Most efficient way to move my Windows to an SSD

[BettersonMcgee]

I am a filthy OS on HDD pleb. I got a taste of the boot speeds on an SSD and I know now more than ever that I need to make the switch. I have an SSD in my system already but I already loaded it full of data. I was planning on getting some m.2 SSD and what I want to know is if I were to install windows on that drive, could I just delete it off of my HDD without completely formatting it? I've tried to launch the windows installer just to see what options it gave me but it just jumps to wanting to format. If there's a way I could install windows onto my current SSD without formatting it, I'm all ears

[Escapenz]

1 minute ago, BettersonMcgee said:

I am a filthy OS on HDD pleb. I got a taste of the boot speeds on an SSD and I know now more than ever that I need to make the switch. I have an SSD in my system already but I already loaded it full of data. I was planning on getting some m.2 SSD and what I want to know is if I were to install windows on that drive, could I just delete it off of my HDD without completely formatting it? I've tried to launch the windows installer just to see what options it gave me but it just jumps to wanting to format. If there's a way I could install windows onto my current SSD without formatting it, I'm all ears

i do not think you can, think the installer auto formats it. Could possible be a work around but doubt it. Tho a fresh install is always a good way to go.

[SpaceGhostC2C]

Your post isn't very clear:

- are you trying to install windows to the SSD you have without removing the data already in there?

- are you trying to install windows to a new SSD, and asking if you can then remove Windows from the HDD without formatting the HDD?

[BettersonMcgee]

8 minutes ago, SpaceGhostC2C said:

Your post isn't very clear:

- are you trying to install windows to the SSD you have without removing the data already in there?

- are you trying to install windows to a new SSD, and asking if you can then remove Windows from the HDD without formatting the HDD?

Either! wondering if i could do option 1, but if not could I do option 2!

[SpaceGhostC2C]

1 hour ago, BettersonMcgee said:

Either! wondering if i could do option 1, but if not could I do option 2!

Option 2 is easier, but tedious. There will be many hidden leftovers from the existing windows installation, but they will be visible from the new OS and manually delete them. It will also contain some boot partitions no longer needed, that you may delete but not necessarily merge the freed space with the rest of the drive. I would still prefer to backup what is worth saving, delete all partitions, create a new single partition, and restore the data from the temporary backup. If you go this route, I strongly recommend unplugging the HDD from your computer, then installing windows on the b new SSD, then plugging back the HDD and work on it from the new Windows. That would prevent they installer from re-using those boot partitions from the HDD. 

 

Option 1 is not possible a far as I know, so again a temporary backup of the data there, wiping it with fresh windows installation, converting your HDD into new data drive, and finally restoring into the HD would be the way to go (here "back up" and "restore" just mean "copy"). Once again, better to have the HDD unplugged at the time of installing windows. 

 

Either way, a third drive (HDF, SDzd, external, doesn't matter) would come in handy to juggle data around as you repurpose your drives. 

If you want to move the existing windows, instead of making a fresh install, you could use something like Macrium reflect to come the drive, but it would require enough space on the destination drive to copy the current OS partition "as is", and would still wipe the destination drive /partition clean.