Improving your Windows setup and switching drives is a common task.
Improving your Windows setup and switching drives is a common task.
You’re looking to switch from Windows 10 to Windows 11 using a new Samsung 980 Pro SSD. Here are your options:
- Install the new SSD directly on the M.2 slot and perform a fresh setup → might need a new product key.
- Clone the old SSD first, then upgrade to Windows 11.
- Clone the new SSD after installing Windows 11.
Which approach suits your needs best?
I completed what you did around two months ago. I used the Samsung Data Migration tool (free, compatible only with Samsung storage) to copy my operating system from the SSD to a new NVMe drive. I adjusted the boot sequence in BIOS so the NVMe became the main boot device. Then I upgraded to Windows 11 via the built-in update process. It took a few minutes, but everything worked smoothly and Windows 11 started correctly. The benefit was preserving all installed software—except my small HP printer—which I had to reinstall separately. I kept the SSD and, once satisfied, cloned the OS onto it as a backup for future reference. While clean installs are ideal, this method saved me time compared to a full reinstall, especially since many of my PC programs had OS-level changes and would have required a full setup.