[SOLVED] Reinstall Win10 on bigger SSD

Sep 8, 2019
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I have 2 SSD's in my current Windows 10 system:
C:\ is a 250GB
E:\ is a 1TB

Obviously, Win10 is running on the smaller C: drive. I want to reinstall Windows so the 1TB drive becomes my C:\. I just spoke to Microsoft and they said it's not possible. Huh??

I have burned the ISO to a DVD and I've made a system backup on an external drive. Just need to know what steps to follow from here.
 
Solution
I have 2 SSD's in my current Windows 10 system:
C:\ is a 250GB
E:\ is a 1TB

Obviously, Win10 is running on the smaller C: drive. I want to reinstall Windows so the 1TB drive becomes my C:\. I just spoke to Microsoft and they said it's not possible. Huh??

I have burned the ISO to a DVD and I've made a system backup on an external drive. Just need to know what steps to follow from here.

Often, the front line help desk tech is rather clueless.

Disconnect all other drives
Connect the new 1TB
Install


When it asks for the license key, skip that step and carry on.

britechguy

Commendable
Jul 2, 2019
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My question is whether you're attempting to start with a completely clean slate or just "flip-flop" those two drives such that the larger one is the system drive.

If the clean slate option, then do what @remixislandmusic has recommended.

If it's the "flip-flop" you're looking for, and you've taken a full system image backup of what is now your C:\ drive as well as having a backup of all the user data on what is now your E:\ drive, I would just restore the full system image backup what is now your E:\ drive then set that up to be what the system boots from (at which point Windows will consider it the C: drive, because that's what Windows does). Whether you even kept what is currently the C:\ drive installed on the machine would be completely your call.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
I have 2 SSD's in my current Windows 10 system:
C:\ is a 250GB
E:\ is a 1TB

Obviously, Win10 is running on the smaller C: drive. I want to reinstall Windows so the 1TB drive becomes my C:\. I just spoke to Microsoft and they said it's not possible. Huh??

I have burned the ISO to a DVD and I've made a system backup on an external drive. Just need to know what steps to follow from here.

Often, the front line help desk tech is rather clueless.

Disconnect all other drives
Connect the new 1TB
Install


When it asks for the license key, skip that step and carry on.
 
Solution

britechguy

Commendable
Jul 2, 2019
1,479
243
1,340
What I have to ask is why it is generally assumed that the user wants a completely clean install?

I understand it can be done, but my personal experience as a support tech indicates that what's most often being asked for is, whether expressed this way or not, "How do I transfer my existing Windows 10 installation, lock, stock, and barrel, to a new, larger drive?"

That is how I'm reading the OP's request here, that they don't want to start all over, completely from scratch, but want to get their existing Windows 10 installation transferred over to the 1TB drive. I say this because I cannot fathom how any MS tech would say that doing a completely clean reinstall using a different drive as the boot/system drive is impossible. I could, of course, be wrong.

There are several approaches to doing this if that's what's wanted. Please, @Aymster, clarify exactly what it is you're trying to achieve here.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Clean brand new bare OS on the new 1TB drive
Or
Move the entire contents of the current 250GB to the 1TB.
Or
Leave the OS on the 250GB and use the 1TB more efficiently

Can be done either way, and detailed instructions can be given.

@Aymster - Which method would you like to pursue, and why?