Snaps are this: https://snapcraft.io/ , which can also be installed by PAMAC. That are image files, which get mounted and executed isolated in a sandbox environment and therefore the loops.
EDIT: I agree with @maycne.sonahoz that this would a be good idea, if you want a clean re-installation, but cloning is also a good option.
I don’t recall installing any snap packages to begin with
I’m not familiar with cloning tools, and dd won’t work since the target drive is smaller than the source.
I’ll let someone with experience in that suggesting a plan with it. 
This is an absolutely great guide. I just stumbled on this while browsing the forum and this is a great explanation and very well written up. Want to give you more than just a like, so you also get my today’s kudos. These are the sort of guides that really make it easier for newbee users to get to know Linux.
Thank you very much this worked. Well… so far… I haven’t got around to cleaning the HDD yet
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