Converting Windows from HDD to SSD without reinstalling the computer

You need to upgrade your hard drive from HDD to SSD, and switch Windows operating system from HDD to SSD without wasting time reinstalling Windows. Below, TipsMake will guide you on how to transfer Windows from HDD to SSD that you are looking for.

Prepare before switching Windows operating system

Moving Windows from HDD to SSD will mean transferring data from Windows partitions to a new hard drive, so you need to prepare the following:

1. Clean up junk and unnecessary data on your device to reduce data transfer time.
2. Then back up data on Windows to ensure computer data is not lost when transferring Windows to SSD .

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Download and install Partition Wizard software

Partition Wizard is a disk management tool that can format, copy, delete, extend, and customize partition size in Windows. The free version of Partition Wizard has a capacity of 2MB, compatible with Windows XP, Windows 7,8,8.1, Windows 10.

Steps to install Partition Wizard software are as follows:

Step 1 : Search Partition Wizard on your computer browser and download the software.

Step 2 : Then double click on the setup file , select the language , click OK .

Step 3 : In the next dialog box, click on the words Participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program .

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Step 4 : Then click Browse… to choose a location to save the application. Then click Next .

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Step 5 : Next, select Launch MiniTool Partition Wizard . Then click Finish to complete the installation.

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Process for converting Windows operating system from HDD to SSD

After downloading and installing the Partition Wizard software, follow the instructions to transfer Windows from HDD to SSD using the following Minitool Partion Wizard:

Step 1 : Open the Partion Wizard software, click Migrate OS to SSD/HD .

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Step 2 : Then you choose one of two options A or B in the new window that appears:

⦁ Option A means transferring all data from the old hard drive to the new hard drive.

⦁ Option B means only moving the Windows operating system to the new hard drive. Option B is for cases where you use 2 hard drives HDD and SSD in parallel.

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If you choose A, then the next steps are: 

Select A, click Next .

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Then select the new hard drive to which you want to transfer data, click Next .

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Then you choose 1 of 2 options in the next dialog box:

⦁ Fit partitions to entire disk : Means to change the size of the partition on the new hard drive automatically.

⦁ Copy Partitions without resize : Means keep the partition size on the new hard drive.

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You choose 1 of the 2 options above and then you can select the following 2 items if needed:

⦁ Align partitions to 1MB : improves the performance of new hard drives.

⦁ Use GUID Partition Table for the target disk : use maximum drive capacity above 2TB.

Then click Next > Finish > Apply > Yes to save the above installation process.

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If you choose B, then the next steps are: 

Select B then click Next . Next, choose 1 of 2 options (similar to option A).

⦁ Fit partitions to entire disk : Means to change the size of the partition on the new hard drive automatically.

⦁ Copy Partitions without resize : Means keep the partition size on the new hard drive.

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Then click Next > Finish > Apply > Yes to save the above installation process.

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Note: the images depicting instructions for transferring Windows from HDD to SSD are for reference only. There will be a difference in the computer hard drive name on the image and your computer hard drive.

Instructions for transferring Windows from HDD to SSD using USB Boot

In this way of converting the operating system to SSD , you will use a multi-purpose USB (USB Boot) to do it.

This USB Boot has been pre-built with the ability to support Windows conversion software more simply and quickly without errors, operating system conflicts, and without losing computer data.

The advantage of USB Boot is that it can load information when starting the computer, support dividing drives, creating partitions for hard drives, testing hard drives, testing RAM, fixing operating system errors, recovering data,. .

Convert Windows from HDD to SSD using Macrium Reflect software

Macrium Reflect is a tool that supports transferring the Win operating system and all data to a new hard drive. The procedure is as follows:

Step 1 : You connect the new SSD hard drive to your computer via the SATA port. On laptops, you can connect the hard drive to the laptop thanks to HDD Box.

Step 2 : Create USB Boot . Then start the computer so it can boot into USB, open the Mini Windows screen . Select Boot Mini Windows .

Step 3 : Right-click on the Mini Windows 10 screen , then select Recovery Tools , then select Macrium Reflect .

Step 4 : In the Macrium Reflect interface window, select the Backup tab , then select Clone this disk .

Step 5 : Next, select Select a disk to Clone to. in the new dialog box to select the new hard drive - the one you want to transfer Windows from the old hard drive to.

Step 6 : Then you proceed to select the partition to move to the new hard drive (if you need to transfer data from the old hard drive, but if you only transfer Windows operating system, you do not need to select these partitions). .

Step 7 : Select Copy selected partitions . Then select Cloned partition Properties if you need to resize the C drive partition containing the operating system on the new hard drive. Next you can increase or decrease the size of drive C and then click OK to save the changes.

Step 8 : In the next step, click Next > Finish to transfer Windows to the new SSD hard drive.

Frequently asked questions about transferring Windows from HDD to SSD

When switching the operating system to SSD , there are some questions that many people need answered.

Do I need to backup data before transferring?

Have. Before switching the operating system or transferring data to a new hard drive, you need to back up your current data to avoid data loss and not being able to get it back if the conversion process fails.

What storage devices can Partition Wizard software support?

When using Partition Wizard to transfer data, the storage devices supported by Partition Wizard are: SSD, HDD, SSHD, SD card, external hard drive, USB flash drive, hardware RAID, dynamic disk.

Epilogue

In fact, transferring Windows from HDD to SSD will not be too difficult if you follow the instructions above. Good luck!

Jessica Tanner

Update 12 October 2023