No Operating System Found After Cloning [SOLVED]

Many opt for cloning because it allows them to transfer Windows to the new HDD/SSD without having to reinstall. But what if you try to boot the cloned SSD, and the system fails to find the operating system? There are many reasons for this, but we can fix it by making a few changes. This post resolves the "no operating system found after cloning" issue with practical solutions.

User Case: No Operating System Found After Cloning

Generally, the boot won't work if the system cannot find the operating system after updating the system or BIOS or cloning the operating system to a new HDD/SSD. All you will be presented with is a screen with an error message saying, "Operating system wasn't found." There are multiple reasons why the system cannot recognize the OS to boot the PC.

• 1️⃣Failed cloning process or incomplete clones.
• 2️⃣The System Partition is not an activate partition. 
• 2️⃣The HDD/SSD is not connected correctly. 
• 4️⃣Corrupt or Missing MBR. 
• 5️⃣Faulty Boot Configuration Data (BCD).

How to Fix No Operating System After Cloning HDD/SSD

First, you cannot boot the cloned SSD if the HDD/SSD is connected to the PC as an external disk. So, replace the SSD and try to get the PC back up. Now, if that didn't work, let's get to the solutions to find an OS on the cloned SSD.

Fix 1. Failed Cloning Process - Reclone HDD/SSD with EaseUS Disk Copy

When opting for cloning, choosing the right cloning software is very important. The PC cannot find the OS if the clone hard drive with bad sectors, incompatible MBR or GPT, incomplete cloned parts, or missing boot components. So, cloning software like EaseUS Disk Copy is essential to clone your hard drive to create a bootable SSD without any bad sectors and errors.

The software automatically partitions the HDD/SSD based on the old drive and makes it efficient to boot. Features like sector-by-sector clone copy data bit-by-bit allow the target SSD to be completely cloned with the operating system, data, and files. Try cloning the new SSD with EaseUS Disk Copy and booting it using the Windows operating system.

Prior Notice:

• The "Sector by sector copy" asks the size of your destination disk to be at least equal to or larger than that of the source disk. Leave this feature unchecked if you wish to clone a larger hard disk to a smaller hard disk.
• All data on the destination disk will be completely erased, so take care.

Step 1. To start copying/cloning an entire disk to another, choose this disk as the source disk under "Disk Mode" and click "Next".

Step 2. Choose the other disk as the destination disk.

Step 3. Check the disk layout of the two disks. You can manage the disk layout of the destination disk by selecting "Autofit the disk", "Copy as the source" or "Edit disk layout". 

• "Autofit the disk" makes some changes by default on the destination disk layout so that it can work at its best status.
• "Copy as the source"does not change anything on destination disk and the layout is the same as source disk.
• "Edit disk layout" allows you to manually resize/move partition layout on this destination disk.

Tick the "Check the option if the target is SSD" option to put your SSD in its best performance.

A message now appears, warning you that data will be lost. Please confirm this message by clicking "OK" and then click "Next".

Step 4. Click "Proceed" to officially execute the task.

Fix 2. Set Default BIOS settings

If you have incorrect BIOS settings, it can result in an error in the operating system that is not found. However, the default BIOS settings are compatible with all SSDs. So, we should set the BIOS to default to see if the PC finds the operating system. 

Step 1: Restart the PC and enter the BIOS environment.

Step 2:  In the BIOS Settings, find the default settings options, including Load Optimal Defaults, Get Default values, Load Setup Defaults, Load Optimized Defaults, etc and enable them.

Step 3: Press F10 to save and exit. 

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Fix 3. Repair Windows Startup Tool

Windows Startup helps the system identify the OS partition and boot the PC. However, the operating system will not be recognized if the startup files are corrupted. Therefore, we need to perform a startup repair to diagnose and repair faulty files and fix the issue. 

To perform a startup repair, enter the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). So, create a bootable USB installation media. 

Step 1. Connect the bootable USB, and enter the Windows Recovery Environment (winRE).

• Restart the PC.
• While restarting, press the power button for 10 seconds to switch off the device.
• Repeat the exact three times to pop up the Automatic Repair screen. 
• Click the Advanced options.

Step 2. On the Choose an option screen, go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options.

Step 3. From the Advanced options, select Startup Repair and click Restart.

Now, Windows scans for potential issues restricting and repairing the operating system.

Fix 4. Set the System Partition as an Active Partition

While booting, the Windows checks for the active partition. Active Partition, or Primary partition, contains all the boot files required to function the OS (similar to C Drive). So, if the System Partition is not set as an active partition, Windows fails to identify the operating system and shows an "Operating System not found" error. Let us see how to set the System partition as an Active partition. Connect the cloned SSD to the PC using a hard drive enclosure. 

Step 1. Get the old SSD back and boot the PC using Windows.

Step 2. Once you enter the PC, click Windows + R to open the Run dialog box.

Step 3. Enter "diskpart" and click OK.

Step 3. Run the following commands with CMD as administrator:

• list disk
• select disk X ( Here "X" is the disk ID of cloned SSD)
• list partition
• select partition X ("X" refers to the system partition ID of the cloned SSD)
• Active

Step 4. Once the system partition on the cloned SSD is set as active, replace it and restart the PC to find the operating system.

Fix 5. Run the Bootrec.exe files

If the fixes above do not fix the operating system not found on the cloned SSD problem, you should run the bootrec.exe files. You need an installation media to run the bootrec.exe files. 

Step 1. Connect the installation media (USB drive or CD/DVD) to the PC and reboot it.

Step 2. Press any key if the screen shows "Press any key to boot".

Step 3. Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt from the options.

Step 4. In the pop-up window, type the bootrec.exe command to activate the program and run the commands.

Step 5. Run the bootrec.exe commands.

• bootrec.exe /fixmbr
• bootrec.exe /fixboot
• bootrec.exe /scanos
• bootrec.exe /rebuildbcd

Once you've done this, try booting the PC using the cloned HDD/SSD to see if it recognizes the operating system.

Fix 6. Configure and Repair the boot files

If none of the above can fix the "No operating system found after cloning" error, you should configure and repair the boot file. The Windows bootloader may be damaged, and you need to find a fix for the errors. To restore the Windows Bootloader, you need a USB installation media. 

Step 1. Insert the USB installation media into the PC and boot from it.

Step 2. In the first setup window, select the language, time, and currency you want to use. Click Next to proceed to the next screen.

Step 3. Click Shift + F10 on the next screen to open the CMD.

Step 4. You must execute the display command to determine whether the HDD/SSD is in GPT or MBR. 

• diskpart
• list disk

After executing both commands, you can see the disk type in the GPT column. 

• If you see the asterisk (*), the disk is in GPT.
• If you don't see the asterisk (*), the disk is in MBR.

After finding the disk partition type, MBR or GPT, you should repair the files using CMD lines.

Find the drive with the Windows folder

Step 1. Type "dir C:" in CMD and press Enter. If the command displays the Windows Folder, move to the next folder. If not, keep changing the drive letter (D, E, F, etc) until you find the partition with the Windows folder. 

Step 2. Type "bcdboot D:\Windows /S D: "and CMD displays the "Boot files successfully created" message. 

Based on the type of partitioning, follow the list of commands below.

For MBR:

• diskpart
• list disk
• select disk X ( Here, "X" is the disk with OS files) - e.g., "0".
• list volume
• select volume X ( Here, "X" is the volume with OS folder) - e.g., "0".
• active
• exit

For GPT:

• diskpart
• list disk
• Select disk X ( Here, "X" is the disk number containing the Windows folder) - e.g., "0".
• list partition
• select partition X ( Here, "X" is the partition with OS folder) - e.g., "0".
• assign letter=D ( Assign any letter to the Windows partition)
• exit
• cd /d S:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\
• ren BCD BCD.bak
• bcdboot C:\Windows /l en-us /s S: /f UEFI

Once done, shut all the Windows down, restart the PC, and try to boot from the cloned SSD again.

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Written In the End

Although cloning copies the Windows OS to the new SSD, sometimes the PC fails to find the OS and throws errors like "no operating system found after cloning." The article explains why no operating system was found on cloned SSD and tries to tackle the issue with working solutions. 

If you think the cloning is the problem or nothing can fix the new SSD, we suggest you use the EaseUS Disk Copy to clone your SSD efficiently without bad sectors and errors. 

FAQs about No Operating System Found After Cloning

1. How do I get my operating system back?

You can recover the operating system using the Recovery option in Settings. System Restore helps you restore the operating system on your PC.

2. How do I make a bootable disk after cloning?

After cloning, go to settings and create a disk image of the current Windows system. Later, burn the disk image onto a disk to make it a bootable disk.

3. Does cloning a hard drive copy the OS?

Yes, cloning is widely preferred as it eases switching to a new SSD. When you clone, you copy the OS, data, and files bit-by-bit to the new drive.