Question How do I move my Windows installation to another drive ?

[SamSmart1]

Hi guys,

My PC blue screened yesterday and a friend told me that it looked like it was the HDD that failed and recommended I get a new one as my current one is over 10 years old.

My HDD has Windows installed on it and I'd like to move it to either my existing SSD or new HDD but I'm not sure how and some youtube videos are a bit confusing for me.

Is there a simple way of doing it or is there a simple youtube video I could watch to just follow step-by-step to move the Boot drive to my new HDD or existing SSD

Thanks

 

[USAFRet]

Hi guys,

My PC blue screened yesterday and a friend told me that it looked like it was the HDD that failed and recommended I get a new one as my current one is over 10 years old.

My HDD has windows installed on it and I'd like to move it to either my existing SSD or new HDD but I'm not sure how and some youtube videos are a bit confusing for me.

Is there a simple way of doing it or is there a simple youtube video I could watch to just follow step-by-step to move the Boot drive to my new HDD or existing SSD

Thanks

This is called a "clone". Given the right conditions, it can be done.

What OS?
What are the specs of the system?
Size of the new drive, and actual consumed space on the existing drive?
Does it currently run at all?

 

[Misgar]

My HDD has Windows installed on it and I'd like to move it to either my existing SSD or new HDD

Sorry. You may be out of luck. The process of "moving" Windows to a new drive may not be possible.

If your hard disk is 10 years old, it might have developed numerous bad blocks, making it impossible to retrieve all your programs and files. I hope your personal data is backed up somewhere else, in case of such eventualities. If not, some of it may be lost forever.

Cloning software usually checks the source disk for errors and stops if it detects faults such as bad blocks and CRC errors. If your hard disk is failing and the software cannot read the bad blocks, you may not be able to clone it to a new HDD or SSD.

Even if the cloning process gets through to the end, if the Windows installation on the old drive is corrupted, then the (identical) cloned Windows installation on the new drive will be corrupted too. Cloning doesn't magically fixed all the errors it finds on the old drive, when creating the new drive.

If you can't clone the drive, your could install a fresh copy of Windows on a new drive (preferably an SSD). Install all your favourite programs, reconnect your old (damaged?) drive and try to copy important data files (not programs) over to the new drive.

It usually takes me around 15 to 30 minutes to install Windows, half an hour to tweak the basic settings, then another 2 to 4 hours to install all my favourite programs. Finally you might spend an hour or two locating and copying critical files off the old drive. Total time, half a day.

https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree

 

[SamSmart1]

Sorry. You may be out of luck. The process of "moving" Windows to a new drive may not be possible.

If your hard disk is 10 years old, it might have developed numerous bad blocks, making it impossible to retrieve all your programs and files. I hope your personal data is backed up somewhere else, in case of such eventualities. If not, some of it may be lost forever.

Cloning software usually checks the source disk for errors and stops if it detects faults such as bad blocks and CRC errors. If your hard disk is failing and the software cannot read the bad blocks, you may not be able to clone it to a new HDD or SSD.

Even if the cloning process gets through to the end, if the Windows installation on the old drive is corrupted, then the (identical) cloned Windows installation on the new drive will be corrupted too. Cloning doesn't magically fixed all the errors it finds on the old drive, when creating the new drive.

If you can't clone the drive, your could install a fresh copy of Windows on a new drive (preferably an SSD). Install all your favourite programs, reconnect your old (damaged?) drive and try to copy important data files (not programs) over to the new drive.

It usually takes me around 15 to 30 minutes to install Windows, half an hour to tweak the basic settings, then another 2 to 4 hours to install all my favourite programs. Finally you might spend an hour or two locating and copying critical files off the old drive. Total time, half a day.

https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree

How would I download a new copy of windows onto a new harddrive or ssd if I can’t access my computer, and is there a way to completely delete all files and data on a drive whether it’s new or old

 

[SamSmart1]

This is called a "clone". Given the right conditions, it can be done.

What OS?
What are the specs of the system?
Size of the new drive, and actual consumed space on the existing drive?
Does it currently run at all?

Windows 10
1050ti, amd ryzen 7 3600x, 16gb ram not sure what else is important lol
New drive is 2tb and I think roughly 700gb of consumer space on the existed drife
It did run fine until last night, now it just blue screens before I can even put my password into my computer

 

[Lafong]

Do you have access to anybody else's computer? Friends with PCs?

Yes, there are ways of completely deleting files and data....assuming you can connect the drive to a PC.

 

[USAFRet]

Windows 10
1050ti, amd ryzen 7 3600x, 16gb ram not sure what else is important lol
New drive is 2tb and I think roughly 700gb of consumer space on the existed drife
It did run fine until last night, now it just blue screens before I can even put my password into my computer

If the drive is faulty, you've waited too long.

 

[Misgar]

How would I download a new copy of windows onto a new harddrive or ssd if I can’t access my computer

As @Lafong says, that's where you need a friend/relative/local computer repair shop with another computer, to download and create a bootable USB memory stick with the Windows 10 installation files. It's a relatively simple process, once you've understood the concept.

The basic steps are as follows:

1). Go to the Microsoft web site and download the Windows 10 ISO file.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

2). Use Microsoft's Media Creation tool or a small program called Rufus, to "burn" the ISO file to a USB memory stick (8GB or larger).

3). Fit a new SSD in your computer. Disconnect all other drives.

4). Plug the USB memory stick into the back of the computer and switch on.

5). If the system doesn't detect and boot from USB, you may have to enter the BIOS and set the "boot order" to "USB first".

6). Follow the on screen instructions and install Windows 10 on the new SSD.

7). This can get quite involved, especially if you want to use a "Local Account" instead of a "Microsoft Account". There are numerous guides and videos on the web showing more detail.

is there a way to completely delete all files and data on a drive whether it’s new or old

As already mentioned by @Lafong, there are ways to completely delete everything on the drive, but that assumes the drive is still fully working.

There are many different methods of wiping all data without trace, but check they write random data over the entire surface of the drive, replacing old data with junk data. A simple quick format isn't enough. Files may still be recoverable using programs like Recuva.

If the drive is covered in "Pending Sectors" and/or "Bad Blocks", you may experience difficulty wiping it. A drive with these hard faults should be dumped/scrapped/binned/never used again, after file recovery.

If the drive has gone bad, one method of preventing file retrieval is to grind it into small pieces in a hard disk shredding machine. This is how some Government departments get rid of their drives. Another less sophisticated method is to hammer a 6 inch nail through the casing, or drill holes in it (take care). I prefer to remove the cover plate and whack the inside with a large hammer (wear safety goggles).

If the drive is still accessible when plugged into a computer, I'd probaby use a small program called Eraser. Or you could boot from DBAN (which I've not used). There are probably much better ways to wipe a disk.
https://eraser.heidi.ie/download/
https://dban.org/

Just make sure you've copied all the data that is still accessible over to your new SSD, before wiping the old drive.