How to uninstall windows and what happens when i reboot?

[Benc12]

So im planning to buy an SSD, and im obviously going to put my operating system on there, however, i already have an SSHD with Windows 10 installed. My question is how do i uninstall windows? and if i was and to reboot my computer what would happen? i dont have a activation key i just have a CD, so how would i go about making sure it boots from the SSD? and do i have to do anything before uninstalling.

 

[USAFRet]

So im planning to buy an SSD, and im obviously going to put my operating system on there, however, i already have an SSHD with Windows 10 installed. My question is how do i uninstall windows? and if i was and to reboot my computer what would happen? i dont have a activation key i just have a CD, so how would i go about making sure it boots from the SSD? and do i have to do anything before uninstalling.

1. Is your current OS activated? Where did it come from?

2. There is no "uninstall" for the OS (we'll go into details later)

3. Which specific OS is this?

 

[Benc12]

So im planning to buy an SSD, and im obviously going to put my operating system on there, however, i already have an SSHD with Windows 10 installed. My question is how do i uninstall windows? and if i was and to reboot my computer what would happen? i dont have a activation key i just have a CD, so how would i go about making sure it boots from the SSD? and do i have to do anything before uninstalling.

1. Is your current OS activated? Where did it come from?

2. There is no "uninstall" for the OS (we'll go into details later)

3. Which specific OS is this?

Yeah its activated, and i got it from a company i bought a custom built pc, and got windows CD with it. And its windows 10 64 bit

 

[USAFRet]

So im planning to buy an SSD, and im obviously going to put my operating system on there, however, i already have an SSHD with Windows 10 installed. My question is how do i uninstall windows? and if i was and to reboot my computer what would happen? i dont have a activation key i just have a CD, so how would i go about making sure it boots from the SSD? and do i have to do anything before uninstalling.

1. Is your current OS activated? Where did it come from?

2. There is no "uninstall" for the OS (we'll go into details later)

3. Which specific OS is this?

Yeah its activated, and i got it from a company i bought a custom built pc, and got windows CD with it. And its windows 10 64 bit

OK..already valid and activated.
No problem installing on a new drive.

Create a Win 10 install USB or DVD, here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
The one you have is ancient. A new one created today will contain all the current updates, etc.

Disconnect the old drive, and install the new drive.

Install the OS on the new drive.
How to do a CLEAN installation of Windows 10

Later, reconnect the old drive, and wipe ALL partitions on it.
Easiest way is diskpart at the commandline or powershell, and the clean command.
Be very careful of which drive you're accessing when you do this.

 

[USAFRet]

Or, if space requirement fit...you could do a clone operation from the old drive to the new drive.
This takes everything over to the new drive.

If your new SSD is significantly larger than the current consumed space on the old drive, clone it all over.

'significantly' means...for a 250GB new SSD, your total consumed space on the old drive needs to be below 200GB.

Just like this:
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 as necessary.
Delete the 450MB Recovery Partition, here:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/4f1b84ac-b193-40e3-943a-f45d52e23685/cant-delete-extra-healthy-recovery-partitions-and-healthy-efi-system-partition?forum=w8itproinstall
-----------------------------

 

[Benc12]

So im planning to buy an SSD, and im obviously going to put my operating system on there, however, i already have an SSHD with Windows 10 installed. My question is how do i uninstall windows? and if i was and to reboot my computer what would happen? i dont have a activation key i just have a CD, so how would i go about making sure it boots from the SSD? and do i have to do anything before uninstalling.

1. Is your current OS activated? Where did it come from?

2. There is no "uninstall" for the OS (we'll go into details later)

3. Which specific OS is this?

Yeah its activated, and i got it from a company i bought a custom built pc, and got windows CD with it. And its windows 10 64 bit

OK..already valid and activated.
No problem installing on a new drive.

Create a Win 10 install USB or DVD, here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
The one you have is ancient. A new one created today will contain all the current updates, etc.

Disconnect the old drive, and install the new drive.

Install the OS on the new drive.
How to do a CLEAN installation of Windows 10

Later, reconnect the old drive, and wipe ALL partitions on it.
Easiest way is diskpart at the commandline or powershell, and the clean command.
Be very careful of which drive you're accessing when you do this.

So the old drive would need to be wiped? Id lose all my data (which isnt a problem just wanting to be clear)

 

[Benc12]

No i have used 900Gb of my SSHD i dont think ill be spending that much on a SSD maybe around £100 so it wont be near the size to do that

 

[USAFRet]

No i have used 900Gb of my SSHD i dont think ill be spending that much on a SSD maybe around £100 so it wont be near the size to do that

OK...if your current drive is 900GB consumed, a clone operation is not in the cards...:lol:
So this requires a clean install on the new SSD. Either 250GB or 500GB, depending on budget.

This also requires a reinstallation of all your applications.
Your personal data...the ideal way forward is to copy anything you want to keep off to another drive, and then wipe the old OS drive.
There is no "uninstall Windows and keep everything else"

 

[Benc12]

So it isnt as hard as it seems, i need to get windows onto a USB or Disc. (can i not use my CD i got with the computer?) unplug my old SSHD. Plug in the new SSD. install the windows onto the new drive. Plug in the old SSHD wipe it. And im done then? im trying to practice doing all these hardware replacements cos im in college in computer hardware you see so just trying to get to grips with it all whilst im still a student haha. Thanks for all your help.

 

[USAFRet]

So it isnt as hard as it seems, i need to get windows onto a USB or Disc. (can i not use my CD i got with the computer?) unplug my old SSHD. Plug in the new SSD. install the windows onto the new drive. Plug in the old SSHD wipe it. And im done then? im trying to practice doing all these hardware replacements cos im in college in computer hardware you see so just trying to get to grips with it all whilst im still a student haha. Thanks for all your help.

Yeah, that's basically it.
The reason I recommend creating a new USB/DVD install is because that will be a current version, vs the ancient thing you have from the manufacturer.

Install with your existing one, and you'll go through several hours of updates.
Install from a newly created one, all that stuff is already there.

All you need is 1 or 2 blank 8GB USB sticks, and this: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
1 USB for the OS, and 1 for all your drivers (if needed). The Windows install should install enough stuff to get you up and running.

 

[Benc12]

Thanks for everything ill order a SSD in the next couple of days and get it sorted