I am using windows from my first computer in 1997. Since then, whenever a problem arise in system, our hardware expert suggest one thing. Format the system and start fresh. I kinda like the idea at that time, as it give me more time to play with core system things. I remember formatting windows 95/98 PC was complicated, as you have to create some text files, boot with floppy disk and then run from CD.

Time passes, and process become simpler, and I grow in programmer. Now, my machine handle, Visual Studio, Andriod Studio, Nodejs, SQL server, MySQL, apache and IIS, and lot of utilities. Previously I used to keep CD of my software. But every week we have few updates on either of those software and burning CD is not possible. Now, formatting means wasting my 2-3 days to just install everything. Formatting itself take 45 minutes max on my machine, but pre-formatting backup, and restoration after formatting is no fun.

But my primary disk is full and only 5 GB space is left on my C:\, It is only NVMe disk in system and I have to upgrade it to large capacity disk. I don’t want to format PC. So, I find this fine software recommendation from a google search, Macrium Reflect (from https://www.macrium.com/ ). I download their free version, and install on my Home PC. Install it on very drive that needs upgraded, yes my C:\. Install my new Disk on other slot. Now, I run software, and clone my disk to new Disk. Since they are NVMe disk they copy fast, it took about 20 minutes to clone 225 GB of disk to new 500 GB disk.

After 20 minutes, I realise that cloning use only old size from new disk and rest of space is empty, unused still. So everything is waste for me. But then Windows’ Disk management comes handy and allow Extending my new soon going to be C: drive to use remaining space from disk. [Right click on partition and click extend]. It use all left over space.

After swapping old disk with new one. [I tool old out of system to test if cloning was good or not], It works with extended disk. then I put my old disk and format it to use as secondary disk.

It took me 1 hr to do all these stuff, and certainly save my 2-3 days of effort, and save my weekend.