Question SSD transfer from old to new PC

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h22lude

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I'm starting to piece together a new desktop. My current one has Windows 10 on one SSD. I have another SSD for all programs. I also have an older HDD for files, pictures, documents, etc. Windows is a digital license linked to my Microsoft account.

To install Windows on my new PC, I would download the installation media onto a USB drive. Have just one SSD installed in the new PC, plug in the USB drive and turn on the new PC. Do I deactivate my old PC or leave it as is until the new PC has Windows installed? I have another SSD laying around but I don't know what is on it. Do I need to format it before trying to install Windows on it, or will the install erase everything first?

Once Windows is installed, can I just plug in the non-boot SSD with the programs and the HDD with the documents and the new PC will recognize them? Or would I need to do anything special to get the new PC to recognize these two drives? For the HDD, I can probably transfer all the documents onto a flash drive and then installed them onto a SSD and not worry about plugging the HDD in to the new PC so I really only need to worry about the SSD with the programs on it.
 
What you want to do is simply do a clean install of Windows 10 on the new SSD once everything is assembled and running, with NO other drives connected EXCEPT for the new SSD and the flash drive you are installing Windows FROM.

Use your product key from your original version of Windows, whether that is Windows 7, 8.1 or 10. It will automatically deactivate the digital entitlement on the old system (motherboard) once it has moved that digital entitlement to the new system (motherboard).

After you've installed Windows and done all your updates, installed drivers, etc., you can attach the SSD with your games on it. Programs, if you installed them to the SSD instead of to the OS drive which is where they SHOULD have been installed, will likely need to be reinstalled because unlike the games which you can simply point the game loader to the correct folder on the secondary drive, won't really work that way. There are registry entries, dynamic link libraries and other related file structure that all must be known to the OS in order for it to open and run your programs.

Now, if you're are talking about just the "installer files" for those programs being on the secondary disk, then you are fine, but you will still need to reinstall those programs after you do a clean install of Windows.

And you can use my guide, which admittedly is a little out of date and needs to be redone since a few of the installation screens have changed since I created it but which should still offer you 95% correct step by step instructions and you can figure out the few newer screens yourself, you can use the following tutorial to make sure you perform the clean install properly if you need to.

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...
forums.tomshardware.com forums.tomshardware.com
 
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Darkbreeze said:
What you want to do is simply do a clean install of Windows 10 on the new SSD once everything is assembled and running, with NO other drives connected EXCEPT for the new SSD and the flash drive you are installing Windows FROM.

Use your product key from your original version of Windows, whether that is Windows 7, 8.1 or 10. It will automatically deactivate the digital entitlement on the old system (motherboard) once it has moved that digital entitlement to the new system (motherboard).

After you've installed Windows and done all your updates, installed drivers, etc., you can attach the SSD with your games on it. Programs, if you installed them to the SSD instead of to the OS drive which is where they SHOULD have been installed, will likely need to be reinstalled because unlike the games which you can simply point the game loader to the correct folder on the secondary drive, won't really work that way. There are registry entries, dynamic link libraries and other related file structure that all must be known to the OS in order for it to open and run your programs.

Now, if you're are talking about just the "installer files" for those programs being on the secondary disk, then you are fine, but you will still need to reinstall those programs after you do a clean install of Windows.

And you can use my guide, which admittedly is a little out of date and needs to be redone since a few of the installation screens have changed since I created it but which should still offer you 95% correct step by step instructions and you can figure out the few newer screens yourself, you can use the following tutorial to make sure you perform the clean install properly if you need to.

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...
forums.tomshardware.com forums.tomshardware.com
Click to expand...

Thank you for this

I was downloading the install files, installing the programs and installing the games all on a separate SSD from my OS. So I should be installing the programs to the OS SSD but games to another?

Sounds like I really need to start from scratch, which I would assume is fine.
 
Yes, it is fine. Yes, that is what you want to do.

The operating system and installed applications should go on the primary, C: drive. You game files can be installed to the secondary SSD or HDD. If the game files are already there all you need to do is install the game loader which should be installed on the C: drive and then point it to the game files located on the other drive. There are plenty of tutorials online regarding exactly how to do this part.

You "can" install programs and applications to the other drive, but unlike with the game files you gain nothing really by doing so because you'll still have to reinstall them each time you reinstall Windows since the new Windows installation will have no idea regarding anything about those applications until they are again installed and there are registry entries telling Windows where those programs are located, what files need to be used with them, etc.
 
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Darkbreeze said:
Yes, it is fine. Yes, that is what you want to do.

The operating system and installed applications should go on the primary, C: drive. You game files can be installed to the secondary SSD or HDD. If the game files are already there all you need to do is install the game loader which should be installed on the C: drive and then point it to the game files located on the other drive. There are plenty of tutorials online regarding exactly how to do this part.

You "can" install programs and applications to the other drive, but unlike with the game files you gain nothing really by doing so because you'll still have to reinstall them each time you reinstall Windows since the new Windows installation will have no idea regarding anything about those applications until they are again installed and there are registry entries telling Windows where those programs are located, what files need to be used with them, etc.
Click to expand...

So if I install the programs to the C: drive, won't a new Windows install reformat the entire drive and erase it all anyway, so I'd have to start from scratch anyway?
 
Yes. There is no way around this. Every time you reinstall Windows you will need to reinstall your programs, no matter where they were installed. It is simply a matter of the way in which programs are designed to be installed, which is different than the way in which games call the files they need. The exception would be "portable" applications, that don't require any registry entries or external dynamic link libraries, but those are few by comparison and most applications do not have a portable version.

So, if you have a very small SSD you could still install your applications to the secondary drive, but if you don't have a space problem which you shouldn't if your OS SSD is 500GB or larger, then there is really no reason to put them on the secondary drive. If you use photo or image editing software or any software that uses a "scratch" file, then putting the temporary scratch file location on the secondary drive is acceptable.
 
Darkbreeze said:
Yes. There is no way around this. Every time you reinstall Windows you will need to reinstall your programs, no matter where they were installed. It is simply a matter of the way in which programs are designed to be installed, which is different than the way in which games call the files they need. The exception would be "portable" applications, that don't require any registry entries or external dynamic link libraries, but those are few by comparison and most applications do not have a portable version.

So, if you have a very small SSD you could still install your applications to the secondary drive, but if you don't have a space problem which you shouldn't if your OS SSD is 500GB or larger, then there is really no reason to put them on the secondary drive. If you use photo or image editing software or any software that uses a "scratch" file, then putting the temporary scratch file location on the secondary drive is acceptable.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the help

I have two 250GB and one 500GB Samsung 850 Evo SSDs. Was going to use the 250GB for OS and programs then 500GB for games. However, looking at Samsung 980 Pro M.2 SSD, I can get 1TB for $60.

Would it be worth just going that route and putting everything on the 980 Pro and forget the 850 Evo's? I basically browse the internet, play games, watch shows and use Word and Excel.
 
h22lude said:
I appreciate the help

I have two 250GB and one 500GB Samsung 850 Evo SSDs. Was going to use the 250GB for OS and programs then 500GB for games. However, looking at Samsung 980 Pro M.2 SSD, I can get 1TB for $60.

Would it be worth just going that route and putting everything on the 980 Pro and forget the 850 Evo's? I basically browse the internet, play games, watch shows and use Word and Excel.
Click to expand...
What is the motherboard in question?
 
h22lude said:
Any downside to having everything on that compared to OS/programs on one 850 and games on another 850? Is one set up better than the other or personal preference?
Click to expand...

Personal preference, but using 2 drives might simplify your backup routines.

Also, your data might grow a lot faster than OS/programs. If separate drives, you could just buy a new data drive without having to transfer OS/programs to a new drive. But I'd guess single drive is the most common choice.
 
h22lude said:
Any downside to having everything on that compared to OS/programs on one 850 and games on another 850? Is one set up better than the other or personal preference?
Click to expand...
Pretty much the way my system is set up.
OS and applications on one drive (980 Pro), other things on other drives.
Games
CAD
Photo
Video
Random junk

...each to its own drive,
 
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