Moving Windows to an SSD

[Quakemz]

So my friend just got an SSD. His current build just has a 2TB 7200rpm drive. He wants to reinstall windows to the SSD. We do NOT have the Window 8 disc, but we do have the product key to the already installed Win8 on the HDD. What is the best course of action for a clean install of the OS onto the SSD?

 

[jackson1420]

Backup important files.

Install Windows 8 using the key. If you have issues they give you an 800 number and it takes a quick few minutes. But honestly I haven't seen any issues yet after about 20 installs.

Restore docs.

Let me know if you have any questions

 

[Quakemz]

Yeah that is the plan. I was just curious if there was a better way to do it. Also, do I need to remove windows 8 from the HDD since the key is already activated on it? I've never done this before so I'm confused. Could you give me a quick step by step guide on what order I should do everything?

 

[jackson1420]

It is all automatic. Installing Windows 8 gives you an option to format the drive so it's "fresh". Just format the drive where Windows is installed. But here is a guide I found really quick for Win 8:

http://www.gigabyte.com/WebPage/104/step-clean.html

At least the formatting part is useful. Everything else is pretty straightforward.

 

[Quakemz]

It is all automatic. Installing Windows 8 gives you an option to format the drive so it's "fresh". Just format the drive where Windows is installed. But here is a guide I found really quick for Win 8:

http://www.gigabyte.com/WebPage/104/step-clean.html

At least the formatting part is useful. Everything else is pretty straightforward.

I don't have the disc, though. That is the problem.

 

[mc962]

For the windows on secondary hard drive bit, it's fine as long as you don't have it connected while installing on the primary drive. At one point I technically had 8 on both my HDD and primary SSD until I formatted it.

I probably wouldnt recommend touching anything on the HDD until you format it, just in case. But all you need to do once windows is installed is plug the HDD back in, start up the computer (make sure the SSD is before the HDD in the boot order in BIOS), go to disk management, and format the HDD. I had no problems with this.

I believe this might help you with your disc issues, give it a read and see where that gets you: http://lifehacker.com/how-to-create-a-windows-8-installation-dvd-or-usb-drive-505769939

 

[montwel]

Using clone software or "migrate os to ssd"