Move W10 install from old HDD to new SSD

Discussion in 'SSD and HDD storage' started by XP-200, Feb 26, 2016.

  1. XP-200

    XP-200 Ancient Guru

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    Ok, i just got a free 240gig SSD drive with a new GTX 970 i just bought, now i was wondering is there a way to simply move W10 from the normal HDD onto the new SSD drive, or will i just have to reinstall W10 again.

    I have a 500gig internal 2.5 normal HDD that i only use for Windows, while i have a second 2TB hybrid hdd that i use for everything else, Game install, media storage.

    So what, if possible would be better, copy over ir simply reinstall.

    Thanks for any info. ;)
     
  2. mbk1969

    mbk1969 Ancient Guru

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    You can do that with special programs for cloning or backup/restore disks.
    But in case you will succeed you should format or remove original HDD with installed Win10 to not boot into it (to avoid confusion).

    Edit: Forgot to give a warning about possible boot problems with such cloning. Windows creates special boot partition(s) on disks during installation. Boot Configuration Data (BCD) can be stored on such boot partition. And in case this partition was not cloned to the SSD (so it stayed old) BCD data can point not to cloned partition but to original one. It all depends on quality of cloning program which can adjust BCD info during cloning.
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2016
  3. XP-200

    XP-200 Ancient Guru

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    ^^^I had in my head for some reason just dragging the whole windows install from the HDD to the SSD, and it would work, but if i need to use some third party software i might as well just do a fresh install, with the only real issues being waiting for W10 to get updates up to date. lol

    But cheers for the info.
     
  4. pimpernell

    pimpernell Master Guru

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    Just start the install on the new ssd. The database should have your mb and rest of hw, so it should activate automatically.
     

  5. jura11

    jura11 Guest

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  6. XP-200

    XP-200 Ancient Guru

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    I am just going to go for a full reinstall, thanks for the advice all. ;)
     
  7. EspHack

    EspHack Ancient Guru

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    its just a few clicks really, most ssd come with the software you need and it takes like 30 min, after that you change boot priority and bang, windows boots in 10 seconds, then you can delete the old hdd partition and good to go

    but if you don't care for setup times and such things yea just go ahead and do a fresh install that would be fast as heck too
     
  8. thatguy91

    thatguy91 Guest

    Fresh install would be better. Cloning is really only for people that don't know how to install and set Windows up properly :).
     
  9. Socio

    Socio Member

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    I have this Paragon Migrate OS to SSD 4.0 I used it to migrate my win 7 install to an SSD so if my upgrade to Win 10 upgrade went wrong or I wanted to revert back to 7 all I had to do was swap drives and it worked great.
     
  10. thatguy91

    thatguy91 Guest

    Even though this is a bit of an old thread and probably done already, fresh install would be much better. You would probably have to play around with Windows settings a bit to make sure it doesn't defrag the SSD etc. Simple to do, but all the extra kerfuffle defeats the purpose. A clean install is also a good time to well, clean up you installation. Also if your HDD is in MBR mode, it's less than ideal, and you certainly wouldn't want to install Windows 10 on a new SSD using legacy MBR.
     

  11. vase

    vase Guest

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    I just read "Windows 10" and "new SSD" and didn't read the rest of the thread.
    But my discrete suggestion for you is:

    "Windows 7" + "install" + "new SSD"
     
  12. joe187

    joe187 Master Guru

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    Macrium Reflect Free Edition (my personal favorite) should do it just fine. I used it to clone quite a few times for my PC's here, no problems. Unless you feel as though you would prefer a fresh install, it will save a lot of time especially when u have a lot of programs and things configured already.
     
    Last edited: Apr 19, 2016
  13. AsiJu

    AsiJu Ancient Guru

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    Another good piece of software for such an operation is MiniTool Partition Wizard (thanks to Extraordinary for suggesting it to me).

    Cloned my W7 install from HDD to SSD when I bought my SSD. My PC was bootable from the SSD with everything as before in 15 mins.
    Partition Wizard has a special feature for migrating an OS install and it does indeed do a bit-by-bit clone while also updating the boot information to point to the new drive IIRC (if the source partition is bootable).
     
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2016
  14. alanm

    alanm Ancient Guru

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    Actually, windows installs are probably easier for noobs to deal with than migrating an OS from HDD to SSD. You could argue fresh installs are always "better" even if you do nothing to your PC. But a fresh install simply because theres been a component change is unnecessary with modern OS's (Win7-10). Especially SSDs since they are now a very likely expected component upgrade. So Win7-10 can handle HDD to SSD migrations with no problem with the right software.

    Many good free programs for this (Easeus ToDo, Macrium, etc).
     
  15. XP-200

    XP-200 Ancient Guru

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    ^^To be honest this was my first SSD, and i had it in my head the thing was just like a flash drive, so i thought i could just copy my whole Windows install folder over to it and away i went. lol

    But a clean install was to my surprise very quick indeed, i also took the opportunity to install W10, and so far i am now sold on SSD drives for the future, i cannot go back to anything less that 15/20 second boot times. ha
     

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