Windows 10 transfer

[DualZone]

I am planning on getting an ssd and I puting my operating system on it and some other files to make my pc faster. I am also planning on keeping my old harddrive as a place to store my games and other files. I was wondering if there was a way to transfer the os from the harddrive to the ssd and keep all my other files on the harddrive. If so how could I go about doing this so that I do not have to buy a new os.

[kirashi]

Assuming you're running Windows 10 (and it's activated) as your post title suggests, you won't have to buy a new OS even if you do a clean install.

Some SSD's come with drive cloning software that can move everything over, although not every software supports shrinking your drive down to size if the SSD is smaller than your current boot drive.

 

Acronis True Image can do it, and IMO is well worth the purchase if you don't have any experience working with partitions already.

EaseUs ToDo Backup is free, and looks promising for backup and cloning of drives, but I'm not familiar with the software.

HowToGeek has a guide on how to upgrade your existing hard drive featuring Macrium Reflect software you can try too.

[DualZone]

2 minutes ago, kirashi said:

Assuming you're running Windows 10 (and it's activated) as your post title suggests, you won't have to buy a new OS even if you do a clean install.

Some SSD's come with drive cloning software that can move everything over, although not every software supports shrinking your drive down to size if the SSD is smaller than your current boot drive.

 

Acronis True Image can do it, and IMO is well worth the purchase if you don't have any experience working with partitions already.

EaseUs ToDo Backup is free, and looks promising for backup and cloning of drives, but I'm not familiar with the software.

HowToGeek has a guide on how to upgrade your existing hard drive featuring Macrium Reflect software you can try too.

Thanks. Is there anyway to move Windows 10 alone over and not have to shrink the drive data to fit the ssd?

[Enderman]

well first of all you dont want to clone an OS to an SSD or you will almost certainly have problems in the future with all kinds of stuff

 

second, you can reinstall your OS without buying a new one

all you need is the key for your OS (which you can get with a keyfinder) and put windows 10 on a USB and install on the SSD

if you're already using windows 10 then its even easier, all you need to do is put windows 10 on a USB, install it, and ti will activate itself