Transferring Windows to a new SSD to upgrade

[christianelliott]

Hey everyone,

I bought a new SSD for the Windows 10 release, and was wondering if what I have in mind would work:

I plan to use Samsung's migration software to clone the Windows files from my Windows 7 install over to the SSD along with programs that I want to keep. I'll leave behind documents, music, etc and programs that I don't need. Then I'll do the upgrade to Windows 10 on the SSD and leave the old HDD as a storage drive. Would this method work?

I could also just reinstall Windows 7 on the new SSD from my disk and then upgrade to 10, but I'd prefer to keep a lot of the stuff from my current Windows install (programs I don't want to set up again, Skyrim mods, etc)

Thank you

 

[USAFRet]

I'll leave behind documents, music, etc and programs that I don't need.

The Samsung tool only allows you to leave behind Docs, music, etc. Stuff in your Libraries folders.
Everything else goes. You can't pick and choose programs.

 

[christianelliott]

I'll leave behind documents, music, etc and programs that I don't need.

The Samsung tool only allows you to leave behind Docs, music, etc. Stuff in your Libraries folders.
Everything else goes. You can't pick and choose programs.

Hmm okay. I was reading this and it appeared as though you could pick and choose. If it's just media however it might be better to just do a clean install. That's kind of a bummer though. I guess I could go through an uninstall all but a few programs and stuff and then do the migration?

 

[USAFRet]

I'll leave behind documents, music, etc and programs that I don't need.

The Samsung tool only allows you to leave behind Docs, music, etc. Stuff in your Libraries folders.
Everything else goes. You can't pick and choose programs.

Hmm okay. I was reading this and it appeared as though you could pick and choose. If it's just media however it might be better to just do a clean install. That's kind of a bummer though.

" “Custom Cloning” feature will help you select unnecessary media files on the Source Disk to exclude from the cloning process. "

Image, video, music, etc.
Not applications.

 

[christianelliott]

]

“Custom Cloning” feature will help you select unnecessary media files on the Source Disk to exclude from the cloning process. "

Image, video, music, etc.
Not applications.

Okay thanks, I guess I didn't read that correctly. Could I go through and delete unnecessary programs before migrating then, or would I benefit in any way from doing a fresh Windows install?

 

[USAFRet]

]

“Custom Cloning” feature will help you select unnecessary media files on the Source Disk to exclude from the cloning process. "

Image, video, music, etc.
Not applications.

Okay thanks, I guess I didn't read that correctly. Could I go through and delete unnecessary programs before migrating then, or would I benefit in any way from doing a fresh Windows install?

You're not the first to read that incorrectly...

A fresh install is probably best, but uninstalling would work as well.
It's just that uninstalling does not always get rid of 'everything'. Often there are remnants of some application left behind.

 

[christianelliott]

]

“Custom Cloning” feature will help you select unnecessary media files on the Source Disk to exclude from the cloning process. "

Image, video, music, etc.
Not applications.

Okay thanks, I guess I didn't read that correctly. Could I go through and delete unnecessary programs before migrating then, or would I benefit in any way from doing a fresh Windows install?

You're not the first to read that incorrectly...

A fresh install is probably best, but uninstalling would work as well.
It's just that uninstalling does not always get rid of 'everything'. Often there are remnants of some application left behind.

I think I'll probably go with a fresh install. I know some people swear by yearly clean installs, but I haven't reinstalled Windows since I built my current computer (4+ years). I know that with a fresh install all the programs on the HDD will get axed, but documents, etc should be okay. Does this mean reinstalled programs will still refer to the stuff in the documents folder on the HDD? (To save savegames, settings, etc for some games)

 

[USAFRet]

Reinstalled programs will point to wherever you tell them to. They won't automatically save to the HDD.

 

[christianelliott]

Reinstalled programs will point to wherever you tell them to. They won't automatically save to the HDD.

Okay thank you. I guess I'll just do a clean Windows install to ensure I'm getting a fresh start, then worry about reinstalling programs that I want. Is there an easy way to remove everything but documents and such from the HDD after I reinstall to the SSD?

side question- Do you have any experience with this software for migrating just the OS over to a new drive?

 

[USAFRet]

Reinstalled programs will point to wherever you tell them to. They won't automatically save to the HDD.

Okay thank you. I guess I'll just do a clean Windows install to ensure I'm getting a fresh start, then worry about reinstalling programs that I want. Is there an easy way to remove everything but documents and such from the HDD after I reinstall to the SSD?

side question- Do you have any experience with this software for migrating just the OS over to a new drive?

Easiest way to remove everything but Documents? Copy those elsewhere, and then wipe that drive. Copy back later if desired.

I don't have any specific experience with that one, but it would seem troublesome if you were to uncheck "Programs Files" or "Users" from the overall migration. The interface seems to suggest you can do that, but I'd expect massive failure.
From their video:

 

[christianelliott]

I don't have any specific experience with that one, but it would seem troublesome if you were to uncheck "Programs Files" or "Users" from the overall migration. The interface seems to suggest you can do that, but I'd expect massive failure.
From their video:

Yeah I thought it seemed a little bit sketchy- plus it's not free.

I guess I'll do a fresh Windows install, copy over documents, pictures, and maybe the AppData folder and then copy non-program stuff back onto the HDD after I wipe it. Thanks for being so helpful!