Best way to move all user data but reinstall Windows 10 when moving to a new SSD?

[user_name]

So I'm upgrading from a 1TB NVMe drive to a 4TB NVMe one.

 

However, my current W10 install is very broken (Ethernet goes away when hibernating/sleeping, takes 20 seconds to wake up, can see network shares but can't view their contents, etc) so I'd like to transfer all my user data (installed programs, files, configurations, etc) to the new SSD, but while reinstalling Windows 10. 

 

What would be the easiest way, & also the cheapest way to do this? I have Macrium Reflect Free, but I'm not sure if it can/how I can make it so I have a fresh copy of W10 with all my user data and settings still intact. I have a USB-NVMe adapter if that will help. 

 

Need to have the data transferred by Friday, as on Saturday I'm giving the 1TB SSD to my relatives. 

 

Thanks! 

[Agall]

3 minutes ago, user_name said:

So I'm upgrading from a 1TB NVMe drive to a 4TB NVMe one.

 

However, my current W10 install is very broken (Ethernet goes away when hibernating/sleeping, takes 20 seconds to wake up, can see network shares but can't view their contents, etc) so I'd like to transfer all my user data (installed programs, files, configurations, etc) to the new SSD, but while reinstalling Windows 10. 

 

What would be the easiest way, & also the cheapest way to do this? I have Macrium Reflect Free, but I'm not sure if it can/how I can make it so I have a fresh copy of W10 with all my user data and settings still intact. I have a USB-NVMe adapter if that will help. 

 

Need to have the data transferred by Friday, as on Saturday I'm giving the 1TB SSD to my relatives. 

 

Thanks! 

Make sure bitlocker is disabled, get an M.2 to USB adapter, and manually copy+paste the user data.

[user_name]

2 hours ago, Agall said:

Make sure bitlocker is disabled, get an M.2 to USB adapter, and manually copy+paste the user data.

Thanks for the reply. But could you give a bit more detail?

 

Like how do I know if BitLocker is on, is it on by default? I've never touched that option. 

 

When you say "manually copy+paste the user data", where am I copying it from & where am I copying it to? From the root of the 1TB drive to the root of the 4TB drive? And do I have to do a Windows 10 install before doing so? 

 

Likewise, how do I get W10 installed on the 4TB drive? I was going to get a stock ISO of W10 + Rufus, then use Chris Titus Tech's toolbox to debloat it, but is there perhaps a tool available to make de-crappified W10 install images or something?  

 

Ty! 

[Agall]

1 hour ago, user_name said:

Thanks for the reply. But could you give a bit more detail?

 

Like how do I know if BitLocker is on, is it on by default? I've never touched that option. 

 

When you say "manually copy+paste the user data", where am I copying it from & where am I copying it to? From the root of the 1TB drive to the root of the 4TB drive? And do I have to do a Windows 10 install before doing so? 

 

Likewise, how do I get W10 installed on the 4TB drive? I was going to get a stock ISO of W10 + Rufus, then use Chris Titus Tech's toolbox to debloat it, but is there perhaps a tool available to make de-crappified W10 install images or something?  

 

Ty! 

Bitlocker does get enabled by default in some environments, you can check by searching 'bitlocker' or 'encryption' or 'data encryption' which'll popup with various menus depending on the specific Windows version you're using. It'll either be an option to enable, be enabled, or not be available at all. I mention it because your 1TB won't be readable at all if you're not booting into it to copy data from if bitlocker is enabled.

 

You'd be copying from the user\'your name'\ then each sub folder. Those sub folders being documents, pictures, desktop, etc. That's the stuff that's considered 'user data'.

 

You can even copy+paste some game directories so you don't have to redownload them that might transfer settings too. WoW is a perfect example of this since the WTF cache, addons, etc can all be copy+pasted, including the whole game folder without problems. Regarding other games, it might be more difficult, so its better to recreate them (Minecraft is an exception that I know of since you can usually copy+paste worlds from appdata). 

 

You can technically copy some forms of appdata, but I'd recommend against that for security reasons or bloating reasons.

 

TO get Win10 on your 4TB, you'd do precisely that, but even simpler. No need to use Rufus.

Create installation media for Windows - Microsoft Support

First party Microsoft media creation tool, you run it, select the flash drive, and boom. Any motherboard less than a decade old from production stores the licensing information, so as long as you're not swapping that, your current Windows license will work (the exception to this being anything a decade or older that doesn't run full UEFI firmware and still runs a legacy BIOS, there the license is stored in Windows exclusively). 

 

The factory install from that media creation tool is very clean. Its what I use personally, at work I have VLSC images I have to use to work with VLSC Windows keys.

[user_name]

9 minutes ago, Agall said:

Bitlocker does get enabled by default in some environments, you can check by searching 'bitlocker' or 'encryption' or 'data encryption' which'll popup with various menus depending on the specific Windows version you're using. It'll either be an option to enable, be enabled, or not be available at all. I mention it because your 1TB won't be readable at all if you're not booting into it to copy data from if bitlocker is enabled.

 

You'd be copying from the user\'your name'\ then each sub folder. Those sub folders being documents, pictures, desktop, etc. That's the stuff that's considered 'user data'.

 

You can even copy+paste some game directories so you don't have to redownload them that might transfer settings too. WoW is a perfect example of this since the WTF cache, addons, etc can all be copy+pasted, including the whole game folder without problems. Regarding other games, it might be more difficult, so its better to recreate them (Minecraft is an exception that I know of since you can usually copy+paste worlds from appdata). 

 

You can technically copy some forms of appdata, but I'd recommend against that for security reasons or bloating reasons.

 

TO get Win10 on your 4TB, you'd do precisely that, but even simpler. No need to use Rufus.

Create installation media for Windows - Microsoft Support

First party Microsoft media creation tool, you run it, select the flash drive, and boom. Any motherboard less than a decade old from production stores the licensing information, so as long as you're not swapping that, your current Windows license will work (the exception to this being anything a decade or older that doesn't run full UEFI firmware and still runs a legacy BIOS, there the license is stored in Windows exclusively). 

 

The factory install from that media creation tool is very clean. Its what I use personally, at work I have VLSC images I have to use to work with VLSC Windows keys.

Thanks, I’ll check BitLocker’s settings. 
I do plan to copy the data off the 1TB drive to the 4TB as I’m using the 1TB drive, would it make a difference copying while booted into Windows? 
 

So basically any data under C:\Users\UserName?
And should I install W10 onto the 4TB before I copy the user data, or after? (Just worried that if I get the order wrong and copy the data before the install of W10, it’ll format and delete the data I just copied over.) 

[Agall]

4 minutes ago, user_name said:

And should I install W10 onto the 4TB before I copy the user data

Yes.

 

You're basically formatting the whole drive (or should) when installing Windows, so I would immediately swap in the 4TB drive and install Windows, then transfer any user data from your 1TB drive after.

 

Overall, you should have the 4TB drive, the flash drive with Windows, and some way to also plug in the 1TB drive that doesn't make it think its the boot drive. There's ways around that too, like deleting the EFI partition, but in general, I would recommend using a USB to M.2 adapter. Its the easiest way to do what you're trying to do and you can always use it as an external drive afterwards (assuming you dont have another purpose for that 1TB drive).

[user_name]

25 minutes ago, Agall said:

Yes.

 

You're basically formatting the whole drive (or should) when installing Windows, so I would immediately swap in the 4TB drive and install Windows, then transfer any user data from your 1TB drive after.

 

Overall, you should have the 4TB drive, the flash drive with Windows, and some way to also plug in the 1TB drive that doesn't make it think its the boot drive. There's ways around that too, like deleting the EFI partition, but in general, I would recommend using a USB to M.2 adapter. Its the easiest way to do what you're trying to do and you can always use it as an external drive afterwards (assuming you dont have another purpose for that 1TB drive).

Got it. 
I’ll be passing the 1TB drive down to my relatives who only have an HDD, so I plan on taking it out after transferring. 
 

So if I’ve got this right: 

Set up a USB drive (in my case, I’ll be using an SD card + a USB adapter) with the Media Creation Tool 

 

Take the 4TB drive and plug it into the NVMe-USB adapter, then plug that into the computer that’s powered on 

 

Install W10 onto the 4TB drive using the USB drive 

 

Then copy data from C:\Users\Name, and %APPDATA% if I have any offline/DRM-free games that won’t freak out if I move some files  

 

Then take the 4TB drive out of the NVMe-USB adapter, power off the computer, plug the 4TB drive into my motherboard, boot into BIOS, make the 4TB drive my boot/primary drive, and I should be good to go? 

[Agall]

15 minutes ago, user_name said:

Then copy data from C:\Users\Name, and %APPDATA% if I have any offline/DRM-free games that won’t freak out if I move some files 

Precisely, with this item, some games will be located in Program Files and/or (x86), Steam and Battle.net being games that don't mind being transferred.

[user_name]

3 hours ago, Agall said:

Precisely, with this item, some games will be located in Program Files and/or (x86), Steam and Battle.net being games that don't mind being transferred.

So check

C:\Users\Name

%APPDATA%

C:\Program Files

C:\Program Files (x86)

Don't have Battle.net installed so I'm good there

 

I've installed the Steam client on my C drive but set all my games to install on another internal hard drive, can I just copy & paste all the contents of C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam without issues as well? Or only the games in the common folder can be transferred like that?

 

Also, how do I point the USB drive I formatted & created using Media Creation Tool, to the SSD in my NVMe-USB adapter? Disk Management sees the NVMe-USB adapter as an uninitialized 4TB drive but running setup.exe from ESD-USB just tries to update the current Windows install on my 1TB drive.

[Agall]

13 hours ago, user_name said:

So check

C:\Users\Name

%APPDATA%

C:\Program Files

C:\Program Files (x86)

Don't have Battle.net installed so I'm good there

 

I've installed the Steam client on my C drive but set all my games to install on another internal hard drive, can I just copy & paste all the contents of C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam without issues as well? Or only the games in the common folder can be transferred like that?

 

Also, how do I point the USB drive I formatted & created using Media Creation Tool, to the SSD in my NVMe-USB adapter? Disk Management sees the NVMe-USB adapter as an uninitialized 4TB drive but running setup.exe from ESD-USB just tries to update the current Windows install on my 1TB drive.

You're booting into the media creation tool, once you remove your 1TB and install the 4TB in its place, you won't have a boot device until you use the USB drive. Then you install Windows on the 4TB fresh. After its installed, you're done with the USB drive and then simply need to setup windows then transfer your data.

[user_name]

1 hour ago, Agall said:

You're booting into the media creation tool, once you remove your 1TB and install the 4TB in its place, you won't have a boot device until you use the USB drive. Then you install Windows on the 4TB fresh. After its installed, you're done with the USB drive and then simply need to setup windows then transfer your data.

Sorry, what do you mean by boot? I thought you just ran setup.exe on the formatted USB drive, am I supposed to set the Media Creation Tool USB as my boot drive?

And what is the NVMe-USB adapter useful for? How am I able to install Windows 10 onto there without plugging the 4TB NVMe into my motherboard? I wanted to install W10 & transfer all my data before I installed it in the motherboard, so I had a 1:1 mirror on both the 1TB drive and 4TB drive in case something goes wrong during the whole process. But every step seems to require you to install/replace the SSD as the first step? You said I was good to go with installing the SSD as the last step, so now I'm confused because Windows won't let me install onto a NVMe drive connected via a USB-C cable and you're saying to install the 4TB SSD into the PC as the first step.

 

Could you post detailed, step-by-step instructions of the process, so I know I don't have the steps in the wrong order? 

 

Thanks 

[Agall]

43 minutes ago, user_name said:

Sorry, what do you mean by boot? I thought you just ran setup.exe on the formatted USB drive, am I supposed to set the Media Creation Tool USB as my boot drive?

And what is the NVMe-USB adapter useful for? How am I able to install Windows 10 onto there without plugging the 4TB NVMe into my motherboard? I wanted to install W10 & transfer all my data before I installed it in the motherboard, so I had a 1:1 mirror on both the 1TB drive and 4TB drive in case something goes wrong during the whole process. But every step seems to require you to install/replace the SSD as the first step? You said I was good to go with installing the SSD as the last step, so now I'm confused because Windows won't let me install onto a NVMe drive connected via a USB-C cable and you're saying to install the 4TB SSD into the PC as the first step.

 

Could you post detailed, step-by-step instructions of the process, so I know I don't have the steps in the wrong order? 

 

Thanks 

You're using the USB adapter with your 1TB after you're already setup properly with windows installed on the 4TB. Its generally better than trying to use another slot on the motherboard since the boot manager will detect both OS's and can require extra work to resolve if it gets confused.

[user_name]

9 hours ago, Agall said:

You're using the USB adapter with your 1TB after you're already setup properly with windows installed on the 4TB. Its generally better than trying to use another slot on the motherboard since the boot manager will detect both OS's and can require extra work to resolve if it gets confused.

So I have to remove my 1TB, replace it with my 4TB, boot the USB drive with Media Creation Tool on it, install W10 to the 4TB drive, set it up and get to the desktop, plug in my 1TB to the NVMe-USB adapter, drag over my old files from the 1TB drive, then done? This is basically the exact opposite of my other message, and you said that one was good to go but it wasn't, so please, do I actually have it correct? 

 

And do I have to install Windows on the new SSD before I can transfer over? I can't transfer the data over + install windows while it's not plugged into the motherboard, absolutely no way to do that? I just want to do a direct swap between the 1TB and 4TB drives when the computer is off, like a brain transplant or replacing the processor or something, since I'm worried that the symlinks and programs I've installed to other drives will get screwed up if I try to install and setup W10 as new and then transfer over my old data. The idea is I want the data mirrored on both 1TB and 4TB drives so I can do a direct swap and the computer will act like nothing even happened, except that the C drive grew 3TBs lol. 

[Agall]

12 hours ago, user_name said:

So I have to remove my 1TB, replace it with my 4TB, boot the USB drive with Media Creation Tool on it, install W10 to the 4TB drive, set it up and get to the desktop, plug in my 1TB to the NVMe-USB adapter, drag over my old files from the 1TB drive, then done? This is basically the exact opposite of my other message, and you said that one was good to go but it wasn't, so please, do I actually have it correct? 

This is how its always done outside of cloning

 

12 hours ago, user_name said:

And do I have to install Windows on the new SSD before I can transfer over? I can't transfer the data over + install windows while it's not plugged into the motherboard, absolutely no way to do that? I just want to do a direct swap between the 1TB and 4TB drives when the computer is off, like a brain transplant or replacing the processor or something, since I'm worried that the symlinks and programs I've installed to other drives will get screwed up if I try to install and setup W10 as new and then transfer over my old data. The idea is I want the data mirrored on both 1TB and 4TB drives so I can do a direct swap and the computer will act like nothing even happened, except that the C drive grew 3TBs lol. 

Then you're looking for cloning software, something I use at work to do this, which is an entirely different process and requires some sort of software. I use Acronic True Image for it, but that's a paid piece of software.

 

On 2/20/2024 at 9:36 AM, user_name said:

with all my user data and settings still intact. I have a USB-NVMe adapter if that will help. 

installed programs and user data/settings aren't the same. Most of the time, installed programs don't just transfer via SMB, that's where cloning comes in.

 

On 2/20/2024 at 9:36 AM, user_name said:

Macrium Reflect Free

Regarding this software, I've never used it. If it'll take a full backup of your 1TB that you can then restore onto your 4TB, then that might work. Otherwise if that doesn't work, you have the cleaner and harder option.

[user_name]

21 minutes ago, Agall said:

This is how its always done outside of cloning

 

Then you're looking for cloning software, something I use at work to do this, which is an entirely different process and requires some sort of software. I use Acronic True Image for it, but that's a paid piece of software.

 

installed programs and user data/settings aren't the same. Most of the time, installed programs don't just transfer via SMB, that's where cloning comes in.

 

Regarding this software, I've never used it. If it'll take a full backup of your 1TB that you can then restore onto your 4TB, then that might work. Otherwise if that doesn't work, you have the cleaner and harder option.

Sorry now I'm just really confused, it seems every reply is just going in the completely opposite direction of the first few messages I sent, even though you replied to it "precisely".

No I'm not looking to clone my drive, because that would just transfer my messed up Windows 10 installation to the new hard drive. I just want to install Windows 10 on my empty 4TB drive, and then transfer all my user data and settings from my occupied 1TB drive so it's like nothing ever changed except my Windows 10 install is newer + my C drive is 3TBs larger. 

 

So you are not able to transfer over all your settings or programs in the C drive or %AppData% or etc by dragging-and-dropping? So now I'm even more confused as to why this was mentioned in the earlier replies if SMB or Windows doesn't allow you to do so. 

 

I don't think the software has anything to do with it. I haven't even touched Macrium throughout this whole process, I don't think purchasing Acronis will help with my problem unless Acronis can do the steps I need, in the order I need them done.

 

So how would I accomplish what I want to do, reinstall W10 onto the new drive & transfer all my user data/settings before I plug it into the motherboard? Or does Microsoft simply not allow the user to do the installation in the order they prefer? 

 

Or could you post a detailed, step-by-step guide of what exactly I need to do, in the order I need to do them in? I'm getting really conflicting messages from your earlier replies and your current replies, so I think it'd be best if you outlined what needed to be done to accomplish this task, rather than me asking you. 

[C2dan88]

17 hours ago, user_name said:

So how would I accomplish what I want to do, reinstall W10 onto the new drive & transfer all my user data/settings before I plug it into the motherboard? Or does Microsoft simply not allow the user to do the installation in the order they prefer? 

If you dont want to clone, then you will have to

• Disconnect all drives from the system and install windows to the new 4TB drive - windows can be installed to usb, but this is refereed to as WIndowsToGo which is not what you want.
• Install all necessary drivers - chipset, lan/wifi, auido, etc from your motherboard manufactures website.
• Reinstall all programs you use to C: drive, including game clients steam, epic etc.
  • On a fresh windows install programs need to reinstalled so they can integrate themselves into the Os. Windows will not scan drives for programs and automatically reinstate file associations, right click context menus etc
• Connect your 1TB drive to USB adaptor and copy app settings from your old Windows user account folder to your new one.
  • Unfortunately this process can be quite teething, googling "*Program name* profile/appdata location" can make it a bit easier
  • Copy any games to your respective game client storage location, ie steamapps folder for steam. (Exception of Xbox app games need to re-downloaded)

There is no "cloning" method for moving just installed programs and their settings. Cloning is a direct copy of one drive to another drive. This is the easiest solution for migrating an os to a new drive.

[user_name]

Thanks for the pointers. I ended up deciding to do a clone of my hard drive, and then reset my install of W10 while choosing to keep all my data.

I wasn't find a way to be able to reinstall Windows while keeping all my data, and I still have the issue where my computer takes a long time to get through the POST process + all the icons of programs that were previously installed have all disappeared, but other than that, everything works.

 

If anyone else is in the same boat, this is what I did:

 

First, download Macrium Reflect Free Version 8. You can find mirrors to download v8 in this reddit comment (Wayback Machine mirror if the comments gets deleted)

You can go for the Home version that's available on Macrium's site as well, but there's a lot of upsells and you can't use the program after 1 or 2 weeks.

 

After installing Macrium Free V8, grab your new SSD and plug it into the SSD-to-USB adapter. It should connect to the computer and act like a hard drive.

 

Go to the Start menu, search for "Disk Management" -> Look for the uninitialized drive that matches the size of the SSD we just plugged in. Right-click the empty drive, click "Format" -> New Simple Volume -> and it will ask you to format it to MBR or GPT. Click here to read what it means, but I chose GPT.

 

After formatting, open Macrium. Find your old drive (the one you want to clone from) and click it. You should see "Clone this disk" appear on the left, underneath the drive. Click it, and then click "Select a disk to clone to". Choose your empty SSD, click "Copy partitions", then click "Shrink or extend to fill the target disk". This will expand your copied partition to the size of the free space available on your new drive. Then click "Next", then it should ask you to schedule it. I want to run it immediately, so ignore it, click "Finish", then check "Run this backup now". Click Ok and it should start immediately. 

 

After cloning is done, power off the desktop, turn off the PSU power switch, then press the power button like 5 to 10 times while touching the metal frame to ground yourself. Then go ahead and google your motherboard's manual, and locate the fastest NVMe slot that's also not occupied. In my case, I left my Gen5 slot empty so I had to remove my graphics card and a very stubborn heatsink before I was able to unveil the NVMe slot on the motherboard. Took the new SSD out of the USB encolosure, plugged it into my mobo's NVMe slot, left off the mobo heatsink bc my SSD already had one preinstalled, then plugged back in the graphics card.

 

I'm using an ASUS mobo so hold F2 or Delete to enter BIOS. In EZ Mode, look to the right for "Boot priority", and make sure the new SSD is at the top of the list as the first priority. Click F10 to Save & Exit, and if all went well, then it should boot you back into Windows, minus any previously open windows or programs.

 

I then used Macrium to clone the old drive to a spare 1TB HDD I had, wiped the old SSD using Macrium, and drove it over to my relatives' house to install in their computer.

 

Then on my new drive, I went to the Start menu -> Settings -> Updates & Security -> Recovery -> Reset this PC -> Get started -> Keep user data -> and it went ahead and reset it + updated my copy of W10.

 

 

But now that I've got that sorted, is it possible to import specific aspects of the previous install to the newly reset one? Mainly asking for Sony Vegas Pro 16, as all my configurations got wiped but they're still intact if I boot into the HDD.

 

EDIT: Figured it out. Plug in the old drive, navigate to: 

 

C:\Program Files\VEGAS\VEGAS Pro 16.0\Script Menu

C:\Users\Lian Li\AppData\Roaming

C:\Users\Lian Li\AppData\Local

 

on both your current drive, and your old drive.

 

Then copy and paste the VEGAS,VEGAS Pro, & Script Menu folders from the old drive to your new one. Overwrite files if it asks you to. Then open Vegas 16 -> Options at the top -> Customize toolbar -> Scroll down in left column until you see the script you want to add to the toolbar, double click it -> Make sure the script shows up in the right column, click Close.

Edited March 14 by user_name