[SOLVED] Windows 7 to Windows 11 on a new SSD

[Posman Piet]

Hi,

I am still running Windows 7 on my machine, but I'd like to jump directly to Windows 11.

I have a new SSD that I'd like to use for my OS, but I'd like to keep everything else on my HDD.

Should I clone my current HDD ? Is it better to just backup all my documents, pictures etc. (which I've already done) and then to just wipe everything and do a clean install?

I know how to install windows on an SSD, but; Is there a way of keeping all of my programs (word, adobe, Solidworks etc.) or would I need to reinstall everything? I already know about steam games and how they're easy to manage. (All of my games are steam games, except for Minecraft)

Thanks

 

[Lafong]

A clean install would be the better choice if you want to reduce the risk of future issues. You have to decide if that is more important than whatever you might gain through another method like cloning.....which isn't likely to be anything other than saving time if it works.

You say "everything else on my HDD". Do you mean you do NOT want to keep installed applications on the C partition on the SSD? SSD for Windows ONLY?

 

[alceryes]

...Is it better to just backup all my documents, pictures etc. (which I've already done) and then to just wipe everything and do a clean install?

Yes. Does the system meet the full hardware requirements of Windows 11?
There's also the Windows 11 licensing you'll need to deal (can't just delete everything and start from scratch without buying a Windows 11 license).

Best bet may be to do a clean install on the HDD (you can wipe the system during the 'upgrade') and then clone that fresh Windows 11 to the SSD.

 

[USAFRet]

Is it better to just backup all my documents, pictures etc. (which I've already done) and then to just wipe everything and do a clean install?

Yes.

Your current Win 7 license will probably work to activate the Win 11 install.

Your applications WILL need to be reinstalled.

 

[USAFRet]

There's also the Windows 11 licensing you'll need to deal (can't just delete everything and start from scratch without buying a Windows 11 license.

An otherwise unused Win 7 license will almost certainly activate a Win 11 install.

I know a Win 8 license will.

 

[alceryes]

An otherwise unused Win 7 license will almost certainly activate a Win 11 install.

I know a Win 8 license will.

If he wipes everything and does a clean install of Windows 11 he'll need to find the Windows 7 key or, if it's OEM, rely on it having a proper BIOS key.

 

[USAFRet]

If he wipes everything and does a clean install of Windows 11 he'll need to find the Windows 7 key or, if it's OEM, rely on it having a proper BIOS key.

Well yes...you should have all that documented before taking any action.
Same with username/passwords, serial numbers for any other software, etc, etc.

Prep, before jumping off the dock.

 

[Zerk2012]

Hi,

I am still running Windows 7 on my machine, but I'd like to jump directly to Windows 11.

I have a new SSD that I'd like to use for my OS, but I'd like to keep everything else on my HDD.

Should I clone my current HDD ? Is it better to just backup all my documents, pictures etc. (which I've already done) and then to just wipe everything and do a clean install?

I know how to install windows on an SSD, but; Is there a way of keeping all of my programs (word, adobe, Solidworks etc.) or would I need to reinstall everything? I already know about steam games and how they're easy to manage. (All of my games are steam games, except for Minecraft)

Thanks

You never listed your parts can you even use W11?

 

[Posman Piet]

You never listed your parts can you even use W11?

Yeah, it's a fairly new PC that i built in 2016, we had a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate and I just decided to use that until I go over to Windows 10, which I never did, since this is just my personal PC. I have a work laptop with windows 10 and I just never liked windows 10, but a lot of programs won't run on windows 7 anymore so I decided to just go straight to 11 so that I don't have to change my OS in the near future again.

The specs are:
16 GB DDR4 Ram
MSI Geforce GTX1060
Intel i5 7500
2TB HDD
265GB SSD

 

[Posman Piet]

If he wipes everything and does a clean install of Windows 11 he'll need to find the Windows 7 key or, if it's OEM, rely on it having a proper BIOS key.

Yeah LOL I still have the original windows 7 box with the key and the CD and everything

 

[Posman Piet]

A clean install would be the better choice if you want to reduce the risk of future issues. You have to decide if that is more important than whatever you might gain through another method like cloning.....which isn't likely to be anything other than saving time if it works.

You say "everything else on my HDD". Do you mean you do NOT want to keep installed applications on the C partition on the SSD? SSD for Windows ONLY?

I'm not actually sure if I should put all of my applications on the SSD ? That's why I decided to come here for some advice. I have a backup of all of my personal data, I just don't really know what to do about the programs. I would have to reinstall all of my programs, but there are a lot that I never use so I was thinking about just doing a clean install, getting the bare minimum programs and then reinstalling the rest as I need them.

Like I said in the other comment, this is more of a personal/ gaming PC so I have installed a lot of garbage apps that I never use, or games that I've finished and never play anymore.

 

[Lafong]

I'm not actually sure if I should put all of my applications on the SSD ? .........I would have to reinstall all of my programs, but there are a lot that I never use so I was thinking about just doing a clean install, getting the bare minimum programs and then reinstalling the rest as I need them.

That would probably be the simplest choice and least likely to give you a headache sooner or later................Do a clean install and spend maybe half a day installing your most often used programs. Install other programs later ONLY on an as needed basis. You'll find that a lot of them you either won't miss or will have superior replacements.

You can dream up a scenario where you might want to keep programs somewhere other than C, but it's a complication few would need.

 

[alceryes]

I'm not actually sure if I should put all of my applications on the SSD ? That's why I decided to come here for some advice. I have a backup of all of my personal data, I just don't really know what to do about the programs. I would have to reinstall all of my programs, but there are a lot that I never use so I was thinking about just doing a clean install, getting the bare minimum programs and then reinstalling the rest as I need them.

Like I said in the other comment, this is more of a personal/ gaming PC so I have installed a lot of garbage apps that I never use, or games that I've finished and never play anymore.

You've thought it out well.
Clean install minus the garbage is the way to go.

 

[USAFRet]

There is little reason to have applications installed on a drive or partition other than the C.
In the event of an OS reinstall, you'd need to install those applications anyway.

 

[Posman Piet]

You've thought it out well.
Clean install minus the garbage is the way to go.

Thanks a lot for the help. Should I just format my HDD and then proceed with the clean install, or do I leave my HDD and just install Windows 11 onto the SSD? I saw in another thread that having another version of windows still on your HDD is okay, but I would like to get rid of all of windows old log files and stuff. Best bet to just format the HDD and start from scratch?

 

[Lafong]

You don't need to format anything.

A clean install will do the necessary formatting.

You'll see an option to delete all existing partitions. Say yes to that.

Disconnect all drives other than the one to receive Windows before you start.

 

[Posman Piet]

You don't need to format anything.

A clean install will do the necessary formatting.

You'll see an option to delete all existing partitions. Say yes to that.

Disconnect all drives other than the one to receive Windows before you start.

Sick, thanks a lot.

 

[USAFRet]

The specs are:
16 GB DDR4 Ram
MSI Geforce GTX1060
Intel i5 7500
2TB HDD
265GB SSD

Have you run this system through the Win 11 compatibility tool?

That CPU is NOT on the supported list for Win 11.

 

[Posman Piet]

UPDATE: For anyone else who might ever want to do this.

I am currently on Windows 11. The entire process wasn't too much of a hassle in the end although I did run into some issues.

1- Upon running the installation and entering my windows code, the "This PC can't run Windows 11" error popped up. Turns out this was a very simple fix; it had nothing to do with hardware, it was my BIOS settings that had to be changed for UEFI and TPM settings.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1sD66wx3Dw
This guy solved it for me in 30s.

Then Windows 11 installed beautifully, 0 issues.

2- Since windows 11 created a new "Users" folder on my SSD, all of my old "Users" folders on my HDD locked me out. I got a "You don’t currently have permission to access this folder " error

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0in9Pmzp-a4
<<<< This video solved it for me, but it took a while to figure out exactly which folder and which permissions were the problem. I had to change the permissions for "Everyone" as well as for my own "INSERT_PC_NAME" to give full access as well as assign me ("INSERT_PC_NAME") as the new owner of the folder. Then it was as simple as changing the location of the new Pictures, Videos and Music, Desktop folders to have their default location on my D drive (HDD) and now my PC is 99% back to normal.

The steam games literally did like a 30s install each (even massive games like GTA and War Thunder) and they're all up and running again.

Only "problem" that I've run into is that none of them have Icons, they're all blank. But that's also a simple fix, since you just go to your icon and select the right picture from your steam folder. https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/1/392183857628047411/ <<< This helped me to solve it.

But Windows 11 is running incredibly smoothly. The only things are settings that I made and forgotten that are now suddenly different again, but that's obviously an easy fix.

Also, Win11 automatically creates this "System Reserved" partition so i just hid that because it's unsightly to me.

Thanks for the advice guys.