Using a SSD with windows in another PC with windows already installed?

[Azra]

Hi I'm selling my old PC and plan on keeping the boot-drive and using it on my new PC as extra storage. Do I have to remove windows (and the old programs and drivers that might be on it as well) from the old SSD to use in my new PC (which already has windows installed)
(if so how?) or is it just plug and play?

[Shimejii]

Always reccomend a fresh install of windows for a new PC. Why? Because one som e windows installs do still slow with time, two Drivers and such will be clean and only for what your machine has now, if you carry on from your older build you will still have old drivers and that can cause some wierd issues.

 

Can you do it? 100% and you may be just fine  Just gotta be willing to deal with a few tihngs first. 

[RONOTHAN##]

90% of the time, it's just plug and play. Sometimes you can get a weird driver conflict when doing that, so if it's an option to do a fresh install, do a fresh install, but if you really don't feel like it, you can just run it and see if anything goes wrong. 

 

If you do end up doing a fresh install, download the Windows creation tool and use it to make a Windows install USB. Put the drive in the new system after making sure that there are no important files that are only present on that drive, plug the USB into that system, and boot into the USB. Follow the installation wizard and just delete all the partitions on your SSD (it's recommended that the drive you intend to install Windows on is the only drive in the system, that way you don't risk accidentally installing to the wrong drive or getting the bug where it installs the boot partition to another hard drive in the system). Hit install, reboot and unplug the USB, and you're done. Install your programs, and you're good to go. 

[SlashedM]

7 minutes ago, Azra said:

Hi I'm selling my old PC and plan on keeping the boot-drive and using it on my new PC as extra storage. Do I have to remove windows (and the old programs and drivers that might be on it as well) from the old SSD to use in my new PC
(if so how?) or is it just plug and play?

If you are just going to use the drive as extra storage, Id rather back up the files, and just format the drive once its in the new PC. Other than that, you should be able to just delete folders with admin perm, however it may no always work, if you want to do that, use a linux boot USB

[SlashedM]

6 minutes ago, Shimejii said:

Always reccomend a fresh install of windows for a new PC. Why? Because one som e windows installs do still slow with time, two Drivers and such will be clean and only for what your machine has now, if you carry on from your older build you will still have old drivers and that can cause some wierd issues.

 

Can you do it? 100% and you may be just fine  Just gotta be willing to deal with a few tihngs first. 

 

5 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

90% of the time, it's just plug and play. Sometimes you can get a weird driver conflict when doing that, so if it's an option to do a fresh install, do a fresh install, but if you really don't feel like it, you can just run it and see if anything goes wrong. 

 

If you do end up doing a fresh install, download the Windows creation tool and use it to make a Windows install USB. Put the drive in the new system after making sure that there are no important files that are only present on that drive, plug the USB into that system, and boot into the USB. Follow the installation wizard and just delete all the partitions on your SSD (it's recommended that the drive you intend to install Windows on is the only drive in the system, that way you don't risk accidentally installing to the wrong drive or getting the bug where it installs the boot partition to another hard drive in the system). Hit install, reboot and unplug the USB, and you're done. Install your programs, and you're good to go. 

Unless he misstated what he was going to do, he said he was just going to use it as extra storage, and not the boot drive anymore

[RONOTHAN##]

1 minute ago, SlashedM said:

 

Unless he mistated what he was going to do, he said he was just going to use it as extra storage, and not the boot drive anymore

missed the "extra storage line"

 

Yeah just get the drive, copy all important data off, and format it. Ya done.

[Azra]

9 hours ago, RONOTHAN## said:

missed the "extra storage line"

 

Yeah just get the drive, copy all important data off, and format it. Ya done.

how do I format it? Thank you so much for all your help!

[RONOTHAN##]

1 hour ago, Azra said:

how do I format it? Thank you so much for all your help!

While it's in the new system, open up partition manager. right click on every partition on the drive and select "Delete". Once the entire drive is unallocated space, right click and select new partition, follow the wizard to have it take up the entire drive, and you're done.