[SOLVED] What is the best way to transfer just my OS and games to a new SSD from HDD?

Sep 18, 2020
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I have a Lenovo Legion-Y520 Laptop with 1TB of HDD storage. I want to transfer just my OS and games to a new 1TB SSD, and leave the HDD for storage without removing it. Would it be best for me to fresh install Windows 10 from a USB to the SSD, and then transfer just my games over, or should I use some sort of cloning software? I'm not sure, however, if it is possible to use a cloning software if I only want to transfer the OS and games based on the little research I've done. Also, if I am able to get just my OS and game files onto my SSD, will the program files for the rest of the programs on my HDD still be able to run, and will I need to delete the game files from the HDD?
 
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There is no way to transfer "just the OS and games". You can certainly transfer game files from drive to drive, but if you clone, or use any other process, you'll have to move everything on the C: partition, you can't just leave off moving installed applications or other files.

Yes, your best bet would be to do a clean install of the OS and then move your game files over. Technically, it would be a really good idea to either, also, then remove all the existing partitions on the HDD after you've moved the games to the OS drive, then create a new primary partition and move the games BACK to that drive so that they are not lost or compromised if the OS drive gets borked up by a Windows problem, corruption, virus, or other issue, OR if...
There is no way to transfer "just the OS and games". You can certainly transfer game files from drive to drive, but if you clone, or use any other process, you'll have to move everything on the C: partition, you can't just leave off moving installed applications or other files.

Yes, your best bet would be to do a clean install of the OS and then move your game files over. Technically, it would be a really good idea to either, also, then remove all the existing partitions on the HDD after you've moved the games to the OS drive, then create a new primary partition and move the games BACK to that drive so that they are not lost or compromised if the OS drive gets borked up by a Windows problem, corruption, virus, or other issue, OR if your laptop ONLY has room and connections for a single drive, then at least USE the HDD to copy a backup of all your game files so that if something happens to the SSD you are not simply out of luck and have to download all your games again.

 
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