How to Clone the SSD C Drive to a Larger SSD D Drive, and Then Run Windows From the Bigger Drive

Our C drive is a 512GB PCIe SSD running Windows 11, and our D drive is a brand-new, empty 1TB SSD. The 1TB drive should become a C drive after cloning. However, we want the operating system to reside on the larger drive and serve as the system and boot drive.

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Roxanne· Answered on Apr 18, 2024

If you want to clone the C drive to a bigger SSD and run the original Windows OS without reinstallation, you can refer to the following instructions. Regarding this clone process, you need versatile and reliable disk cloning software. EaseUS Partition Master Professional is your best choice: it aims to offer efficient methods for all disk tasks, including resizing disk partitions, converting MBR to GPT, and migrating OS.

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Phase 1. Initialize the New SSD

Install the new SSD on your computer and initialize it with EaseUS Partition Master. Below is how to do it:

Step 1. Access EaseUS Partition Master and navigate to "Partition Manager."

Step 2. Right-click the new SSD and choose "Initialize to MBR" or "Initialize to GPT". Click "Execute xx Task" and "Apply" to apply the changes.

Phase 2. Clone the C Drive to Another SSD

After initializing the new SSD, you can use the "Disk Clone" tool of EaseUS Partition Master to transfer all the data to a larger SSD without data loss:

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Partition Master's Disk Clone section, choose "Clone OS Disk," and click "Next."

Step 2. Select the target SSD and click "Next" > "Yes" to view the disk layout, then choose "Start" to begin cloning.

Step 3. After the above is done, you'll see a message "If you want to start up the computer from the clone target disk" and two options:

1. Reboot Now means rebooting your computer and configuring the computer to boot OS from the new disk immediately.

2. Done means you want to make the changes later. 

Phase 3. Set the SSD as Boot Drive

To run the Windows system from the bigger SSD, you should change it to the first boot device of your computer. Follow the simple guide below:

Step 1. Click "F2/F8/Del" to access the BIOS settings after restarting the computer.

Step 2. Select the cloned SSD as the boot disk from the Boot menu, then save these changes.

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