Best way to transfer OS to SSD?

Dear SlickRCBD,

I'm Dyari. Thanks for reaching out. I will be happy to assist you in this regard.

1-Unfortunately, Microsoft does not have any tool or utility to clone a hard drive and transfer the operating system to the new SDD. Therefore, you should perform a clean install then re-install all of your software and games, or, you can use third-party software to clone the OS like Macrium Reflect:
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-clone-your-p...


2-Since your Windows is activated now, no need to buy a new license key, the current one should activate Windows automatically. When you do a clean install, the license information is automatically picked up from Microsoft activation servers. Windows will activate your Windows license from this information.

If it does not activate it automatically, go to Settings > Activation > Troubleshoot


Please let me know if you need further assistance and keep me updated.

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Is it wrong that I kinda want to go back to MS-DOS at this point?

Then all I'd have to do is

[code]

fdisk D:

format d: /s /v

sys d:

XCOPY c:\DOS d: /e /y

XCOPY C:\PROG D: /e /y

XCOPY c:\GAMES D: /e /y

[/code]

and it would work.

Obviously for Win95 and later \prog would be \Program Files\ or \Program Files (x86)\

The Games folder actually came back with Vista for some games that don't work in Program Files due to the protections introduced in Vista.

Unfortunately just copying the files doesn't work in Windows 95 and later even if you do a basic install of the OS on the new drive, then try to XCOPY everything from the old drive (I haven't tried this with Windows Vista or later, but I did try it with XP).

Hi SlickRCBD,

I am afraid that this command does not work for transferring installed software from a computer to another one because the installed program relies on other support structures. Directories, libraries, configuration and data files could so be critical to execution. Without them, the program may fail to run or start.

Also, it may need a license that ties it to the MAC address which is different from a PC to another.

Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Stay safe

I was making a joke because I once transferred somebody's system (I don't recall if it was Uncle John's or one of his son's who were still teenagers) to a larger hard drive back under MS-DOS 5. by disconnecting the CD-ROM, installing the new hard drive as a D Drive slave, formatting it with /S, and using XCOPY C:\ D: /e overnight, then pulling out both hard drives and resetting the D drive as a master and hooking the CD-ROM back up. Back then they only had one [p]ATA IDE controller on the system. No secondary IDE.

Sorry if it wasn't obvious I was making a joke about longing for the days of MS-DOS when it was simple.

In any case, you said different MAC addresses. That would be irrelevant here because I simply installed the new hard drive in the PCIe M2 slot in the same computer and just want to make it the boot drive and run the OS and programs from it, while using the built in conventional hard drive only for data.

Seems I'll have to start from scratch. Every other time I've made a D drive it was only for data, and I left the original for OS and programs (and usually user folders since moving that to a D drive is a pain since some programs don't like it not being on the C drive, but I'd make sure to transfer AMAP to the D drive).

Looks like I'm going to have to do it the long and slow way, install Windows from scratch and then slowly reinstall over the games over the course of months because of bandwith limits. To think I dreaded spending two days a decade ago reinstalling from CDs & DVDs. Isn't digital downloads with only stub installers a great improvement?

Hi, SlickRCBD

Unfortunately, the operating system and all installed apps should be reinstalled manually. Since you just change the hard drive not the motherboard, you would not face license issues.

Please do not hesitate to ask if you have more questions.

Stay safe and have a nice day.

If you buy a Samsung SSD you can run Samsung Magician and clone everything from your original drive. Then boot from that and it should work exactly as it did.

There are some options to avoid a reinstall but there are some benefits as well. A fresh install removes a lot of clutter and trims down the registry. However IMHO a top of the line backup/recovery application is worth the cost when you really need it, so why not get something like Macrium? It allows you to upgrade your HD whenever you need and can be a godsend if your drive ever crashes. Be careful if you're using a bitlocker encrypted drive, you'll need the key in advance.

Please assume I have a budget of zero. The hard drive was a Christmas present, and I also got a pink slip for Christmas.

Lots of people are quick to ask me to shell out $100+ solutions to problems, like "just buy the newest version".

It sucks being poor.

I had to exchange it for something in stock in the Best Buy at Schaumburg (though I probably could have gone to another Best Buy). I exchanged it for the biggest SSD drive they had in stock, but it was only 1tb. It wasn't a Sony brand either and didn't come with any software. In fact, it was unformatted. Oh, I forgot the drive was actually 2tb, but only about 1.5 was usable because of the recovery partitions.

Yes, I haven't done anything with it yet, I was hoping for an easier way than spending all day reinstalling from scratch. Plus it's a blizzard outside and I'm afraid we might lose power so I really don't want to start something like that right now.

Ah, a feeling I understand only too well! I spent a lot of money (for me) upgrading to Cubase 11 only to find it needed Windows 10 to run. That went pear shaped and I need the new SSD which I could ill afford plus my own copy of W10 as the free download was causing serious issues.

That was 2 weeks ago and I'm still not up and running.

Not a happy bunny...

I can only suggest formatting your existing storage (Proper format, not the 'quick one' and reload from scratch if you have all the software available to do so. Obviously you need to save all your personal stuff first as everything will be wiped.

Good luck...