[SOLVED] hdd to ssd windows 10 migration.

Aug 2, 2019
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So I finally bought myself an ssd after the longest time. I'm just looking for some help on the best way to migrate my Windows 10 from my current hdd to the new ssd. I currently have a 1tb hdd which is almost full (about 10gb free). This mostly consists of movies, games and various other documents. Would my best bet be to delete the bulk of hdd before migrating and then re downloading the stuff I deleted afterwards or just migrating the whole drive. Also what would be the best software to use for the migration. If anyone has any advice or tips it would be much appreciated thanks.
 
Solution
So could you give me a rough outline of the process?
How about a detailed outline...;)

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Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
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Verify the actual used space on the current drive is significantly below the size of the new SSD
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive
Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD
This is to allow the...

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
OK...

Reduce the actual consumed space on the current HDD to below 800GB, and we can migrate the whole thing over.
Look through your drive, and I'll bet you find a couple hundred GB of old gunk you can get rid of.

Get to that 800GB point, and we'll then go into specifics on the migration.
 
Aug 2, 2019
16
0
10
OK...

Reduce the actual consumed space on the current HDD to below 800GB, and we can migrate the whole thing over.
Look through your drive, and I'll bet you find a couple hundred GB of old gunk you can get rid of.

Get to that 800GB point, and we'll then go into specifics on the migration.
Okay that shouldn't be a problem. I'll easily be able to delete a couple games that I can re download at a later date. I'm planning on carrying out the migration tomorrow as this is when the SSD arrives. So could you give me a rough outline of the process?
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
So could you give me a rough outline of the process?
How about a detailed outline...;)

-----------------------------
Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
-----------------------------
Verify the actual used space on the current drive is significantly below the size of the new SSD
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive
Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD
This is to allow the system to try to boot from ONLY the SSD
Swap the SATA cables around so that the new drive is connected to the same SATA port as the old drive
Power up, and verify the BIOS boot order
If good, continue the power up

It should boot from the new drive, just like the old drive.
Maybe reboot a time or two, just to make sure.

If it works, and it should, all is good.

Later, reconnect the old drive and wipe all partitions on it.
This will probably require the commandline diskpart function, and the clean command.

Ask questions if anything is unclear.
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Solution
Aug 2, 2019
16
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okay thank you, just a couple questions. I'm assuming I don't need to make a backup as I would effectively only be copying the original drive so the contents are not put at risk? Also, do you have a rough idea of how long the closing process would take if the drive was around the 800GB mark? Lastly, once I've got the clone of the drive on the ssd and I've wiped the original, if I want to move some files back to the wiped drive is it as easy as dragging and dropping?
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
For Steam games:

Steam games location
In the steam client:
Steam
Settings
Downloads
Steam Library Folders
Add library folder
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To move an already installed game
Games library
Right click the game
Properties
Local Files
Move Install Folder
 
Aug 2, 2019
16
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10
Either a full drive backup to some other physical drive.
Or
Find your critical personal docs and copy them elsewhere.

A migration like this incurs no greater risk than normal use. But...normal use can result in total data loss.
Depends on your level of risk acceptance.
So would you recommend buying an external hdd to backup my entire system on?
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Hi, just to say thanks for your help last night and that I've managed to get the ssd installed and I'm up and running. Just one last thing. What is the best way to wipe the partition of my old hdd now that I've reconnected it?
Show us a screencap of your Disk Management window.

But, if there is nothing on that drive you wish to keep, commandline diskpart, and the clean command.

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-clean-and-format-storage-drive-using-diskpart-windows-10