricorn kit.
>>My computer has the following drives:
>>C: - OS and programs
>>D: - DATA
>>E: - DATA
>>F:
>>The F: drive is called RECOVERY (and it is set to 15.1 GB, 7.75 GB free).
>>
>>Do I need to create an F: RECOVERY drive of similar size on the new SSD drive? And if yes, would 15 GB be enough or I should set more space for it?
>
>Just to add to what others said, I seriously doubt that any attempt to restore from the recovery partition would even work on a SSD. Last time I tried to install Windows (a 7) onto an SSD, it just didn't recognize it and Samsung also says that it only accepts Windows as a cloned drive, not as a fresh install. The driver doesn't seem to be included.

Generally that shouldn't be the case. If the SSD is a conventional 2.5" SATA III unit, it appears to the motherboard SATA controller just like a magnetic drive. You can partition, install OSs etc.

Some potential flies in the ointment:

1. If the SSD has a PCIe/NVMe interface then in order for it to be bootable it requires boot drivers to be installed. Windows 7 doesn't have them by default, I don't know about 10 or 8.1. If you're doing a fresh installation of Windows typically you press F6 when prompted by Setup and load the drivers then. A straight clone of a SATA magnetic HD to such an SSD typically won't be bootable (even if the machine BIOS is set to boot from that device). A workaround that works some of the time is to install the SSD while still running off the HD, then get Windows to detect the new hardware and install the drivers in the HD. Then when it's cloned the drivers are already installed

2. Secure boot. This can be a PITA when changing hardware. I've had success by turning it off in the BIOS, cloning, booting from the SSD, then turning it back on once I'm certain it's booting cleanly from the SSD