[SOLVED] Old HDD's OS

[paris7356]

So, currently on my old system, there is a HDD which contains all the files and the OS,and I am planning on getting a new PC.My question is, if I still use the same HDD and get a new SSD would I need to reinstall the OS on the new PC?And if so can I instead of having the OS on the slow HDD can I transfer the OS to the new SSD?

Thanks!

 

[jay32267]

Usually when you buy a new system the OS comes installed.

If you are getting a system without the OS installed I would do a clean install to the drive in the new machine.

I would not try to clone due to the different hardware in the new machine.

I would use the HDD as a backup drive for the SSD in the new machine.

 

[Gam3r01]

You would need to do a clean install of windows.
During the install, leave the HDD out of the system and just install it onto to SSD, after windows is installed then you can add the HDD in.

 

[mikewinddale]

If you have substantial hardware changes, always do a new install of the OS. Basically, if you change the motherboard, you have to do a new OS install.

There's basically two ways you can do this, each with pros and cons:

(1) Just do a clean install of the OS on the SSD, and manually migrate all your user files (save games, Word documents, etc.) from the HDD to the SSD.
Pro: just doing a clean install of the OS on the SSD is easy
Con: migrating all your user files can be hard if they're scattered all over the place

(2) Back up your HDD (in case of mishap or disaster), install it in the new computer, then do a new install of the OS on top of the old OS, telling it NOT to overwrite the non-OS files on the drive. Then, clone the HDD to the SSD. Once you've cloned the HDD to the SSD, you can boot off the SSD.
Pro: this way, you don't have to manually migrate all your user files. Your user files will stay put as they are, because the new OS install will only overwrite the previous OS. So you install the new OS on top of the old OS on the HDD, and then you clone the whole HDD to the SSD.
Con: installing a new OS on top of an old OS is a little trickier than just clean installing an OS on a blank drive. You have to make sure you specify the settings correctly to make sure you're only overwriting the OS and not the user files. Plus, you have to make sure that you've backed up your HDD (which you should be doing already!!!) in case something goes wrong, and the OS installation overwrites things it isn't supposed to.

So if all your user files are tidily organized, and you know exactly where they are, go with #1.