[SOLVED] Can I put an SSD C: Drive from old computer into new as C: drive?

[RichieTheFirst]

I plan on building a new computer sometime in the next month but I want to keep my current PCs ssd as the boot drive.

So I was wondering - if I take the ssd out of my current computer and plug it into my new computer as the boot drive with windows 10 on it. Will this work as I would expect or will I run into problems trying to do this? Thank you.

 

[kanewolf]

I plan on building a new computer sometime in the next month but I want to keep my current PCs ssd as the boot drive.

So I was wondering - if I take the ssd out of my current computer and plug it into my new computer as the boot drive with windows 10 on it. Will this work as I would expect or will I run into problems trying to do this? Thank you.

Unknown, but less than 50/50 chance. There are three possible options. Works fine. Seems to work but has nagging issues or blue screens. Won't boot. How different your new motherboard compared to your old one is a significant factor.

 

[Djonito132]

Well not an expert on that but I was thinking of buying a new PC and now wanting to lose my data i was planning to put my 2TB HDD on the new pc but when i realized my CPU is actually good and i run it with integrated graphics and my integrated graphics do all the fps drop i gave up on the new pc now im planning to buy a Gainward GeForce GTX 1050 TI 4GB

 

[RichieTheFirst]

Unknown, but less than 50/50 chance. There are three possible options. Works fine. Seems to work but has nagging issues or blue screens. Won't boot. How different your new motherboard compared to your old one is a significant factor.

My old PC is running on an asrock z77extreme4 motherboard with an i5 3570k cpu. I was going to upgrade to an AMD 3600x cpu running on.. pretty much any motherboard under 150 (whichevers the best deal at the time)

So in short... very different. So if I were to go through all this, is my data in danger of being lost? Thats the most important factor. If it doesnt boot, I can always take extra steps to ensure it works, but losing my stuff or accidentally formatting anything is not an option.

 

[RichieTheFirst]

Well not an expert on that but I was thinking of buying a new PC and now wanting to lose my data i was planning to put my 2TB HDD on the new pc but when i realized my CPU is actually good and i run it with integrated graphics and my integrated graphics do all the fps drop i gave up on the new pc now im planning to buy a Gainward GeForce GTX 1050 TI 4GB

My computer is almost 8 years old and I use very cpu and gpu intensive software so upgrading is manditory at this point

 

[dorsai]

I plan on building a new computer sometime in the next month but I want to keep my current PCs ssd as the boot drive.

So I was wondering - if I take the ssd out of my current computer and plug it into my new computer as the boot drive with windows 10 on it. Will this work as I would expect or will I run into problems trying to do this? Thank you.

The below is of course at your own risk...I have no idea what your technical level of ability is.

First step is back up your data.

Second step it to uninstall any programs you have like Microsoft Office or Adobe or any others that require licenses...make sure you have the license Key for each app so you can reinstall once you're up and running on your new build without problems.

Option the new motherboard BIOS to accept your boot SSD...once Windows starts to load you're going to need to do a clean install of Windows 10 by hitting F11 to open the Windows repair utility.

Select Troubleshoot and then Reset This PC...select the options to keep your files...follow the steps to reinstall Windows. Once the re-install completes install any drivers needed for your new setup. Once that's done hit Windows updates and let it do it's thing.

As long as you have a valid retail license for your current Windows install you shouldn't have any issue with this process. The very rare issues I've ever had upgrading hardware were resolved with a quick phone call to Microsoft and explaining I was replacing a piece of hardware...they have always reset the license without a problem.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

My old PC is running on an asrock z77extreme4 motherboard with an i5 3570k cpu. I was going to upgrade to an AMD 3600x cpu running on.. pretty much any motherboard under 150 (whichevers the best deal at the time)

So in short... very different. So if I were to go through all this, is my data in danger of being lost? Thats the most important factor. If it doesnt boot, I can always take extra steps to ensure it works, but losing my stuff or accidentally formatting anything is not an option.

And this is why backups are preached to the hilt here. If you do not have a full, tested backup BEFORE you start down this road then stop immediately and create one. Moving from one architecture to another demands a clean reinstallation of everything. Unless, of course, you want to spend the next several weeks/months chasing down the multitude of problems that will result if you simply move the drive (assuming it even attempts to boot, of course).

 

[USAFRet]

My old PC is running on an asrock z77extreme4 motherboard with an i5 3570k cpu. I was going to upgrade to an AMD 3600x cpu running on.. pretty much any motherboard under 150 (whichevers the best deal at the time)

So in short... very different. So if I were to go through all this, is my data in danger of being lost? Thats the most important factor. If it doesnt boot, I can always take extra steps to ensure it works, but losing my stuff or accidentally formatting anything is not an option.

I give that a less than 5% chance of working, no matter what magic dust you sprinkle over it.

A new system needs a fresh OS install. Instead of trying to drag along years worth of old gunk.


For ANY hardware or major software change, your personal data needs to be backed up and on another physical drive.
You can be as careful as you want, until that 'oops' moment.
Losing your stuff is always a possibility. Take steps to prevent that.

Your new Ryzen system absolutely needs a fresh OS install.

 

[kanewolf]

My old PC is running on an asrock z77extreme4 motherboard with an i5 3570k cpu. I was going to upgrade to an AMD 3600x cpu running on.. pretty much any motherboard under 150 (whichevers the best deal at the time)

So in short... very different. So if I were to go through all this, is my data in danger of being lost? Thats the most important factor. If it doesnt boot, I can always take extra steps to ensure it works, but losing my stuff or accidentally formatting anything is not an option.

You need to assume you will have to do a clean OS install. If you are concerned about uour data then the safest thing is to buy a new disk, install the OS on the new drive. Then after the new PC is functional, connect your old disk and copy data off it. You should have backups of critical data. Disk drives can, and do, fail at any time.

 

[USAFRet]

Oops, it won't boot in the new system. Now what?
Oops, it won't boot in the new system, but it tried to reconfigure itself to do so, and won't even work if I put it back in the old system (yes, we've seen this happen)
Oops, I broke off the SATA connector on the drive
Oops, oops, oops....

All specific things we've seen here.

 

[Andyme177]

Is getting a cheap Sata SDD drive out of the question. In the past years I've always installed a fresh OS on a new drive and then to save my old files put that old drive in as a slave transferred the stuff I wanted then format the drive as extra storage. I found several SSD and SSHD 2TB drives for $50.00 and under my B450 board can handle 1 M.2 and 4 Sata drives or 6 Sata drives.

 

[GenericUser]

I just want to say it can be done, but it's definitely not best practice.

I've admittedly been doing this myself, with my desktop having transformed over the years from my last full OS install of Windows 7 back when it came out in 2009. That same initial install has migrated across 4 different processor/mobo upgrades, and the OS install itself across a couple different SSDs (Ship of Theseus anyone?). I've run into a few small issues here and there, but nothing major or showstopping by any means.

However, going from an Intel setup to an AMD one essentially mandates a fresh install. I've seen other people try to do what you're looking to do while hopping over to the other side of the CPU fence, and it never worked even a single time. In my instance I was sticking with an Intel processor each time, so I didn't have that specific hurdle to worry about.

Despite the success I've had however, I'd still suggest you take the recommendations everyone else has given you, and just do a fresh install. It will be easiest for you in the long run, and it's the cleanest and safest option.

And, in your case going from Intel to AMD, it's mandatory anyway, from what I've seen.

If you still wish to try however, absolutely make backups. One should always have their data backed up in any circumstances anyway.

 

[RichieTheFirst]

The below is of course at your own risk...I have no idea what your technical level of ability is.

First step is back up your data.

Second step it to uninstall any programs you have like Microsoft Office or Adobe or any others that require licenses...make sure you have the license Key for each app so you can reinstall once you're up and running on your new build without problems.

Option the new motherboard BIOS to accept your boot SSD...once Windows starts to load you're going to need to do a clean install of Windows 10 by hitting F11 to open the Windows repair utility.

Select Troubleshoot and then Reset This PC...select the options to keep your files...follow the steps to reinstall Windows. Once the re-install completes install any drivers needed for your new setup. Once that's done hit Windows updates and let it do it's thing.

As long as you have a valid retail license for your current Windows install you shouldn't have any issue with this process. The very rare issues I've ever had upgrading hardware were resolved with a quick phone call to Microsoft and explaining I was replacing a piece of hardware...they have always reset the license without a problem.

Thank you. Thats actually what I was afraid I'd have to do.

 

[RichieTheFirst]

You need to assume you will have to do a clean OS install. If you are concerned about uour data then the safest thing is to buy a new disk, install the OS on the new drive. Then after the new PC is functional, connect your old disk and copy data off it. You should have backups of critical data. Disk drives can, and do, fail at any time.

Yeah that seems to be the direction I'm gonna go. Thanks.

 

[DSzymborski]

Thank you. Thats actually what I was afraid I'd have to do.

The backup part should already be done, whether or not you're upgrading. Every minute of every day is another opportunity for you to lose this data forever. The 3-2-1 rule-of-thumb, which is three copies of important data, on at least two different PCs/formats, with at least one off-site, is considered the minimum for responsible data protection.

You should never, ever lose a single file of important data in even the worst case scenario for a Windows install. If you would lose any data if someone came into your house right now, ripped out your hard drive, and smashed it with a hammer, then there's a serious lack of PC upkeep involved here. Important data should be treated as if it were important!

If this is still the install from eight years ago, I'd be advocating a full wipe-and-reinstall even if Windows installs were modular in this manner. That's a long time to let Windows gunk accumulate.