Free Hard Drive Migration Method?

[LinkTheRat]

So I just recently ordered a 1 TB hard drive that I want to use as my main drive. I was planning on copying everything from my old hard drive to this new one (including operating system) , and delete everything from my old drive , but I just can't find a method on how to do it.

 

Do you guys have any FREE methods on how to do this? I really need to copy only the operating system , cause I can re-download everything. I am currently using Windows 10.

 

P.S : I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to this stuff , otherwise I wouldn't have made this topic , but please try to explain it as simple as you can.

 

[meenmeen1103]

Do you also have paid software that you want to keep or just trying to keep your windows activation?

[LinkTheRat]

Nope , If there's something important I need to keep I'll just put it on my USB stick and transfer it back when it's all done.

[Enderman]

1) put windows 10 on USB drive (instructions in link)

2) unplug old drive

3) plug in new drive

4) install windows (instructions in link)

5) install your programs and windows updates

6) shut down and plug in old drive

7) make sure your PC boots from the new drive, not the old drive (you can set the boot order in the UEFI)

8) use file explorer to drag your files (not programs or games, only stuff like documents, pictures, saves, etc) from the old drive to the new drive

9) format the old drive

10) use the now clean old drive for mass storage of whatever you want

 

http://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-install-windows-10/

[meenmeen1103]

Check settings>update>activation and see if your windows is linked to your microsoft account. With that, you should be able to activate a fresh install (of the same edition) by just signing in to that account right after install. It prompts for it before you get to the desktop. A fresh install is pretty much always better than a save/restore. However, you can create a system image with a built-in feature in settings>update & security>backup>backup and restore (windows 7). You'd need to use both options on the left to create the image on a different drive, then to create a repair disc (as in CD). There's also the popular Macrium Reflect free software to do the same thing, and also Acronis True Image offers a 30 day trial

[LinkTheRat]

Just now, Enderman said:

1) put windows 10 on USB drive (instructions in link)

2) unplug old drive

3) plug in new drive

4) install windows (instructions in link)

5) install your programs and windows updates

6) shut down and plug in old drive

7) make sure your PC boots from the new drive, not the old drive (you can set the boot order in the UEFI)

8) use file explorer to drag your files (not programs or games, only stuff like documents, pictures, saves, etc) from the old drive to the new drive

9) format the old drive

10) use the now clean old drive for mass storage of whatever you want

 

http://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-install-windows-10/

I am considering this method.

But I got one more question. How do I format the old drive?

[DrakkheN]

Hi,

i would definitely recommend Acronis True Image, since its the most reliable tool.

 

But as a free tool, for cloning or imaging harddrives, i would recommend CloneZilla - http://clonezilla.org/

 

Download a Live CD/USB-Version!

Decide whether you want a direct disc to disc clone or create an image eg. onto an USB drive.

Instructions on both ways are described here: http://clonezilla.org/clonezilla-live-doc.php

 

If the target harddrive is bigger than the source drive, you probably have to resize the partition after cloning, but you can do that within windows.

 

Good luck!

[Enderman]

17 minutes ago, LinkTheRat said:

I am considering this method.

But I got one more question. How do I format the old drive?

 

If it says that you can't format it because of something something windows is on it, then you can go to disk management and delete all the partitions on the drive and then make a new simple volume.

 

[LinkTheRat]

 

Just now, Enderman said:

1) put windows 10 on USB drive (instructions in link)

2) unplug old drive

3) plug in new drive

4) install windows (instructions in link)

5) install your programs and windows updates

6) shut down and plug in old drive

7) make sure your PC boots from the new drive, not the old drive (you can set the boot order in the UEFI)

8) use file explorer to drag your files (not programs or games, only stuff like documents, pictures, saves, etc) from the old drive to the new drive

9) format the old drive

10) use the now clean old drive for mass storage of whatever you want

 

http://www.howtogeek.com/224342/how-to-clean-install-windows-10/

So , just to make sure I got everything right , I'll repeat everything I have to do.

 

1. I open the MediaCreationTool , let it install to my USB flash drive.

2. Once it's done , I unplug the old drive , I put in the new one.

3. I install windows to the new drive , I redownload everything that I need.

4. I shut down the computer and I plug in the old drive.

5. I change the boot order by going into UEFI.

6. Let it restart , I transfer pictures , videos and stuff that I want to keep.

7. I format the old drive

[LinkTheRat]

Just now, Enderman said:

 

If it says that you can't format it because of something something windows is on it, then you can go to disk management and delete all the partitions on the drive and then make a new simple volume.

 

Thanks for helping me trough this. I saw the other posts too from other users , but this one was the one I preferred. I'll update you on the situation once the order arrives.

I made sure to give you all a thumbs up for helping me.

[Enderman]

3 minutes ago, LinkTheRat said:

 

So , just to make sure I got everything right , I'll repeat everything I have to do.

 

1. I open the MediaCreationTool , let it install to my USB flash drive.

2. Once it's done , I unplug the old drive , I put in the new one.

3. I install windows to the new drive , I redownload everything that I need.

4. I shut down the computer and I plug in the old drive.

5. I change the boot order by going into UEFI.

6. Let it restart , I transfer pictures , videos and stuff that I want to keep.

7. I format the old drive

Yup that's exactly it.

For #5 sometimes you can just completely remove a drive from the boot order, so that only your new drive is there.

If somehow you make a mistake and boot into the old drive instead of the new one, it's ok, you can just shut down and try again

[LinkTheRat]

Just now, Enderman said:

Yup that's exactly it.

For #5 sometimes you can just completely remove a drive from the boot order, so that only your new drive is there.

If somehow you make a mistake and boot into the old drive instead of the new one, it's ok, you can just shut down and try again

Thanks! Being just 14 years old , this is the first computer I've ever built and I really appreciate the help. I just wanna make sure I get every detail right so later I won't encounter any more problems.

[Enderman]

15 minutes ago, LinkTheRat said:

Thanks! Being just 14 years old , this is the first computer I've ever built and I really appreciate the help. I just wanna make sure I get every detail right so later I won't encounter any more problems.

Yeah np  clean installing windows can be scary at first but if you do it enough times it becomes easy.

Since one of the first things you do is unplug your drive, even if you mess up something during the installation there is no risk of losing your data, which is great.

[Jovidah]

Best free hard drive migration method? Ctrl A, Ctrl C, Ctrl V.

[Alim]

You can make exact copy with CloneZilla

[LinkTheRat]

23 hours ago, Enderman said:

Yeah np  clean installing windows can be scary at first but if you do it enough times it becomes easy.

Since one of the first things you do is unplug your drive, even if you mess up something during the installation there is no risk of losing your data, which is great.

Hey , I am currently trying to install Windows right now and this message popped up

What do I do now?

[Enderman]

3 hours ago, LinkTheRat said:

Hey , I am currently trying to install Windows right now and this message popped up

What do I do now?

You only have one drive plugged in, right?

And you're sure you backed up anything you want to keep and you're ready to format this drive?

 

Then click on everything and press delete. You will be left with "unallocated space" which you can't delete.

CLick that and press next. Then windows will install and you're done

[LinkTheRat]

24 minutes ago, Enderman said:

You only have one drive plugged in, right?

And you're sure you backed up anything you want to keep and you're ready to format this drive?

 

Then click on everything and press delete. You will be left with "unallocated space" which you can't delete.

CLick that and press next. Then windows will install and you're done

Done.

Now everything is ok the performance is absoliutely fantastic but when I go in games I have 4-9 fps what the fk?

 

[Enderman]

13 minutes ago, LinkTheRat said:

Done.

Now everything is ok the performance is absoliutely fantastic but when I go in games I have 4-9 fps what the fk?

 

1) make sure all windows updates are installed and restart

2) do step 1 again to make sure

3) install gpu drivers from AMD or nvidia, whichever you use

4) make sure monitor is plugged into your GPU

[LinkTheRat]

3 minutes ago, Enderman said:

1) make sure all windows updates are installed and restart

2) do step 1 again to make sure

3) install gpu drivers from AMD or nvidia, whichever you use

4) make sure monitor is plugged into your GPU

I'll try to reinstall Geforce Experience cause I think the drivers are what's causing it. 

[LinkTheRat]

40 minutes ago, Enderman said:

1) make sure all windows updates are installed and restart

2) do step 1 again to make sure

3) install gpu drivers from AMD or nvidia, whichever you use

4) make sure monitor is plugged into your GPU

gg 400 fps in League of Legends now. thanks

 

[Enderman]

3 minutes ago, LinkTheRat said:

gg 400 fps in League of Legends now. thanks

 

yay