How to remove your OS from your hard drive and install it on your SSD

[Johnson Deng]

I have a 500gb hard drive that's I've recently run out of space on. I decided to pick up a 480 gb SSD because of the Cyber Monday sale. I currently have everything installed on my hard drive and would like to remove the OS from the hard drive and reinstall it on my SSD.

My question is how to complete the process and also what will change when I transfer the OS. The primary use of the SSD will be storing games that I mainly play and my OS while my HDD will be storing other random things such as movies, and less played games.

When the OS is transferred will my desktop look different and what settings will be changed?

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, Johnson Deng!

I'd strongly recommend you to perform a clean install of the Windows OS onto your SSD. The cloning is only recommended if you don't have the Windows Installation media, however, you can easily create it using these MS guidelines: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/clean-install
After having a bootable media with your current OS version, plug the SSD and unplug the HDD from the system until the installation is completed.
This way you'd avoid any OS confusion that is most likely to occur if there are more storage drives connected to the motherboard at the time of the fresh install. Once you have the OS up and running on the SSD, you can plug back the HDD, backup any important data from it and reformat it. ( You can do that beforehand as well).

I can suggest you a couple of tutorials that can give very detailed information about SSD & HDD optimization.
Win 7 - http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds
Win 8 - http://www.overclock.net/t/1240779/seans-windows-8-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

Hope it helps.
Keep me posted if you have more questions!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[The Original Ralph]

if you don't want to do a clean install, google for EaseUS ToDo Backup and download their free version. THe interface is user friendly, easy to decipher.

Select clone, on the first page select the source drive (your HDD) and then on the 2nd' page, after selecting the target drive, at the bottom be sure to select "optimize for SSD" and "sector by sector".

Depending on your BIOS, the cloned drive may or may not boot the first time - if it doesn't, insert your windows dvd and select "repair installation" when it loads. After that it'll boot

fwiw

 

[Johnson Deng]

Hey there, Johnson Deng!

I'd strongly recommend you to perform a clean install of the Windows OS onto your SSD. The cloning is only recommended if you don't have the Windows Installation media, however, you can easily create it using these MS guidelines: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/clean-install
After having a bootable media with your current OS version, plug the SSD and unplug the HDD from the system until the installation is completed.
This way you'd avoid any OS confusion that is most likely to occur if there are more storage drives connected to the motherboard at the time of the fresh install. Once you have the OS up and running on the SSD, you can plug back the HDD, backup any important data from it and reformat it. ( You can do that beforehand as well).

I can suggest you a couple of tutorials that can give very detailed information about SSD & HDD optimization.
Win 7 - http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds
Win 8 - http://www.overclock.net/t/1240779/seans-windows-8-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

Hope it helps.
Keep me posted if you have more questions!
SuperSoph_WD

Hey thanks for all the help, the SSD i've ordered is on the way. So what you're saying is that I should install the files of the OS on a USB drive and take out the HDD after i've installed the SSD and then afterwards install the OS on the SSD then re plug in the HDD? Correct? Will my desktop change? Anything I should know about?

 

[jsmithepa]

If you bought a Samsung, as most folks here would tell you if you ask, it comes with a cloning tool for this precise purpose.

If you current OS is working fine and happy with it, I don't see why you need to re-install, UNLESS you want to make some fundamental changes like move all your Apps to the HD, but at 480G, I wager you don't need to.

 

[Johnson Deng]

If you bought a Samsung, as most folks here would tell you if you ask, it comes with a cloning tool for this precise purpose.

If you current OS is working fine and happy with it, I don't see why you need to re-install, UNLESS you want to make some fundamental changes like move all your Apps to the HD, but at 480G, I wager you don't need to.

I want the OS on the SSD because my computer would start much much faster and I would like to move some of my apps onto my SSD while I transition my HDD to more of a storage drive.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there again, Johnson Deng!

Just like @jsmithepa already mentioned, you do have the option of cloning using the software that comes with the SSD. However, if you decide to go with it, I'd advise you to consider re-installing the software. Cloning the programs/applications as well might cause you some loading issues that could result in under-performance of the software itself.

I'd suggest you to check the links I shared in order to understand what I meant in my previous post. Do a backup of your files from the HDD somewhere else, this is the best way to prevent data loss when you temper with the storage drives (which is what you'd be doing).
Once you have that data safe and sound somewhere else, you can simply unplug the HDD from the system and plug only the SSD in order to begin a clean install. (For this you'd need the original Windows Installation media or you can simply create a new one before unplugging the HDD using the MS guidelines)
When you have only the SSD and the installation media DVD/USB connected, you can start the clean install of Windows onto the solid-state drive.
When that is completed, make sure the boot priority in BIOS is set properly to the SSD (instead of the current HDD).
Afterwards, you can simply plug back the HDD, reformat it through Disk Management by deleting all the partitions until all the space in Disk Management becomes 'Unallocated' > then you can 'Create a New Simple Volume' and use the HDD as a secondary storage drive for your data in addition to the new primary drive (the SSD).

I hope I was able to explain it better this time.
Good luck!
SuperSoph_WD