Data migration software hangs after reboot and displaying "Starting Acronis UEFI loader . . ."

[RSear]

Using 240 GB 530 SSD connected to HP Envy 700xt desktop through USB 3.0 port (didn't want to switch internal SATA cables more than once and I had the SATA III to USB stuff) and running Windows 7 64-bit. HDD is 1 TB with only a couple of GB used in 2 partitions (well, 3 if counting the boot partition). SSD was not initialized -- figured the data migration software (Acronis downlaoded from Intel) would handle all of that. Does the data migration software require use of an internal SATA port on the desktop for the SSD (if one does not have the intel-supplied USB cables for laptop mirroring that use 2 USB ports rather than a generic SATA drive enclosure with power supply and USB cable which I am using)?

[RSear]

Thanks, Kevin. However, it does appear as if the SSD is recognized as an Intel SSD since when the data migration software began it showed the target drive as an Intel SSD (but I don't know if that really means anything). Anyway, another guy at Intel (from Customer Support) has said:

"Unfortunately the Intel® Data Migration Software would not work

sometimes and it seems to be an incompatibility issue when dealing with

Windows 8 and 8.1 OS and/or the UEFI BIOS. Some customers have fixed the

issue by finding a workaround solution which is basically to use a third

party software. Here it is a list of the ones they recommend that you

might want to try:

1. Clonezilla

2. Macrium Reflect Free Edition

3. DriveImage XML

4. Runtime's Shadow Copy

5. Paragon Backup <(>&<)> Recovery Free

6. EaseUS Partition Master (highly recommended)

All of those are third party software that can be installed and used for

FREE. Please try to remove the destination drive and when in Windows,

uninstall the Intel Data Migration software and try one of the above."

I am not sure if I am going to download and use one of these products or not (the Intel-supplied Acronis software appeared to damage my BIOS -- at the very least, it changed the boot order and my system was attempting to boot from the Realtek card reader on my desktop when I attempted to restart after the data migration software hung; so I had to change the boot order back manually). Anyway, I did make a system image backup (using the Windows backup/restore utility) of my HDD just before attempting to use the Acronis data migration software and was wondering what the pros and cons of restoring that backup to the Intel SSD vs. using data migration software, either free or otherwise. Any thoughts?