Can i move operating system to new SSD

[james smith 2153]

i just finished installing a new 120GB WD green SSD and was wondering how i would go about (if possible) moving windows 10 onto it

[Farhan E Husnain]

There are some options..

 

here is a link which might be useful 

https://windowsreport.com/move-windows-10-ssd/

https://lifehacker.com/5837543/how-to-migrate-to-a-solid-state-drive-without-reinstalling-windows

[james smith 2153]

Just now, Farhan E Husnain said:

There are some options..

 

here is a link which might be useful 

https://windowsreport.com/move-windows-10-ssd/

https://lifehacker.com/5837543/how-to-migrate-to-a-solid-state-drive-without-reinstalling-windows

thanks

[GrockleTD]

1 hour ago, james smith 2153 said:

thanks

really, you could have tried google

[Zmax]

Hi

 

 

-- You can use software to create a clone of your old drive

 

Macrium is one of those, they have a free version.

 

https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree

[.Saul]

https://www.easeus.com/backup-utility/migrate-windows-10-to-ssd.html

I used this method before and it worked.

[userzero]

Take the opportunity to make the most of a new SSD and install a fresh OS onto it then add your favourite apps and games to it only.

[Agonizel]

If you backed up your files on your current C:System drive, you can just re-install windows with the windows tool per USB and put it on the SSD

[GoodBytes]

Keep in mind that cloning drive is designed for 2 identical down to the same firmware transfer of data from one to another.

There is a big miss conception that it works for different drives. It COULD work, but they are 0 error correction, expect failure, or issues that will be raised upon Windows Update or software installation. The proper procedure is doing a disk image and deployment. That is a lengthy process, which can take up to the same time as a clean install of the system, or a bit shorter, all depending on the setup you have.

 

My recommendation is to do a clean install of Windows, check for updates, install/update drivers, update all store apps, uninstall what you don't want. Then transfer your data, install your programs, install Steam, transfer your games to the same location where you installed Steam in the right folders, and Steam will take care of the rest when you'll run the game (detect it, check files, download and install anything missing, marked it as installed in the library, and run the game)

[Lady Fitzgerald]

20 minutes ago, GoodBytes said:

Keep in mind that cloning drive is designed for 2 identical down to the same firmware transfer of data from one to another.

There is a big miss conception that it works for different drives. It COULD work, but there is 0 error correction, expect failure, or issues that will be raised upon Windows Update or software installation. The proper procedure is doing a disk image and deployment. That is a lengthy process, which can take up to the same time as a clean install of the system, or a bit shorter, all depending on the setup.

 

My recommendation is to do a clean install of Windows, check for updates, install/update drivers, update all store apps, uninstall what you don't want. Then transfer your data, install your programs, install Steam, transfer your games to the same location where you installed Steam in the right folders, and Steam will take care of the rest when you'll run the game (detect it, check files, download and install anything missing, marked it as installed in the library, and run the game)

Horse feathers! Cloning is a simple, fast, one step process that is easier and faster than imaginging and restoring (and even imaging and restoring is far faster than a cleanreinstall). As long as the original OS installation was running well and the clone of a System drive is going to be used in the same computer the source drive is in, drivers will not be an issue (firmware is not transferred when cloning or doing an image and restore).

 

I've cloned Win 7 and my programs frrom HDDs to SSDs and even SSDs to SSDs multiple times without any problems (other than the one time the source drive, a data only drive, had become corrupted).

[glenalz81]

42 minutes ago, james smith 2153 said:

i just finished installing a new 120GB WD green SSD and was wondering how i would go about (if possible) moving windows 10 onto it

Would strongly recommend a clean install.

 

If you have a Microsoft account link it to your current windows then when fresh windows is installed it's just a case of signing in to verify your copy of windows and jobs a good'n.(unless you still have your windows key then no issue)

 

Windows 10 Media creation tool is available free here,  https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

 

If you happened to run into the " GPT Partition style"  error,  it's no biggy,  see solution 1 here,  http://www.eassos.com/blog/the-selected-disk-is-of-the-gpt-partition-style/

 

That's how i'd do it. 

 

 

 

[GoodBytes]

7 minutes ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Horse feathers! Cloning is a simple, fast, one step process that is easier and faster than imaginging and restoring (and even imaging and restoring is far faster than a cleanreinstall). As long as the original OS installation was running well and the clone of a System drive is going to be used in the same computer the source drive is in, drivers will not be an issue (firmware is not transferred when cloning or doing an image and restore).

 

I've cloned Win 7 and my programs frrom HDDs to SSDs and even SSDs to SSDs multiple times without any problems (other than the one time the source drive, a data only drive, had become corrupted).

Explain to that the many people on the forum who had a failed clone  where there system was filled with issues, or just would not boot anymore, and resorted to a clean install, and just wasted time. I am sure they would appreciate your expertise in making a successful clone process.

 

"simple and fast" are great indicators that there is no validation, no error correction, and just dump mindlessly data from both drives, even if both drive doesn't work identically, including floating bits from past deleted files, and calls it a day, and you get what you get.

 

Disk imaging process is the proper procedure, like burning an ISO file on a disk. Data is validated during the copy process, when forming the image, and after deploying the image, and you don't carry floating bits.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Just now, GoodBytes said:

Explain to that the many people on the forum who had a failed clone  where there system was filled with issues, or just would not boot anymore, and resorted to a clean install, and just wasted time. I am sure they would appreciate your expertise in making a successful clone process.

I'm sorry, i should have menthioned the only "expertise" I used was to use Macrium Reflect for cloning (I recommend the free version for mostt people) and imaging. I have had problems with other migration programs but never with Macrium Reflect as long as the source and destination drives are in good condition. 

[userzero]

Yeah I must admit I have cloned literally tens of thousands of hard drives over the years with barely any issues to report. Not everyone has time to do things by the book. But hey, checkdisk, DISM repairs, SFC scans work wonders and I always run something like this after a successful cloning.

[james smith 2153]

3 hours ago, Grockle88 said:

really, you could have tried google

I did and most of the results were outdated, I just wanted a second opinion from someone who knows what they were talking about, sorry for playing it safe as I didn't want to risk any of my data to be lost through a sketchy method. 

[james smith 2153]

3 hours ago, GoodBytes said:

Keep in mind that cloning drive is designed for 2 identical down to the same firmware transfer of data from one to another.

There is a big miss conception that it works for different drives. It COULD work, but they are 0 error correction, expect failure, or issues that will be raised upon Windows Update or software installation. The proper procedure is doing a disk image and deployment. That is a lengthy process, which can take up to the same time as a clean install of the system, or a bit shorter, all depending on the setup you have.

 

My recommendation is to do a clean install of Windows, check for updates, install/update drivers, update all store apps, uninstall what you don't want. Then transfer your data, install your programs, install Steam, transfer your games to the same location where you installed Steam in the right folders, and Steam will take care of the rest when you'll run the game (detect it, check files, download and install anything missing, marked it as installed in the library, and run the game)

I am going to to just that

[GrockleTD]

1 hour ago, james smith 2153 said:

I did and most of the results were outdated, I just wanted a second opinion from someone who knows what they were talking about, sorry for playing it safe as I didn't want to risk any of my data to be lost through a sketchy method. 

thats fair enough. sorry for being slightly rude

[GoodBytes]

8 minutes ago, james smith 2153 said:

I did and most of the results were outdated, I just wanted a second opinion from someone who knows what they were talking about, sorry for playing it safe as I didn't want to risk any of my data to be lost through a sketchy method. 

While I don't know every single cloning software that exists on this planet and can't assure you that they all do what they are said to do, using trusted software should only read the data from the HDD (origin/original drive), and write only on the SSD (new drive/destination).

 

If you have free time, in the case it is a failure, than you could try cloning. My recommendations are based on reactions here, and aims to ensure optimal experience of your system and reduce problems that one might experience.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

3 hours ago, james smith 2153 said:

...I just wanted a second opinion from someone who knows what they were talking about, sorry for playing it safe as I didn't want to risk any of my data to be lost through a sketchy method. 

I've successfully cloned OS drives multiple times using Macrium Reflect without fail. Your orignal data is untouched by the process so it's never at risk unless the drive was already failing. The only caveat to cloning the operating system is the cloned drive is to be used in the same machine the original is currenty in (in other words, you are replacing the original OS drive with the cloned drive).