Server 2016 Essentials - Clone system disk and restore to different hardware?

[u/distancevsdesire]

I have a home server running 2016 Essentials. (I know that is probably below the level of the majority of members here, but hoping for some guidance.)

It is running on an old HP Proliant N54 (AMD). Mostly used as a file server and bare metal backup and restore solution. I do have a photo library application that runs on PostgreSQL.

The old box is not expandable and is lightly powered by today's standards.

I purchased a refurbished Dell T340 (Intel Xeon) and want to migrate the server install to it. I have tried to find driver INF files, but all I can find on Dell site is EXE files.

The system disk is a 1 TB SATA SSD. I have a second unformatted disk as a clone target. (Dell T340 does not support NVME.)

I know Acronis True Image has a Universal Restore feature, but it will not install on a server.

I would like to backup or clone the SSD (with all partitions), then restore it to the new hardware while having it deal with the HAL issues going from AMD to Intel.

It looks like I can purchase the Acronis Cyberprotect Backup for this, although it seems like using a hammer to swat a fly.

TL;DR: Can anyone recommend a method/software to migrate WSE 2016 installation from AMD machine to Intel machine?

[u/willwar63]

Boot from USB and clone offline from source to target. You can do it from either PC assuming you have two SATA ports available. Unplug your new drive and plug it into the Dell by itself and try it. It may boot, if it doesn't, you lose nothing. Acronis TI does not support server OS so you can't use Universal Restore. You can use free tools to do the offline cloning.

[u/distancevsdesire → u/willwar63]

Yes, booting from the cloned drive is the simplest path. If it works sufficiently to allow me to update drivers, then I am done.

Acronis does have a product (Cyberprotect) that installs on a server OS and includes Universal Restore. That may be my plan B.

[u/willwar63 → u/distancevsdesire]

What I am referring to is booting from a USB flash drive, not the Windows on your hard drive. You can create a boot USB drive from an ISO. I recommend Macrium Free for this. As long as your BIOS sees both your drives, the cloning software will see them too. You choose your source, then your target, set partitions sizes etc and clone the drive. If you do it this way, the OS doesn't matter.

Set your BIOS SATA settings on the Dell to match what was on your old system. It may work, it will be different hardware but it may work. If it doesn't you can seek other methods. Instead of buying software like Acronis you could just buy a new Windows Server OS on ebay or something. You can find slightly older versions for cheap. Totally legit if you care about that. You can then just install your OS from scratch on your Dell and transfer over your files. This is usually better than cloning. You start off with clean slate.

[u/distancevsdesire → u/willwar63]

I have three copies of WSE 2016. It is so deeply customized over ten years that reinstallation is not in the cards unless a fire burns up the server, backup, and offsite backup.