From what I've read there's no need for a recovery CD either.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17422/windows-8-create-usb-recovery-drive.

Another thing I read but can't find the article, is USB 3 is fast enough to use a thumb drive to put your cloned HD on and then boot from it. I recently picked up a 64 Gig USB 3 Sandisk thumb drive for that but haven't cloned my OS to it yet.

Bob


Biab/RB latest build, Win 11 Pro, Ryzen 5 5600 G, 512 Gig SSD, 16 Gigs Ram, Steinberg UR22 MkII, Roland Sonic Cell, Kurzweil PC3, Hammond SK1, Korg PA3XPro, Garritan JABB, Hypercanvas, Sampletank 3, more.