How to Move Windows to Another Drive Without Losing Data

You will encounter system migration problems if you currently have a PC with a conventional HDD and want to replace or upgrade it with an SSD, as the Reddit post says.

How to transfer Windows to another drive and keep files?

I just bought a new M.2 SSD with 128GB of storage; however, my OS is still on my old HDD. Can I transfer it over without having to reinstall all my files? ---from Reddit

But how to move Windows to another drive without losing data? This article will tell how to transfer Windows 10 from HDD to SSD without losing data. Hurry up and learn how to move Windows 10 to a new drive.

Clone Windows to Another Hard Disk Without Losing Data

Cloning is the best way to move Windows between drives because it can copy your entire drive to the new drive, including the operating system, applications, settings, and files. However, you need to use professional disk cloning software for that purpose because Windows has no such tool to help you perform a cloning task.

Under such circumstances, professional disk cloning software - EaseUS Disk Copy comes to help. It can help transfer your Windows 10 installation to an SSD without reinstalling Windows.

Disk Copy is a practical and user-friendly disk cloning utility for Windows 11/10/8/7. It lets you clone your system, disk, and partition and clone C drive to SSD. In addition, it allows you to upgrade to a bigger hard disk without reinstalling Windows and migrate Windows 10 to NVME or M.2 SSD.

If you wish to migrate OS to SSD or transfer data from HDD to SSD without data loss, EaseUS disk clone software can suit you well. It has a System Mode feature, which lets you migrate Windows to an SSD. You just need to download and then carry out your cloning task.

Before trying to migrate Windows from HDD to SSD, you need to make some preparations for moving Windows to another drive:

After you have done these preparations, you can try to clone your Windows 10 from an HDD to an SSD. The detailed steps are as follows:

Video guide on how to clone an HDD/SSD to a new SSD using EaseUS Disk Copy:

 

Step-by-step guide on how to copy Windows to another drive using EaseUS Disk Copy:

Step 1. To clone OS from one hard drive to another, choose the target disk in "System Mode" and click "Next".

Step 2. Adjust the disk layout of the target disks. You can manage the disk layout of the destination disk by selecting "Autofit the disk", "Copy as the source" or "Edit disk layout". Then, click Proceed.

• "Autofit the disk" makes some changes by default on the destination disk layout so that it can work at its best status.
• "Copy as the source"does not change anything on destination disk and the layout is the same as source disk.
• "Edit disk layout" allows you to manually resize/move partition layout on this destination disk.

Tick the "Check the option if the target is SSD" option to put your SSD in its best performance.

Step 3. A message now appears, warning you that data on the target disk will be lost. Please confirm this message by clicking "Continue".

Step 4. Wait for the cloning process to complete.

Is this article helpful? If you like this article, share it on your social platforms.

Backup and Restore Windows from HDD to SSD

If you do not want to download any third-party software, Windows also covers you. You can use the Windows System Image Tool to transfer Windows to another drive without losing data. To this end, you must create a system image onto an external disk and restore it to the new drive. Here is the detailed procedure:

Part 1. Create a System Image on an External Disk

To create a system image, you can use Backup and Restore (Windows 7) or professional free backup software like EaseUS Todo Backup. Steps to create a system image using Backup and Restore:

Step 1. Connect the external drive to your computer.

Step 2. Type Control Panel in the search box and click Open.

Step 3. Click Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

Step 4. Select Create a system image.

Step 5. Select the connected external drive as the location to store the image backup.

Step 6. Choose which drives you want to back up. (By default, the system partition is selected.)

Step 7. Confirm the backup settings and click the Start backup button to create a system image.

Part 2. Restore the System Image to the New Drive

Once the backup is complete, connect the backup drive and the new drive to your PC. If you use Windows 10, go to Settings > Update and Security > Recovery and click Restart now. (For Windows 11, Settings > System > Recovery and click Restart now.) When your computer reboots, you will enter the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE).

Go to: Troubleshoot >> Advanced options >> System Image Recovery >> Select a system image >> Use the latest available system image (recommended) >> Select Format and repartition disks (enable this option for restoring to a new disk) >> Click Finish.

Then, follow the on-screen prompts to restore the system and data to the new drive.

Is this article helpful? If you like this article, share it on your social platforms.

How Do I Transfer Windows 10 from HDD to SSD

SSD has faster reading and writing speeds than traditional HDD, less power and energy consumption, and less noise. In addition, it can help improve the overall performance of your computer because it takes less time to boot from SSD.

Therefore, many computer users want to move their Windows from an HDD to an SSD. But have you ever been stuck on a question like "Can I transfer Windows 10 from HDD to SSD?" or "Can you move Windows from HDD to SSD?

The answer is in the affirmative. You can move Windows from HDD to SSD or move Windows 10 to another drive. And many ways can be used for that purpose.

It is worth noting that Windows reinstallation has many steps to do and is not suitable for newbies, and for creating a system image, you must first shrink the volume to fit the SSD, which may be smaller than the current hard disk. One crucial point is that the backup process may fail if the smaller partition is still too large.

To Wrap Things Up

How to transfer Windows 10 from HDD to SSD without losing data? Or how to transfer Windows from HDD to SSD? Have you got your answer now? You can use EaseUS Disk Copy to help you easily and quickly move Windows to another drive without losing data. Cloning will be the best way to help you transfer Windows from HDD to SSD without losing data, or change HDD to SSD without losing data.

Remember to back up files on the SSD if it is not new, and if your SSD is not large enough to hold the entire content of the old HDD, you can use EaseUS Disk Copy to help you clone only Windows to an SSD or transfer Windows to another drive. EaseUS Disk Copy can also help you fix the cloned hard drive showing the wrong size issue. More useful features are waiting for you to explore and use.

FAQs on How to Move OS to Another Drive

Below are some frequently asked questions about how to move Windows to another drive.

1. Is there a way to move Windows to another drive?

Yes, you can move Windows to another drive. You can clean install Windows on another drive or copy your Windows installation to another drive via cloning. Since performing a clean installation will have many procedures, it is recommended to migrate Windows to another drive via cloning.

2. Can I transfer just Windows from HDD to SSD?

Yes, you can just migrate Windows from HDD to SSD. For that, you need to use professional cloning software, like EaseUS Disk Copy, to help you. It can perform a sector-by-sector clone, which allows you to transfer the system drive partition to a new drive.

3. How do I transfer everything from my old hard drive to my new SSD?

Prepare a SATA to USB adaptor if you want to transfer data from an HDD to an SSD. To effortlessly migrate your OS to an SSD in Windows 10, you can make a backup of your system and then restore it. Important files should be backed up in advance because, after cloning, the target disk's data will be deleted. Then, you can follow the steps in the article to help you transfer data from HDD to SSD.

4. Can I move just Windows without apps?

Yes, you can move Windows to another drive without using or downloading tools. You can create a system image with Backup and Restore (Windows 7) and restore it to another drive using the System Image Tool in Windows.

5. What if SSD is smaller than HDD?

If you want to clone your HDD to the SSD, but find that your SSD is smaller than your HDD, you can delete the files and programs to reduce the size of your source HDD. As long as your SSD is larger than the used space on the HDD, you can clone it.